Documents Needed for Adjustment of Status: Forms, Evidence, and Fees

The documents needed for adjustment of status fall into seven groups: the approved (or concurrently filed) immigrant petition, personal identity records, proof of lawful entry and status, financial sponsorship evidence, a sealed medical exam, disclosure of any criminal history, and the core USCIS application forms with the correct fees. Miss or mangle any one of them and USCIS can issue a Request for Evidence that stalls the case for months, or deny it outright.¹

The Approved or Concurrently Filed Immigrant Petition

You cannot file Form I-485 in a vacuum. Federal law requires that you were inspected and admitted or paroled, that you qualify for an immigrant visa, and that a visa number is immediately available.² Someone has to file an immigrant petition on your behalf, or you must qualify to self-petition.

Family-based cases use Form I-130, filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative.
Employment-based cases use Form I-140, usually filed by the employer after labor certification.
Form I-360 covers self-petitioning widows and widowers, VAWA self-petitioners, and certain special immigrants.

In most cases the petition must be approved before you file the I-485, and the Form I-797 approval notice is a required supporting document.³ Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents) can file the petition and adjustment together because a visa number is always available. Other preference categories can file concurrently only when a visa number is immediately available.⁴

Identity and Personal Records

The foundation document is your birth certificate. It must be a long-form version listing both parents. If it is in another language, include a certified translation with a signed statement from the translator attesting to accuracy and competence. Certified translations of official records typically run $25 to $50 per page.

Add a copy of a government-issued photo ID, usually a driver’s license or the biographical page of a valid passport. If your name has changed through marriage, divorce, or court order, include the marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order that documents each change. USCIS needs to trace every version of your name back to the birth certificate.

Finally, include two identical color passport-style photos: 2 by 2 inches, plain white or off-white background, taken within the last six months, with your head measuring between 1 inch and 1⅜ inches from chin to crown.⁵

Proof of Lawful Entry and Immigration Status

The primary evidence of lawful entry is Form I-94, the Arrival/Departure Record, which shows the date and class of your admission.⁶ Most I-94s issued since 2013 are electronic; retrieve yours from the CBP site using your name, date of birth, and passport information, then print it.

Include copies of every entry stamp in your passport, including pages in expired passports, and copies of every visa you have used to enter the country. Together those pages create the timeline USCIS uses to verify your admissions.

Family-based preference applicants (unlike immediate relatives of U.S. citizens) must also show they have continuously maintained lawful status since arriving.⁷ Proof of maintained status includes I-20s for F-1 students, DS-2019s for J-1 exchange visitors, and I-797 approval notices for H-1B workers and other petition-based categories. Anyone who held J-1 or J-2 status also needs proof of compliance with, or a waiver of, the two-year foreign residence requirement.

Financial Sponsorship: Form I-864 and Supporting Evidence

Most family-based and some employment-based applicants need a financial sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. The form is a legally binding contract promising to maintain the immigrant at a minimum income level.⁸ The sponsor must show household income of at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for their household size. Active-duty military members sponsoring a spouse or child need only meet 100%.⁹

For 2026, the 125% threshold in the 48 contiguous states starts at $27,050 for a household of two and rises by $7,100 for each additional household member. Alaska and Hawaii use higher figures.¹⁰

Along with the I-864 itself, the sponsor must submit:

A federal income tax return for the most recent tax year (up to two prior years may be added if they help establish sufficient income).
W-2s and any 1099s for those returns.
Recent pay stubs covering the last six months.
Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence, such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or green card.

If the primary sponsor’s income falls short, a joint sponsor can step in and must independently meet 125% for their own household plus the immigrants they are sponsoring, with the same tax documentation. Falling short of the income benchmark results in denial.

Not every applicant needs an I-864. Employment-based applicants whose petitioning employer is not a close family member, EB-5 investors, trafficking victims, VAWA self-petitioners, and applicants credited with 40 qualifying quarters of U.S. work are generally exempt.⁹

The Medical Exam: Form I-693 in a Sealed Envelope

Every adjustment applicant needs Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. Search by ZIP code on the USCIS site to find one.¹¹ The exam typically runs $150 to $600, depending on location and any vaccinations needed.

