USCIS Number: What It Is and Where to Find It

Your USCIS Number is the digits of your Alien Registration Number (A-Number) without the letter “A” in front. So if your A-Number is A012345678, your USCIS Number is 012345678. You’ll see it printed as “USCIS#” on the front of your green card and Employment Authorization Document, and it also appears on approval notices and other paperwork from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.¹

What the Number Is

The A-Number is a unique identifier the Department of Homeland Security assigns to noncitizens in the immigration system.² It stays with you across every filing, every renewal, and every interaction with immigration agencies. A receipt number tracks one application. Your A-Number tracks you.

The format is the letter “A” followed by eight or nine digits. If yours has only eight digits, add a zero between the “A” and the first digit when a form asks for it, so A12345678 becomes A012345678.³ When a document or field is labeled “USCIS Number” or “USCIS#,” it wants those same digits without the “A.”

Where to Find It

Once you’ve been assigned an A-Number, it shows up on most immigration documents USCIS or the State Department gives you. Check these first:

Your Permanent Resident Card (green card), on the front, labeled “USCIS#.” The digits shown are your A-Number without the “A.”¹
Your Employment Authorization Document (EAD), also on the front, under “USCIS#.”
Form I-797, Notice of Action, the receipt and approval notices USCIS mails for applications and petitions.⁴
The immigrant visa foil in your passport, if you went through consular processing. It appears there as the “Registration Number.”³
Your asylum or refugee grant letter.
Orders from an immigration judge, including removal or deportation orders.

Older paper Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Records sometimes carried an A-Number, but the electronic I-94 you retrieve from the CBP website usually does not display one.

If You Can’t Find It

Documents get lost, stolen, or destroyed. You have a few ways to recover the number.

Call the USCIS Contact Center

The Contact Center is 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).⁵ Have your full name, date of birth, and any receipt numbers you still have ready so the representative can verify your identity and look up your A-Number.

Check Your USCIS Online Account

If you’ve ever created an account at uscis.gov, your case history and any electronically filed forms are linked to your profile and often show the A-Number.⁶

Submit a FOIA Request

When nothing else works, you can request copies of your own immigration records through the Freedom of Information Act or the Privacy Act. As of January 2026, USCIS requires FOIA requests to be submitted online at first.uscis.gov after creating a USCIS account.⁷ Be specific about which documents you need, and file a separate request for each person if you’re seeking records for family members. FOIA is the slowest option, but it produces official copies.

Don’t Confuse It With the USCIS Online Account Number

Two different numbers carry “USCIS” in the name, and they aren’t the same thing.

Your USCIS Number is a permanent identifier tied to your immigration record. It shows up on physical documents like your green card and EAD, and it stays with you for life.¹

Your USCIS Online Account Number is a 12-digit number assigned when you create an account on the USCIS website. It exists only to manage your online profile and link your electronic filings, and it doesn’t appear on any physical immigration document. Newer USCIS forms include a field for it near the top, next to the A-Number field. If you don’t have an online account, leave it blank.

When a form or an employer asks for your “USCIS Number,” they almost always mean the A-Number digits. The online account number matters only when a form asks for it by name.

Who Actually Has One

Not every foreign visitor gets an A-Number. It’s assigned when you enter the immigration benefits system or come to the attention of immigration enforcement. That typically includes:

People applying for permanent residence through family, employment, the diversity visa lottery, or a special immigrant category.
Refugees granted status overseas and people granted asylum in the United States.
Anyone who received an immigrant visa through a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.³
Some nonimmigrant visa holders who later apply for employment authorization or adjustment of status.
People in removal proceedings.

If you’ve never applied for an immigration benefit and haven’t been in enforcement proceedings, you probably don’t have one. On a USCIS form that asks for it, leave the field blank or write “N/A” if the instructions say to.

Keep It Private

USCIS treats the A-Number as personally identifiable information because it can be used to identify you and reach your immigration history.⁸ Handle it the way you’d handle a Social Security number:

Don’t post it on social media or send it in unsecured emails.
Store the documents that display it somewhere locked.
Be wary of unsolicited calls or emails asking for it. USCIS does not request sensitive information by email.
When you have to share copies of immigration documents for a purpose that doesn’t require the number, redact it.

Someone with your A-Number and a few other personal details could impersonate you in immigration filings or use the number for identity fraud. If you think yours has been compromised, report it to the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283.⁵

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. SAVE Tutorial
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigrant Fee Payment – Tips on Finding Your A-Number and DOS Case ID
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 – Types and Functions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Create a USCIS Online Account
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request Records Through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Privacy and Confidentiality