You can usually find an assigned USCIS Online Account Number in your online account profile or at the top of a USCIS Account Access Notice. It is different from your A-number, case receipt number, and the online access code used to connect a paper-filed case. Use the identifier requested by the form rather than substituting whichever immigration number is easiest to locate. [1][2]
Look in the account profile
Sign in through the official USCIS account service and open the profile information. USCIS form instructions identify the profile as the location for the Online Account Number. The number identifies the account; a receipt number identifies a particular filing. A person with multiple filings should not assume that each case receipt is a new account number. [1]
If a representative filed a case, make sure you are looking for your own requested identifier rather than the representative’s account information. Review the exact form field and instructions before entering a number.
Check the paper Account Access Notice
USCIS may create an online account connection for a paper-filed case and send an Account Access Notice. The notice can identify the Online Account Number and provide an access code. The code is used for linking eligible cases; it should not be entered into a field asking for the account number. [1][2]
USCIS outreach instructions explain that adding a paper-filed case can require the receipt number, access code, and date of birth. Keep the notice securely because the information can help someone access case records. [2]
What if you cannot sign in?
Use USCIS’s account-help process for technical or account-access problems. The agency says that this channel does not answer unrelated case questions and asks users not to submit duplicate inquiries. If you previously filed online, the account inbox can provide a separate case-contact route when accessible. [3]
Do not create a guessed account number or reuse another person’s identifier. If a form says “if any,” follow its instructions when no number was assigned or cannot be identified. An Online Account Number is not proof that the underlying immigration benefit was approved.
Keep the identifiers organized
- Account number: the online account identifier.
- Receipt number: the particular case or filing.
- A-number: the separate alien-registration identifier, if assigned.
- Access code: information for linking an eligible case.
Compare Form I-797 notices and Form I-130 filing records when organizing a complete immigration file.
Primary sources
- USCIS: Form I407 Instructions, Online Account Number
- USCIS: Adding paper-filed cases to an online account
- USCIS: Online Account Help
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.