The number on a green card is a 13-character receipt number — three letters followed by ten digits — that USCIS assigned when it processed the application for that specific piece of plastic. On cards issued after May 2010, the permanent resident card number is printed on the back, inside the block of small text near the top called the machine-readable zone.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.1 List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization It identifies the document itself, not you, so a replacement card will carry a different number even though your immigration record hasn’t changed.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number
Where to Find It
Flip the card over. The 13 characters sit inside the machine-readable zone at the top of the back — the same text a scanner reads at a port of entry. The front of a current card shows your photo, name, USCIS number, date of birth, category code, and card expiration date, but not the card number itself.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.1 List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization
Older versions of the card put identifiers in other places, sometimes on the lower front. If you have an older card and can’t spot the number, check any Form I-797 notice of action USCIS mailed you when your case was processed. The same 13-character string appears there, usually labeled “receipt number.”3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
Card Number Versus A-Number
The card number and the A-Number are not the same thing, and this is where most people get tripped up. The A-Number, or Alien Registration Number, is a unique identifier assigned by the Department of Homeland Security that stays with you for life across every application, petition, and proceeding.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number On current cards, it appears on the front labeled “USCIS#” as a nine-digit number; shorter A-Numbers are zero-padded to fit that format.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Number
The 13-character card number only identifies the physical document. Lose your card, get a replacement, and the new card comes with the same A-Number but a new card number. When a form asks for one, check which one before you write anything down. Putting the wrong identifier in the wrong field can stall or reject an application.
What the 13 Characters Mean
The receipt number isn’t random. Each segment records something about how the case was processed.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number
- The first three letters identify the USCIS office that handled the case. Common codes include LIN (Lincoln, Nebraska), SRC (Texas Service Center), WAC (Western Adjudication Center, California), and EAC (Eastern Adjudication Center, Vermont).
- The next two digits are the federal fiscal year the case was opened. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 through September 30, so a case opened in November 2025 falls in fiscal year 2026.6USAGov. The Federal Budget Process
- The next three digits mark the computer workday the case was logged in and the filing fee was collected.
- The final five digits are a sequential number for that specific case on that workday.
Newer Prefixes
If your prefix doesn’t match the four above, you probably filed more recently. MSC and NBC both refer to the National Benefits Center. IOE means the case was filed electronically through the USCIS online filing system, and IOE numbers are becoming more common as more form types move online.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number
When You’ll Actually Need This Number
Two situations account for most of the times a permanent resident types out this 13-character string.
The first is Form I-9. When you start a new job, your employer must confirm your identity and work authorization, and a green card is a List A document that does both on its own.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents The employer records the document number from the card. Mistakes here can cost the employer during an audit, so it’s worth checking that the characters were copied correctly.
The second is checking case status online. Enter the 13-character receipt number at egov.uscis.gov to see the latest action on a pending case and any next steps.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Status Online Omit any dashes when entering it, but keep asterisks or other characters that appear on your notice.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online This is how most people track a renewal, replacement, or removal of conditions.
If Your Card Is Lost, Stolen, or Expired
You can still document your status without the physical card. USCIS can place an I-551 stamp in your foreign passport that serves as temporary proof of permanent resident status for up to one year, and it works for employment verification, international travel, and other agencies asking for proof.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary I-551 Stamps and MRIVs Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 to ask for a stamped Form I-94 by mail, or schedule an in-person appointment through the “My Appointment” portal at my.uscis.gov. For an in-person visit, bring your valid foreign passport, your expired card if you still have it, the Form I-797 receipt notice for your pending I-90 or I-751, and a government-issued photo ID. The stamp can be extended if your new card hasn’t arrived by the time it expires.
One boundary worth flagging: an expired green card does not end your lawful permanent resident status. But employers can’t accept it for I-9, airlines may refuse to board you, and CBP can send you to secondary inspection. If your card has expired and you don’t have the stamp yet, deal with it before you travel or start a new job.