EAD Card Status: How to Check It, What Each USCIS Status Means, and When the Card Arrives

Find the right receipt number for your EAD

Every EAD comes from Form I-765, so the receipt number you need is the one on the I-797C Notice of Action for that form. It is 13 characters: three letters followed by ten digits. Online filings and most paper filings now start with IOE; older paper receipts start with EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, MSC or NBC. The letters tell you where USCIS logged the case, not how fast it will move.

People waiting on several applications at once, for example an I-485 with an I-765 and an I-131, or an H-4 I-539 with an I-765, often check the wrong receipt. Match the form number printed on the notice to the application you care about. An approval on the I-485 or I-539 does not mean the I-765 is approved.

If the I-765 receipt notice never arrived, check your USCIS online account for the case, look at the bank or card statement for the fee payment reference, or call the USCIS Contact Center with the filing details. A separate guide below covers receipt numbers that return no result.

Sources: Check your immigration case status; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

• Receipt number not working? Causes and fixes
• What is a USCIS receipt number

1. Locate the I-797C receipt notice for Form I-765.
2. Confirm the form number and your name on the notice.
3. Copy the 13-character receipt number without spaces or dashes.
4. Enter it at USCIS Case Status Online, or open the case in your USCIS account.

EAD status messages in order, and what each one means

USCIS case status uses short public messages. They are the same for every I-765 category, whether the EAD is for OPT (c)(3), an H-4 spouse (c)(26), a pending adjustment of status (c)(9), asylum (c)(8) or TPS (a)(12). The table lists them in the order most cases follow, with the practical meaning of each.

Sources: Check your immigration case status; Employment Authorization Document

How long each stage takes

The wait from receipt to approval depends on the category and the service center. USCIS publishes the figure in its processing-times tool: pick Form I-765, then the category that matches your eligibility code, and the tool shows the time within which most recent cases were completed. The number is a description of finished cases, not a promise about yours.

The stages after approval are more predictable. Card production usually takes a few business days, mailing is by USPS Priority Mail with tracking, and delivery normally lands within one to three weeks of the approval message. A card that has not arrived 30 days after "Card Was Mailed" is the trigger for a nondelivery request.

For OPT and STEM OPT applicants the receipt-to-approval wait is the part that matters most, because the requested start date and the 90-day unemployment clock depend on it. The processing-time guides linked below track those figures month by month from reported cases.

Sources: Check Case Processing Times; USCIS Expands myProgress to Form I-765 and Form I-131

• OPT EAD processing time 2026, updated monthly
• STEM OPT processing time 2026
• H-4 EAD case tracking

Three ways to track an EAD, and what each one adds

USCIS Case Status Online is the public tool: enter the receipt number and read the current message. It needs no account and works for any receipt. It shows only the latest message, so it is easy to miss a step if you do not check daily.

A USCIS online account adds the case history, the USPS tracking number once the card is mailed, myProgress estimates for I-765 cases filed online, and the ability to update your address and respond to RFEs. If you filed on paper, you can still link the case to an account with the online access code on the receipt notice.

A tracker such as TrackMyOPT stores the receipt, checks USCIS for you and sends an email when the message changes. The free plan keeps the receipt and lets you refresh on demand; Pro checks daily. It never replaces the USCIS notice, which remains the only official record of the decision.

Sources: Check your immigration case status; USCIS Expands myProgress to Form I-765 and Form I-131

• USCIS case status tracking guide
• How TrackMyOPT case tracking works

• Case Status Online: fastest, no account, latest message only.
• USCIS online account: history, USPS tracking, address changes, RFE responses, myProgress.
• TrackMyOPT: alerts on change, one place for several receipts, OPT unemployment-day counting alongside the status.

Card late, lost, returned or wrong: what to do

A card that shows "Card Was Mailed" but has not arrived after 30 days qualifies for a nondelivery request through USCIS e-Request. Before filing it, check the USPS tracking number in your USCIS account and your Informed Delivery scans, and confirm that the mailing address USCIS has is the one you live at. A card returned to USCIS as undeliverable is reissued only after the address is corrected.

A card that arrives with a wrong name, date of birth, category or validity date should be reported promptly. If the error was USCIS’s, there is no fee for the replacement; if it came from the application, a new I-765 with fee is usually required. Do not start work on a card whose dates or category do not match your approval notice without asking USCIS or counsel first.

A lost or stolen card means a replacement I-765 with fee, and the old card number is cancelled. Keep a scan of the front and back of every EAD as soon as it arrives; the card number and dates are needed for I-9 completion, SEVP Portal reporting for OPT, and any later replacement request.

Sources: Case inquiries and nondelivery requests (e-Request); USPS Informed Delivery; Employment Authorization Document

• EAD lost, stolen, incorrect or never delivered
• Changing address while an OPT case is pending

1. Check USPS tracking and Informed Delivery.
2. Confirm the address on file in your USCIS account.
3. File a nondelivery e-Request 30 days after "Card Was Mailed".
4. For errors or loss, file the appropriate replacement request and keep the notices.

Can you work while the EAD status is still pending?

For a first EAD, no: employment authorization begins on the start date printed on the card, and a receipt or an approval message is not a work document for Form I-9. OPT applicants in particular cannot start before the EAD start date even if the status says approved.

For a renewal, the answer changed in 2025. The automatic extension of an expiring EAD while a timely renewal is pending was ended for most categories for renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025, with limited exceptions. If your renewal falls under that rule, the pending status does not keep you authorized past the expiry on the old card, and your employer’s I-9 team will need the new card. Ask counsel which rule applies to your filing date and category.

STEM OPT applicants are the main exception that still helps: a timely filed STEM extension gives up to 180 days of continued authorization while the I-765 is pending, under the F-1 regulations rather than the general renewal rule.

Sources: 8 CFR 274a.13: Employment authorization renewals; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

• Can you start work before the OPT EAD arrives?
• STEM OPT 180-day automatic extension explained

Example: Daniel’s status says approved but the start date is Monday

Fictional example: Daniel’s OPT I-765 shows "Case Was Approved" on Wednesday. His employer wants him to start on Monday. He has no card and no "Card Was Mailed" message.

Daniel tells the employer the truth: the approval exists, the card does not, and OPT work cannot begin before the EAD start date on the card. He checks his USCIS account each morning, sees "Card Was Mailed" on Friday with a USPS tracking number, and the card arrives the following Thursday. He starts the next day, completes the I-9 with the card, and reports the employer in the SEVP Portal.

The useful habit is the one Daniel used: read the status for what it says, not for what you hope it implies, and keep the employer informed with the actual message and date.