how do i use my IME number to unlock iphone given by friend in the USA

IMEI has not much to do with SIM unlock

If your friend bought a phone which is locked to a carrier - you have to contact the carrier

How to unlock your iPhone for use with another carrier - Apple Support

Hi

The IME number has nothing to do with a locked iPhone .

If iphone his still locked to your friends apple ID ask him to go to find my iPhone on an apple device he owns

Top left hand corner device list remove iPhone he gave you from the list .

Then you need to restore iphone back to factory settings & set up with your apple ID .

Cheers

Brian

natureswisdom wrote:

how do i use my IME number to unlock iphone given by friend in the USA.

Just to be clear, it isn't clear if you mean a SIM lock that locks the phone to a carrier, or Activation Lock, which locks it to an Apple ID and is a theft deterrent. So you got answers to both types of lock.

What if I can't get ahold of original owner

Chronic21 wrote:

What if I can't get ahold of original owner

If you mean the user that enabled Activation Lock, there is no way that you can use the phone if you cannot get in contact with the original owner.

how do i use my IME number to unlock iphone given by friend in the USA

You don't. You cannot unlock using the IMEI. The ONLY way to unlock it is with the Apple ID and password used to lock it. If you don't have those the phone will never be usable.