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I-797 Notice of Action: definition, receipt vs approval

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Form I-797: what this USCIS notice is, letters C, B, E

Form I-797: definition

Key answer

The I-797 (Notice of Action) is the USCIS notice about an action on your case. The first I-797 arrives when the petition is received and carries the receipt number; the I-797 approval notice confirms the decision and shows your priority date. An approval alone does not open the border - you still need a visa.

The receipt notice carries the case number of three letters plus digits - you use it to track status in the USCIS tracker. Keep every I-797: they contain deadlines and instructions, and any USCIS inquiry needs the receipt number, petition type and notice dates.

For EB-1 and EB-2 the priority date is stated on the I-797 approving the I-140 - that is the date you compare with the visa bulletin. An approved petition (I-797) does not replace a visa: if you changed status inside the US, you must get the visa at a consulate on your first trip out.

Form I-797: the official source

Form I-797: what to do - tools

Form I-797: read next

Form I-797: documents and templates from the library

Form I-797: from community discussions

  • «The first time I filed with premium and got denied. We refiled the case without premium and got approved in about 2 weeks. No RFE.»

    community member · from public community chats

  • «Formally, the consul's job is to physically verify that you're a sane person, that the biography in the petition really is yours, and that you're telling the State Department the truth.»

    community member · from public community chats

  • «Judging won't carry much weight, of course. But for EB2 there are no strict evaluation criteria for the prong, so for good measure I think it'd fit. I wouldn't specifically arrange judging for EB2 NIW, of course. But if you already have it, then why not?»

    Mikhail · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

Form I-797: related terms

All glossary terms

A reference definition, not legal advice. Requirements and procedures depend on your case - verify on uscis.gov.

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