H1B EAC Number Status? LIN, WAC, SRC? Understanding H1B Case Number

Some of you may be trying to figure out what the heck is the long 13 digit H1B EAC case number USCIS gives us. What does each part of it stand for and how to decrypt to may be check the approximate processing time for your case.  Here is how the H1B case number looks as in below image :

Location :

First three letters are alphabets and they indicate the location name of the service center where the H1B visa petition was filed.

LIN – Nebraska Service Center (LIN refers to Lincoln, Nebraska).

EAC – Vermont Service Center (old name: Eastern Adjudication Center).

SRC – Texas Service Center (old name: Southern Regional Center).

WAC – California Service Center (old name: Western Adjudication Center).

Year

The two digits correspond to current year. For this year, 2010 it would be 10. If you look at next year for 2011, they would say 11.

Day :

Day indicates the number of the computer work day starting from October 1^st. October 1^st is when the fiscal year starts for H1Bs USCIS. If it was filed on October 1^st, it would be 001. It is a little tricky with this number, computer work day indicates only working days and not weekends. For example, if it is like October 20^th, it would be 16^th working day or something like that…

Case Number

The last 5 digits indicate the case number that was assigned to on a particular day. There is no guarantee that it would start with 0001. Some say it starts with 5.

Read this article on  How to check H1B status online- Approval, RFE ? using the H1B case number . Also, you can go to USCIS website and see the approximate processing times at a particular service center too by selecting the case type and center.

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