Vaccinations required by statute are mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B. The CDC additionally requires varicella, influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, rotavirus, hepatitis A, and meningococcal disease. The civil surgeon determines which apply based on your age and history.¹²

The civil surgeon places the completed form in a sealed envelope marked “DO NOT OPEN. FOR USCIS USE ONLY” and initials across the seal. Do not accept the form unless it is sealed. USCIS will reject any I-693 that arrives unsealed or tampered with.¹³

Timing matters. A Form I-693 signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023 is valid only while the application it was submitted with remains pending. If the underlying application is denied or withdrawn, the I-693 expires with it and a new exam is required for any future filing.¹⁴

Criminal Records and Disclosure

Form I-485 requires you to disclose every interaction with law enforcement, including arrests that did not lead to conviction. For any arrest or charge, obtain certified police reports and court records showing the final disposition of the case. USCIS runs its own background checks during biometrics, and an undisclosed arrest that surfaces later raises serious credibility problems. Submitting fraudulent documents in an immigration filing is itself a federal crime.¹⁵

The Core USCIS Forms

Form I-485

Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is the central document.¹⁶ It captures five years of residential addresses and employers, your full immigration history, and questions on criminal history, public benefit usage, and other grounds of inadmissibility. Every date and address must match your supporting documents; small inconsistencies are a common trigger for a Request for Evidence.

The form has a section for requesting a Social Security number. If you complete it, SSA will mail your card automatically after your green card is approved, typically within 14 days of receipt of your permanent resident card, with no separate SSA visit.¹⁷

Form I-765 for a Work Permit

Optional, but often filed together. Form I-765 requests an Employment Authorization Document while your I-485 is pending.¹⁸ The fee is $260 when filed with a pending I-485.¹⁹

Form I-131 for Advance Parole

Also optional, but essential if you may need to travel abroad. Form I-131 requests an Advance Parole document; the fee is $630.²⁰ Leaving the country without advance parole while your I-485 is pending is treated as abandoning the application. Some applicants in H-1B or L-1 status can travel on their valid visa without advance parole, but the exception is narrow and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe.

Extra Evidence for Marriage-Based Cases

If your adjustment is based on marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, USCIS will scrutinize whether the marriage is bona fide. Beyond the marriage certificate itself, build a file of shared-life evidence. Financial commingling carries the most weight:

Joint bank account statements with regular activity from both spouses.
A joint lease or mortgage listing both names.
Tax returns filed as married filing jointly.
Insurance policies naming your spouse as beneficiary.
Utility bills at a shared address in both names.

USCIS looks for consistent, recent records. A lease from three years ago does little good if you have nothing from the last year. Round out the financial file with photographs together, shared travel evidence, birth certificates of any children in common, and affidavits from friends or family who know the relationship.²¹ If you entered on a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, you must also show you married the U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of admission.⁷

Fees and Payment

The I-485 filing fee for applicants age 14 and older is $1,440.²² Adding Form I-765 ($260) and Form I-131 ($630) brings the total to $2,330.¹⁹

Pay by personal check, money order, or cashier’s check made payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. You can also pay with a credit, debit, or prepaid card issued by a U.S. bank by completing Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, and placing it on top of the package. Cards issued by foreign banks are not accepted.²³

Fee waivers exist but are limited. You may qualify if you are exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility and can show inability to pay based on household income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, receipt of a means-tested benefit, or extreme financial hardship.²⁴

Mailing the Package

Send the completed package to the USCIS Lockbox for your filing category and geographic region; the I-485 instructions specify the address. Clip Form G-1145, e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, to the front of the packet if you want text or email confirmation of receipt.²⁵ Keep a complete photocopy of everything before mailing. You will need those copies at your interview, and they are your only backup if anything is lost in transit. After USCIS accepts the package, a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, will arrive with your filing date and a receipt number for online case tracking.²⁶

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Visas – Photo Requirements
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Website
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-485
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Find a Civil Surgeon
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Vaccination Requirement
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Changes Validity Period for Any Form I-693 Signed on or After Nov. 1, 2023
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1546 – Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits, and Other Documents
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
17
Social Security Administration. Apply For Your Social Security Number While Applying for Your Work Permit and/or Lawful Permanent Residency
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Spouses
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
25
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action