Adjustment of Status Package Checklist: Forms, Fees, and Filing

An adjustment of status package is the full bundle of forms, fees, and supporting evidence you send to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to apply for a green card from inside the United States. Get every piece right and USCIS accepts it, issues receipts, and moves you toward a biometrics appointment and interview. Miss a form edition, skip a signature, or use the wrong mailing address, and the whole thing comes back unopened.

Here is what belongs in the package, in the order it needs to be built.

Confirm You Can File in the First Place

Before you assemble anything, three things have to be true. You were inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the country. You’re eligible for an immigrant visa through a family or employment category. And a visa number is immediately available to you on the day you file.¹ If you entered without inspection, USCIS must deny the application.²

Bars exist for unauthorized work, falling out of status, or violating visa terms. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of citizens over 21) are exempt from most of them and can still adjust.³ Employment-based applicants get a narrower carveout: violations under 180 days total don’t disqualify them.

The Forms Inside the Package

Form I-485

Form I-485 is the application itself.⁴ It asks for every address you’ve lived at and every employer you’ve had over the past several years, plus eligibility questions covering criminal history, security concerns, and prior immigration violations. A wrong or unexplained answer can trigger a fraud finding or a Request for Evidence that adds months to your case, so double-check dates and employer names against your own records before you sign.

Form I-864, Affidavit of Support

The I-864 is a binding contract between your financial sponsor and the federal government.⁵ The sponsor promises to keep your household income at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For 2026, a sponsor supporting a household of two in the 48 contiguous states needs annual income of at least $27,050.⁶ Alaska ($33,813) and Hawaii ($31,113) run higher, and each additional household member raises the threshold. Include the sponsor’s Social Security number, recent federal tax returns, and employment verification. If the income falls short, add a joint sponsor or qualifying assets.

Forms I-765 and I-131

These two are optional and almost always worth filing. Form I-765 requests an Employment Authorization Document that lets you work for any employer while the green card application is pending.⁷ Form I-131 requests Advance Parole, the travel document that lets you leave and re-enter the country without abandoning your pending I-485.⁸ Filed together with a pending I-485, they produce a single combo card that covers both, typically valid for one to two years.

Form G-1145

This one-page form asks USCIS to send you a text or email within 24 hours of accepting your package at the lockbox.⁹ Clip it to the front. It costs nothing and cuts out the anxious wait between mailing and the paper receipt.

Concurrent Petition (I-130 or I-140), If Eligible

In many cases you can file the underlying petition in the same envelope. Concurrent filing is allowed for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, preference relatives and employment-based applicants when a visa number is immediately available, widowers of U.S. citizens, certain VAWA self-petitioners, and Special Immigrant Juveniles with an available EB-4 number.¹⁰ Immediate relatives always qualify because their category has no annual cap. Everyone else must check the Department of State Visa Bulletin against their priority date before adding the I-485 to the mailing.

Supporting Documents

Forms don’t stand on their own. At a minimum, include:

A copy of the biographical page of your passport or another government-issued photo ID.
A long-form birth certificate listing both parents. If it isn’t in English, add a full certified translation with a signed statement from the translator certifying competence and accuracy. Certified translations of foreign-language documents typically run $20 to $40 per page.
Proof of lawful entry. Usually the Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, which you can print from the CBP website, or the admission stamp in your passport.¹¹
Two passport-style color photos taken within 30 days of filing, 2 inches by 2 inches, with a plain white background. Most pharmacies and shipping centers charge around $17 for a set.¹²

Every document should be an original or a clear, legible photocopy. Download every form directly from the USCIS website the week you file. USCIS rejects packages containing outdated editions, and rejection sends you back to the start.

The Medical Exam

Form I-693, the Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, can only be completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon.¹³ The exam runs $130 to $400 depending on the provider and location, not counting any vaccinations you still need.

The civil surgeon seals the completed form in an envelope. Do not open it. USCIS returns any I-693 that arrives unsealed or tampered with, and you’ll pay for the exam again.

Timing changed recently. For any I-693 signed on or after November 1, 2023, the form stays valid for the entire time your adjustment application is pending.¹⁴ That replaces the old two-year expiration from the doctor’s signature date. Even so, don’t schedule the exam months ahead of when you plan to mail the package.

