How To Check the Status of Your U.S. Citizenship Application

In a Nutshell

After submitting Form N-400 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), your next step will be waiting for updates on your citizenship application. You may check your U.S. citizenship application status in four ways — online, by phone, by mail, or in person. This article explains how to do each.

Written by Jonathan Petts
Updated October 19, 2022


How To Check Your U.S. Citizenship Application Status Online

USCIS.gov is the quickest and easiest way to find updates about your case status. USCIS.gov is an official website of the United States government. Here, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has two online tools to check your status. You can either use the case status online tracker or log in to your MyUSCIS account to check online.

Before you use the USCIS case status online tracker, you’ll first need to find your USCIS receipt number. Your receipt number is a unique code that USCIS sends to you each time you file official forms with them. After USCIS accepts your Form N-400: Application for Naturalization, it will send you a letter. You can find your Receipt Number in this letter. The code contains three letters and 10 numbers.

Once you’ve found your receipt number, open the case status online tracker webpage. Now, you may enter your receipt number. When you enter the receipt number, leave out any dashes or hyphens (-). However, be sure to include all other special characters such as asterisks (*). Next, you may click the button that says “Check Status.”

Landing page for USCIS's case status online tracker

To access additional information about your case, you should check your MyUSCIS account. You will already have a MyUSCIS account if you applied for citizenship online. If you applied by mail, you should create a new account. Once you enter your account, go to the dropdown menu and select your U.S. citizenship application. Here, you will find the latest information about your case. You will also find USCIS’s estimated processing time for your case. The online portal also includes copies of any official notices that USCIS has sent to you.

How To Check Your U.S. Citizenship Application Status By Phone

You can check the status of your application by phone, but be aware that you may have to wait for a while. USCIS’s phone lines can be very busy, so it recommends that you check your status on USCIS.gov before trying to call.

You can reach the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment, you can call TTY 1-800-767-1833 instead for special accommodation.

When you call USCIS to check your status, you’ll need to provide the following information: 

Make sure to have this information available before you make the call.

How To Check Your U.S. Citizenship Application Status By Mail

You can also check your citizenship case status by mail. You must provide U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a reliable mailing address. USCIS sends their mailings to the address you provided on Form N-400. Alternatively, they may send mailings to the address listed on your MyUSCIS account. USCIS will select the most recently updated mailing address of the two. 

Be sure to regularly check your mailbox. USCIS will automatically mail you all official status notifications. You may update your mailing address by logging into your MyUSCIS account. Here, you can change your mailing or contact information. If you don’t have a MyUSCIS account, you can also update your address by filing the online change of address form.

How To Check Your U.S. Citizenship Application Status in Person

In the past, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held appointments allowing citizenship applicants to check their case status in person at a USCIS office. However, USCIS has discontinued these appointments.

Currently, USCIS only schedules in-person appointments for applicants whose requests can’t be provided online, by phone, or by email. The following are examples of these special eligibility requirements for in-person appointments:

  • You are a citizenship applicant requiring proof of your immigration status. You need help accessing your green card immigration benefits. These may include travel or employment authorization.

  • You are a temporary visitor who must show “satisfactory departure.” This occurs when your period of lawful stay is about to expire.

  • You need to get emergency travel documents.

If you find yourself in one of the above situations, you may schedule an in-person appointment. Call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283. If you require special accommodations, you should call TTY 1-800-767-1833 instead.