How Much Does the Green Card Application Fee Cost?

The main government filing fee for a green card is $1,440 — that’s the cost of Form I-485, the application that actually requests permanent resident status. But the green card application fee is only part of what you’ll spend. Once you add the underlying petition, an optional work permit and travel document, and the required medical exam, most family-based applicants adjusting status inside the United States pay somewhere between $2,400 and $3,800 in total. Employment-based cases usually run higher, and premium processing or an attorney can push the bill up further.

What the $1,440 I-485 Fee Covers

Form I-485 carries the largest single government fee in the process. Under the current fee schedule (edition 03/23/26), the standard filing fee is $1,440 for most applicants age 14 and older.¹

Children under 14 get a break when they file with a parent. If a child’s I-485 is submitted at the same time as at least one parent’s application, the fee drops to $950. A child filing independently pays the full $1,440.¹

One point that trips people up: there is no separate biometric services fee for I-485 applicants anymore. Under the 2024 fee rule, USCIS folded fingerprinting, photographs, and digital signatures into the main filing fee.² You still attend a biometrics appointment, but the old $85 biometric charge referenced in older guides no longer applies.

Filing online saves $50. That drops the I-485 cost to $1,390 for most adults.

The Petition Fee That Comes First

Before Form I-485 gets filed, someone typically needs to file a petition establishing why you qualify. That petition carries its own fee.

Family-Based: Form I-130

If your green card is based on a relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, your sponsoring relative files Form I-130. The fee is $625 online or $675 by mail.¹ Your sponsor also files Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, showing enough income to support you financially. That form has its own $120 fee.

Employment-Based: Form I-140 Plus the Asylum Program Fee

For employment-based green cards, your employer (or you, if self-petitioning) files Form I-140. The base fee is $715 by paper or $665 online.¹

USCIS also charges an Asylum Program Fee on top of the base I-140 fee. The amount depends on the employer:

Regular employers pay $600.
Small employers and self-petitioners pay $300.
Nonprofit organizations pay $0.

A regular employer filing on paper therefore pays $1,315 total at the petition stage. The employer usually covers this, but self-petitioners in categories like the National Interest Waiver pay it themselves.¹

Work Permit and Travel Document Add-Ons

While your I-485 is pending, which can take months or well over a year, you may need authorization to keep working and to travel internationally. These filings are technically optional, but most applicants file at least one.

Form I-765 (work permit) costs $260 when filed with an I-485. Form I-131 (advance parole for travel) costs $630.¹ Together they add $890. Skipping them is risky if your current visa status doesn’t independently authorize work, or if there’s any chance you’ll need to travel before USCIS decides your case. Leaving the country without advance parole while an I-485 is pending is generally treated as abandoning the application.

The Mandatory Medical Exam

Every adjustment-of-status applicant needs a medical exam from a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, documented on Form I-693. This isn’t a government fee. You pay the doctor directly, and it catches many applicants off guard.

The exam typically costs $250 to $650, depending on where you live and what you need. The base physical and lab work (tuberculosis and syphilis screening) runs $200 to $350. Vaccinations are the bigger variable. Immigration law requires proof of immunization against a list of diseases including measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, tetanus, pertussis, and polio, along with any other vaccines currently recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.³ Missing shots can add $200 to $500 to the bill.

Civil surgeons set their own prices. Call a few providers in your area before booking. The signed I-693 is valid for two years, so don’t complete it too early if your wait is long, but don’t wait until the last minute either.

What It Adds Up To

Here’s how the pieces stack up for the two most common scenarios, covering government fees and the medical exam but not attorney costs.

Family-Based Green Card (Adjusting Status in the U.S.)

Form I-130 petition: $625–$675
Form I-485 application: $1,440
Form I-864 affidavit of support: $120
Form I-765 work permit (optional): $260
Form I-131 travel document (optional): $630
Medical exam and vaccinations: $250–$650
Estimated total: roughly $2,400 to $3,800

Employment-Based Green Card (Adjusting Status in the U.S.)

