Where to find the A-Number
It is the key to everything: the search, the attorney, court. It is probably already in your home.
Updated July 28, 2026
Format
The letter A and nine digits. Sometimes written with dashes or spaces.
Eight digits is fine too: a zero is added at the front. The number is printed on the wristband.
Where to look at home
- Any letter from the immigration court or from USCIS — the agency that issues work permits and green cards
- A work permit, even an expired one
- Fee receipts, copies of old applications
- Papers from an earlier case, if there was one
- The folder of documents kept "just in case"
Found a letter? Photograph it now
All pages. The number is almost certainly there, and paper gets lost.
If there is nothing at home
The number can be asked for on the first call. How to make that call is on a separate page.
The first call →Information updated July 28, 2026. Rules change — check the date.
We are not attorneys and we do not give legal advice. This page has facts and links to official sources only.