What your receipt issued by USCIS means?
The USCIS receipts and their numbers can be quite confusing for many. As such we have written this quick guide how it works.
Whenever you file any petition or application to USCIS, you will receive a receipt notice form usually form I 797 A/B/C and so on. It’s very confusing because sometimes it shows I 797 A, other times I 797 B or I797C.
Here are the actual form by name and a simple explanation what they mean:
I-797, Notice of Action Issued when an application or petition is approved (e.g.
Family based petition approvals)
I-797A, Notice of Action Issued to an applicant as a replacement Form I-94 (e.g. H1b
Extension approval)
I-797B, Notice of Action Issued for approval of an alien worker petition without I 94
attached (e.g. H1B Petition approval)
I-797C, Notice of Action The application/petition is still pending and Issued to
Communicate receipt of payments, rejection of
Applications, transfer of files, fingerprint biometric,
Interview and re-scheduled appointments, and re-open
Cases.
I-797D Accompanies benefit cards.
I-797E, Notice of Action Issued to request evidence.
I-797F, Transportation Letter Issued overseas to allow applicants to travel.
I-797A is issued only to people who are currently in USA and who are undergoing a change /extension of status (F1 to H1, H1-H1) etc. It usually means that you can continue your pending status and you are able to remain in United States.
If you have received an I-797B, (without I 94 attached) this means that the petition is approved, but the COS/Extension of Stay is not approved. In such a a case, you might have to go back to your home country to get your visa stamped, and then re-enter the US. Note that if you have a valid stamp on your passport, you might not need to go for visa stamping. We recommend talking to a lawyer before leaving because you might be subject to unlawful presence. Call us at 510 742587 for help.
Moreover if you have applied for an H1B while outside the U.S.A, then USCIS would issue a I-797B form.
You can stay in the country until the date written on your most recent I-94. The date on the I-94 is what determines the expiration of your stay in the US.
I 797C is a copy of the approved petition. This is usually given to the employers just for their reference file. Hence, forms I-797A or I-797B are given to applicants, while I-797C is send to the employers.
I 797C is also issued to communicate receipt of payments, rejection of applications, transfer of files, fingerprints, biometrics, interviews, in case of re-scheduled appointments, and when you re-open a case.
What does the first three alphabet letters in front of the receipt means?
The receipt numbers comprises generally of 4 parts. First part starts with 3 letters followed by 10 digits numbers. For example receipt no. WAC-16-145-52525.
Part 1: WAC
The First 3 letters indicates the various service centers. The codes area as follows:
– EAC – Vermont Service Center;
– WAC – California Service Center;
– LIN – Nebraska Service Center;
– SRC – Texas Service Center;
– MSC -Missouri Service Center (National Benefits Center);
– NBC – National Benefits Center; and
– IOE – ELIS (e-Filing).
Part 2: 16
The 2 digits indicates the fiscal year in which application is submitted.
USCIS Fiscal Year (FY) runs between October 1 to September 30 of next year.
Example FY 2016 – October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016
Part 3: 145
Refers to number of working days from October 1st of that Fiscal Year.
Part 4: 52525
Last 5 digit always starts with 5
The last four digits shows the number of applications received on that particular day.
In this example of the receipt no. WAC-16-145-52525 means that the case is being processed in California Service Center on the 145th working day of the fiscal year 2016
( starting from 1st Oct 2015 to 30th Sept 2016) and this was the 2525th application of that particular day.
The above short article is just to clarify how the USCIS receipt system works. Often times applicants are confused about why the receipts differ.
Should you need help, please call us at 510 7425887.
