How to Check the Status of a Pending Immigration Application or Case

If you have filed an immigration application and would like to check the status of your application or approximately how much time it will take, there are several tools that you can use.  These tools are only estimates, and do not always reflect what is currently going on.

If you have an attorney who filed your application with immigration, then please contact your attorney for updates, do not contact the agencies directly without your attorney's knowledge.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS)

In order to check processing times, once you get the receipt notice, you can check here: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ to get an idea of approximately how long your application will be pending before you receive an interview or a decision.

You will need the form type and the office where it is pending (see the receipt notice).

To check where your case is specifically, you can check here (again, you will need the receipt notice): https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do

 You can call the USCIS Customer service number at 1-800-375-5283. You will need your complete name and receipt number to call. If there is a different phone number on your receipt notice, call that number instead of the one listed above.

Immigration Court

If you have a pending Immigration Court case, the best way to check when and where your next court hearing is by calling and following prompts: 1-800-898-7180. You will need your Alien Registration number (A number) to call this line.

If you have a specific question about your case and would like to speak to a court clerk you can find the court phone number on the following website after clicking on your specific court: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-immigration-court-listing

Please be sure to have your Alien Registration number (A number). If you have an attorney, then the clerk will not be able to talk to you and direct you to contact your attorney. 

Pending asylum application (not in front of the Immigration Court)

Asylum applications (form I-589) are considered confidential, and the tools for US CIS will not work with these receipts. All of these applications (affirmative asylum) are handled by the San Francisco Asylum Office (SFAO).

You can check here to see the order in which the applications are being set for interviews: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum/affirmative-asylum-interview-scheduling

If you need to contact the office, you will need to contact them by mail.  Be sure to include your Alien registration number (A number) and I-589 receipt number in all correspondence.  The current address of that office will be on your receipt notice for the I-589.

If you have an attorney, please contact your attorney who may have another way of reaching that office. 

Vermont Service Center (VSC)

If you filed an application to VSC directly (example: U visa, T visa, I-360 as a battered spouse), this is also considered a confidential application and the US CIS tools will not work for you. Any inquiries should be sent through the mail, and please note your Alien registration number (A number) and receipt number.  The address to mail it to will be on the receipt notice sent to you.  Again, if you have an attorney, you will not get a response and will be directed to contact your attorney directly.

Address changes

Any time you change your address while you have a pending application or case, it is important to change your address with immigration to make sure you get all of the correspondence.

For applications pending with US CIS, file an AR-11, which can be found here: https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do

 If your pending application is considered confidential (example: asylum or U visa), then you should also mail a copy of the AR-11 you filed online via mail directly to the address where your application is pending as well. 

 If you are in Immigration Court, in addition to an AR-11, you must file a form E-33 directly to the court where you have your case, and a copy must be sent to the government office (see the EOIR website for those addresses). The form can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/list-downloadable-eoir-forms