Visa Status Check – Consular Electronic Application Center US

To check the status of your immigrant petition, visit the USCIS website on ceac.state.gov/iv. You must enter your application receipt number, which is a 13-digit receipt number starting with EAC, WAC, LIN or SRC, followed by numbers. After entering your application receipt number you will be prompted to enter your name, date of birth and last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.

US VISA Petitions

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident sponsors residing in the United States may file Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative , online at https://www.uscis.gov  or, if filing by mail, must file Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative , with the USCIS Chicago, Dallas, or Phoenix Lockbox facility, depending on where you live. Please see the complete list of addresses on the USCIS Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130  page.

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident sponsors residing outside of the United States, including those who are residing in Ghana, may file Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative , online at https://www.uscis.gov  or by mail to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox using one of the following addresses:

USCIS Dallas Lockbox addresses

For U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliveries:

USCIS

Attn: I-130

P.O. Box 650264

Dallas, TX 75265

For FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

USCIS

Attn: I-130

2501 S. State Hwy, 121 Business

Suite 400

Lewisville, TX 75067

For additional information about how to file a Form I-130 with the USCIS Dallas lockbox, please visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov  or contact USCIS by telephone in the U.S. at 1-800-375-5283.

Check my petition status

To check the status of your immigrant petition, visit the USCIS website here.  You must enter your application receipt number, which is a 13-digit receipt number starting with EAC, WAC, LIN or SRC, followed by numbers.

Immigrant visa wait times

Every immigrant visa case is different, so it is difficult to estimate how long the process will take for a specific individual. In general, there are three factors that contribute to the processing time required:

Time required to process a petition

The time it takes for USCIS to approve a petition varies according to the type of petition and the specific USCIS office involved. Estimates for specific USCIS offices are available here .

Time required to process through the National Visa Center and the Consulate

Once a petition is approved, if it is in an immediate relative category or has a current priority date, it is largely up to you how long it takes to get an interview appointment. The more quickly you follow the instructions provided by the National Visa Center (NVC) and submit all requested documents, the sooner an appointment can be scheduled. Appointments are usually scheduled for the month after all documents are submitted. Visas are normally available within a few days of the interview.

Time for case to become current

For certain categories of immigrants, the law allows only a limited number of visas to be issued each year. These cases are processed strictly in order of the date the petition was filed (this is the priority date ). Visas cannot be issued until an applicant’s priority date is reached (the application becomes current ). This could take several years. While it is impossible to say exactly how long it will take, the Visa Bulletin , published monthly, lists the priority dates currently being processed, which may provide an indication of how much time remains.

Note: When the petitioner naturalizes, all F2A petitions (spouse or minor child of a permanent resident) are automatically converted to IR1 (spouse of an American) or IR2 (child of an American) petitions. These visa categories are not subject to the visa quota system and will, therefore, always have visas available for the beneficiaries’ use if they qualify for visa issuance. Contact USCIS  for more information.