Form I-140 petition plus Asylum Program Fee: $965–$1,315
Form I-485 application: $1,440
Form I-765 work permit (optional): $260
Form I-131 travel document (optional): $630
Medical exam and vaccinations: $250–$650
Estimated total without premium processing: roughly $2,900 to $4,300

Beyond these, many applicants pay for certified translations of foreign documents (typically $25 to $50 per page) and passport-style photographs. Immigration attorney fees for a straightforward green card case generally range from $2,000 to $6,000 or more, depending on complexity and location. None of these third-party costs are covered by fee waivers.

One boundary worth flagging: these numbers apply if you’re already inside the United States and adjusting status. Applicants going through a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad follow a different fee structure administered by the State Department, not USCIS.

Premium Processing for Employment-Based Cases

If your employer wants a faster decision on the I-140 petition, USCIS offers premium processing through Form I-907. This guarantees action on the petition within 15 business days. Effective March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for all I-140 categories is $2,965.⁴

Premium processing only speeds up the I-140. It does not speed up the I-485. “Taking action” means USCIS will approve, deny, issue a request for evidence, or begin a fraud investigation within 15 days. Employers usually pay this fee, though the arrangement varies by company.

The 245(i) $1,000 Penalty

Some applicants adjusting status under Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act owe an extra $1,000 on top of everything else. This applies to people who are not otherwise eligible to adjust status inside the United States, typically because they entered without inspection or fell out of lawful status, but who have an old petition or labor certification filed on their behalf before a statutory cutoff.⁵

The $1,000 fee is submitted with Supplement A to Form I-485. Some exemptions exist, but if 245(i) applies to you and you owe the penalty, USCIS won’t process your application without it.

Who Pays Nothing

Several categories of applicants are completely exempt from the I-485 filing fee. You owe $0 if you’re any of the following:

A refugee or someone paroled into the U.S. as a refugee
A VAWA self-petitioner (a victim of domestic abuse by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent)
A T nonimmigrant (trafficking victim)
A U nonimmigrant (victim of a qualifying crime)
A Special Immigrant Juvenile
An Afghan or Iraqi national with special immigrant status
A military member who served honorably on active duty in the U.S. armed forces

These exemptions are automatic. You don’t need to file a separate waiver request; the fee schedule itself sets these categories at $0.¹ VAWA, T visa, and U visa applicants who need fee relief on other associated forms can request humanitarian fee waivers without disclosing their abuser’s or trafficker’s income.⁶

Fee Waivers for Financial Hardship

If you’re not in an exempt category but genuinely can’t afford the fees, you can request a waiver using Form I-912. USCIS evaluates requests under three criteria, and you only need to meet one:⁷

Household income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines at the time you file.⁸
Current receipt of a means-tested benefit like SNAP, Medicaid, or SSI by you, your spouse, or a household member. You’ll need a letter or notice from the agency showing active enrollment.
Financial hardship from unexpected circumstances like major medical bills, job loss, or loss of housing, documented with bills, termination letters, eviction notices, or similar records.

USCIS decides each request individually, and approval isn’t guaranteed. A denied waiver doesn’t sink your application. You just have to pay the full fee. The waiver also covers USCIS filing fees only. It won’t help with the medical exam, translations, or attorney costs.

How to Pay USCIS

USCIS overhauled its payment system, and the old advice about writing a check to the Department of Homeland Security is outdated for most filers. The agency no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms unless you qualify for a specific exemption.⁹

When filing by mail, you have two options:

Credit, debit, or prepaid card, using Form G-1450 (Authorization for Credit Card Transactions) placed on top of your application package.¹⁰
ACH bank transfer, using Form G-1650 (Authorization for ACH Transactions) to authorize a direct payment from a U.S. bank account.⁹

The paper-check exemption is narrow, covering situations like lack of access to banking services. If you do qualify, checks and money orders must be drawn on a U.S. financial institution, made payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” and dated within the previous 365 days.⁹

Sending the wrong fee amount will get your entire package rejected. Check the current fee schedule on the USCIS website before you submit.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1055 – Fee Schedule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card Through INA 245(i) Adjustment
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part B Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail