What does EAC mean on my USCIS receipt?

EAC is the prefix for the Vermont Service Center. USCIS's Congressional Inquiries guide says it comes from the center's old names, the Eastern Adjudication Center and the Eastern Service Center.

Is Vermont the only center for T visas?

On USCIS's chart (last updated Oct 11, 2024), yes: the I-914 is listed only at Vermont. Nationally, I-914s took a median of 31.2 months in April to June 2026, with 122,593 pending.

Who decides my U visa petition?

USCIS's HART FAQ (accurate as of Aug 1, 2024) says the HART Service Center makes all U bona fide determinations. If HART does not grant one, the case goes to Vermont or Nebraska for review for the waiting list.

How do I contact USCIS about a VAWA, T or U case at Vermont?

USCIS's Contact Us page says to call the Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833), which verifies your identity first. USCIS uses separate channels for these protected cases.

Does Vermont handle TN and E-3 petitions?

Yes, on USCIS's current chart Vermont is the only center listed for I-129 petitions for TN, E-3 and H-1B1 workers. It also is the only one that decides P-1A petitions for major league sports.

How long does the Vermont Service Center take?

USCIS's quarterly data has no per-center times. The national medians in April to June 2026 were 31.2 months for the I-914 and 15.2 months for the I-918. For the current range, use the USCIS processing times page.

Vermont Service Center (EAC): Forms, Times, Contacts

What the Vermont Service Center handles

Vermont is one of the five service centers in the USCIS Service Center Operations Directorate, which serves people whose cases do not need an interview. The directorate’s product lines include humanitarian cases such as victims of abuse, crimes and trafficking (USCIS, SCOPS). Like all service centers, it has no public counter (USCIS glossary).

USCIS’s forms chart was last updated on Oct 11, 2024, and USCIS says it changes with workload (Service Center Forms Processing). Vermont stands out for how many forms it handles alone:

What the chart shows	Forms
Vermont is the only center listed	I-914 (T visa), I-929 (family of a U-1), I-765V (work permit for abused nonimmigrant spouses)
Only center for these I-129 petitions	TN, E-3, H-1B1; only Vermont decides P-1A petitions for major league sports
Shared with Nebraska	I-918 (U visa), I-192, I-212
Shared with California	O, P, Q, H-2B and H-3 petitions; I-612; K-1/K-2 I-129F, marked “AWA only” for Vermont
Shared with two or more	I-360, I-601, I-821D, I-485, H-1B petitions

Vermont also appears with the other four centers for the I-130, I-131, I-290B, I-539, I-751, I-765 and K-3/K-4 I-129F. It is not listed for the I-140, I-601A, I-730 or I-90.

Vermont and the HART Service Center

USCIS opened a sixth center, HART, which it said would become fully virtual. Its first workloads included the I-601A, I-918 bona fide determinations, the I-730 and VAWA I-360s (HART notice, PDF). Vermont stays in the chain:

VAWA I-360s. Nebraska receipts them, ships them to Vermont for preparation, and Vermont sends them to HART (HART FAQ, accurate as of Aug 1, 2024).
U visas. HART makes all bona fide determinations. If it does not grant one, the case goes to Vermont or Nebraska for review for the waiting list.
Address changes. The HART notice says changes of address for VAWA I-360s and for I-918 bona fide determination cases go to Vermont.

How to know if your case is at Vermont

Your receipt number is on the notices USCIS sends you. It has 13 characters: three letters and ten numbers (USCIS, checking your case status online). USCIS’s Congressional Inquiries guide says the letters show where USCIS first received the case, and that EAC is the Vermont Service Center, formerly the Eastern Adjudication Center and the Eastern Service Center (USCIS guide, PDF).

An EAC receipt can end up elsewhere. USCIS sends a transfer notice when it moves a case, and the receipt number does not change (Workload Transfer Updates, archived). The 2020 moves on that page included, from Vermont, part of the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap petitions (to Nebraska and Texas), U-based I-485s and I-539s (to Nebraska) and I-751s (to Potomac). Going the other way, California sent O and P petitions to Vermont, so a WAC receipt can be at Vermont.

Prefix	Where the case began	Our page
EAC	Vermont Service Center	This page
LIN	Nebraska Service Center	Nebraska
SRC	Texas Service Center	Texas
WAC	California Service Center	California
YSC	Potomac Service Center	Potomac
NBC, MSC	National Benefits Center	National Benefits Center

Prefixes as listed in the USCIS Congressional Inquiries guide. A receipt that starts with IOE was filed online and does not tell you the center.

Processing times: what you can and cannot get

USCIS’s quarterly data gives national medians only. We have no Vermont figure and do not estimate one. The current range for each form at Vermont is on the USCIS processing times page.

Form	National median (Apr–Jun 2026)	Pending nationally	Details
I-914 (T visa)	31.2 months	122,593
I-918 (U visa)	15.2 months	480,114	U visa times
I-929	26 months	2,265
I-360	6.4 months	311,184
I-129, all classifications	9.5 months	192,712	I-129 times
I-821D (DACA)	4.1 months	228,969	DACA renewal

Source: USCIS, All Forms by Quarter, FY2026 Q3. The I-360 figure covers every I-360 category, not only VAWA. Medians count cases finished at every office that handles the form.

Work permits tied to these cases are counted separately. In April to June 2026, USCIS had 56,009 initial I-765s pending for people granted U-1 status and 6,121 for people granted T-1 status (USCIS, I-765 by category, FY2026 Q3). See I-765 processing time.

If your Vermont case is slow

Check your case inquiry date on the processing times page: pick your form and the Vermont Service Center, and enter your receipt date.
Use the right channel. For most cases, send a case inquiry through e-Request. USCIS’s Policy Manual says protected cases (VAWA, T, U and I-765V) use different channels (Policy Manual, service requests). USCIS’s Contact Us page tells VAWA, T and U callers to use 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833), where it verifies identity first (Contact Us).
Know the response time. USCIS says a service center should answer a service request within 30 days, or 15 days for an expedite. If it does not, call the Contact Center again to elevate it.
Expedite. USCIS looks at reasons such as an emergency or urgent humanitarian situation, severe financial loss or a clear USCIS error, case by case and at its discretion (expedite requests).
Congress. Your representative or senators can ask USCIS about your case. USCIS answers them only if you gave the member a privacy release (USCIS Policy Manual).
CIS Ombudsman. An independent DHS office. For a delay alone, it needs a case inquiry to USCIS in the last 90 days, at least 60 days of waiting, and a case inquiry date that has passed (CIS Ombudsman).

The YourCaseStatus app (coming soon) will alert you when your status changes. Our status index explains each message in case status online.

Mailing addresses

Filing addresses for T, U and VAWA cases are form-specific, and USCIS changes them, so we point to the official pages rather than copy them:

I-914, I-918, I-929 and I-765V: “Where to File” on the form page.
I-129 addresses and I-360 addresses.
I-612: “Where to File” on the form page.

The other centers

Nebraska (LIN) shares U visas, the I-192 and the I-212 with Vermont.
California (WAC) shares O, P, Q and H-2B petitions.
Texas (SRC) and Potomac (YSC) are not listed for T or U cases.
The National Benefits Center (NBC, MSC) is not a service center, but processes NBC and MSC receipts.

For every form, see the processing times hub.

Vermont Service Center