To check your immigration court case status, enter your 9-digit A-Number (Alien Registration Number) and your country of citizenship in the tool above. In seconds you will see your next hearing date and time, the hearing type, your immigration judge, the court location, and your case clock. Your A-Number is printed on your Notice to Appear and on every notice the court mails you. It takes about a minute, and no account or personal contact information is required. People also call this an EOIR case lookup, an immigration court case search, or a case tracker — it all means the same thing: a fast way to check your case status online, with no login.
How do I check my case status with my A-Number?
Your immigration court case is tied to your 9-digit A-Number (Alien Registration Number), so that is how you check your EOIR case status — not by name. Enter only the 9 digits in the tool above, leaving out the "A" and any dashes, and select your country of citizenship. You will see your next hearing date and time, hearing type, judge, court, and case clock. Your A-Number is printed on your Notice to Appear and every court notice, and no account, login, or payment is needed to look it up online.
Let us help: if you cannot find your A-Number or are not sure it is correct, call Vasquez Law Firm at 1-844-967-3536.
What is the immigration court case clock, and why does it matter?
The immigration court case clock counts the days your case has been pending and, for asylum seekers, tracks the time that counts toward a work permit. You generally need 180 days of qualifying clock time before you can be approved for employment authorization, and you can file Form I-765 once 150 days have accrued. The clock runs while the court controls the pace of your case, but it stops if you request a continuance or a delay is attributed to you. While stopped, those days do not count toward the 180-day threshold, which can push back your work permit. Use our free asylum clock calculator to estimate where your own 180-day work-permit clock stands.
Let us help: if your clock is stopped and you do not know why, we can review the record and request a correction when it stopped in error. Call Vasquez Law Firm at 1-844-967-3536.
What is the difference between a Master Calendar and an Individual hearing?
A Master Calendar hearing is a short, preliminary appearance where the judge confirms who you are, reviews the charges, and sets deadlines and future dates. An Individual hearing, also called a merits hearing, is your full trial: you present evidence and testimony, witnesses may be called, and the judge decides whether you can stay. The table below shows how the two compare.
| Comparison | Master Calendar hearing | Individual (merits) hearing |
|---|
| Purpose | Scheduling, charges, and how you plan to respond | Your full trial on the merits of your case |
|---|
| Length | A few minutes | Often several hours |
|---|
| Who is there | Many people scheduled the same morning | Just your case, sometimes with witnesses |
|---|
| What you do | Answer the judge and confirm dates | Present your evidence and testimony |
|---|
Let us help: try to have a lawyer before your Master Calendar hearing, not just before the Individual hearing. Early decisions shape the whole case.
How do I find my immigration judge?
To find your immigration judge, check your hearing notice or Notice to Appear (Form I-862), which lists your assigned court, or enter your 9-digit A-Number in the tool above. The lookup shows your judge's name along with your next hearing date, time, and court location. Knowing your judge ahead of time lets you and your attorney prepare for how that judge runs hearings and what they expect from your case. You can also browse judge rosters and asylum-decision statistics for any U.S. immigration court — including Chicago, Dallas, Newark, and New York — in our free EOIR immigration court directory.
Let us help: we appear before immigration judges across North Carolina and Florida and can prepare you for yours. Call 1-844-967-3536.
What does the hearing "medium" (in person vs. video) mean?
The medium on your notice is how your hearing happens. In person means you go to the courtroom. Video means you appear by video teleconference, sometimes through a WebEx link the court provides. The medium can change, and the court mails a new notice when it does. Going to the wrong place, or failing to join a video hearing, is treated the same as not showing up at all.
Let us help: confirm the medium and location on your most recent notice, and test any video link the day before.
What should I do after I check my case status?
After you check your status, compare the hearing date, time, court, and medium against your official paper notice, and gather your documents early. Treat what you see here as a starting point, not the final word. Immigration court is adversarial, with a government lawyer arguing for your removal, and represented people are far more likely to win relief. If you do not yet have an attorney, get a free evaluation before your next hearing, especially before your Master Calendar hearing.
Let us help: if your hearing is close, your clock is stopped, or you are unsure of any detail, call us now rather than waiting.
Is my case in immigration court, or with USCIS?
These are two separate government systems, and that is what decides where you check your case. If you received a Notice to Appear and have a hearing date before a judge, your case is in immigration court (EOIR) — check it with your 9-digit A-Number in the tool above. If instead you filed an application or petition with USCIS — a family petition (I-130), an adjustment of status (I-485), a work permit (I-765), or citizenship (N-400) — that case lives with USCIS and is checked with the 13-character receipt number on your Form I-797, not your A-Number. You can check your USCIS case status with your receipt number or see current USCIS processing times. It is possible to have an open case in both systems at the same time.
If you have one in each system: a decision in one can affect the other. Call us at 1-844-967-3536 before responding to either one.