Fees and How to Pay

The I-485 filing fee is $1,440 for applicants age 14 and older. Children under 14 filing concurrently with at least one parent pay $950.¹⁵ There is no separate biometrics fee. Forms I-765 and I-131 filed with a pending I-485 carry no additional charge.

Pay by personal check, cashier’s check, or money order made out to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” (write the full name; don’t abbreviate). For credit or debit card payments, include Form G-1450 authorizing the charge.¹⁶ Form G-1650 lets you pay directly from a bank account. Whichever method you pick, put the payment on top of the package so intake sees it first.

Fee waivers are narrow. USCIS considers waiving the I-485 fee only for applicants exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility, such as certain VAWA self-petitioners, asylees, and refugees. The threshold is household income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, receipt of a means-tested benefit, or demonstrated extreme financial hardship.¹⁷ Most family- and employment-based applicants won’t qualify.

Assembling and Mailing

How you physically build the package matters. Use binder clips or ACCO fasteners rather than staples, which damage pages during scanning. Order the contents this way: payment on top, then Form G-1145, then Form I-485 with its supporting evidence, then each additional form (I-864, I-765, I-131) followed by its own documents. Keep the sections clearly separated so a reviewing officer isn’t hunting for anything.

The correct mailing address depends on your eligibility category and your state. Family-based, employment-based, and VAWA/T/U filers each go to different lockboxes, and employment-based filers alone have four different addresses depending on where they live.¹⁸ Check the USCIS website the day you mail. Addresses change, and the wrong lockbox means delay. Ship with tracking: USPS Priority Mail, FedEx, or UPS.

Do Not Leave the Country Without Advance Parole

One boundary to know before you file. If you leave the United States while your I-485 is pending and you don’t have a valid Advance Parole document with you, USCIS treats the application as abandoned.¹⁹ Not paused. Abandoned. A pending I-131 doesn’t protect you; only an approved, unexpired Advance Parole or combo card does.

Narrow exceptions exist for people in valid H-1B or L-1 status (and their H-4 or L-2 dependents) returning to the same employer, and for K-3 and K-4 visa holders.²⁰ Everyone else needs Advance Parole in hand before booking a flight.

What Happens After You Mail It

Once the lockbox accepts your payment and forms, USCIS mails a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, for each form in the package, each with its own case number for online tracking.²¹ Then comes a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprints, a photo, and a signature.²² Bring the appointment notice and a valid photo ID. Most applicants are then called for an in-person interview at a USCIS field office, where an officer walks through the I-485 and can approve, continue, or deny the case.²³

As of early fiscal year 2026, median processing time runs about 5.5 months for family-based I-485s and 6.2 months for employment-based cases.²⁴ Complex cases take longer. The combo EAD/Advance Parole card covers work and travel in the meantime.

If USCIS Asks for More

If something in your package is missing or unclear, USCIS issues a Request for Evidence. You get a maximum of 84 days to respond, plus 3 extra calendar days when the RFE is mailed rather than delivered electronically, for a total of 87 days from the send date.²⁵ USCIS cannot extend the deadline. Miss it and the agency decides on whatever it already has, which usually means denial. Common triggers are insufficient sponsor income, missing vaccination records on the I-693, and unexplained gaps in employment or address history.

Address Inadmissibility Before You File

Meeting every filing requirement is not the same as being admissible. Health issues (communicable diseases, missing vaccinations), criminal convictions, prior immigration fraud, and unlawful presence triggering a three- or ten-year reentry bar can all block a green card. Some grounds are waivable through Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, which usually requires showing extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative.²⁶ If you know a ground applies, deal with it before mailing rather than letting USCIS raise it at the interview. Including the I-601 in your initial package, or at least having the supporting evidence assembled, saves months.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 8 – Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
6
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
11
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Website
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Paper Photograph Requirements for E-Filed Applications
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part B Chapter 4 – Review of Medical Examination Documentation
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1055 – Fee Schedule
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part B Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
19
GovInfo. 8 CFR 245.2
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 3 – Filing Instructions
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 5 – Interview Guidelines
24
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Historic Processing Times
25
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence
26
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility