How to Apply for a Green Card After Marriage: Forms, Fees, and Interview

To apply for a green card after marriage, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse files Form I-130 to prove the marriage, and the foreign spouse applies for permanent residence either with Form I-485 inside the United States or through a consulate abroad using Form DS-260. Core filing fees for paper filing total about $2,115, and cases for spouses of U.S. citizens living in the U.S. usually finish in roughly 9 to 14 months.

Who Can Sponsor and Who Qualifies

The sponsoring spouse must be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The marriage has to be legally valid where it took place, and you need a government-issued marriage certificate to prove it. USCIS also has to be convinced the marriage is genuine, meaning the couple entered it to build a life together rather than to obtain immigration benefits. Thin evidence of a real relationship is the most common reason otherwise valid cases stall.

If the sponsor is a U.S. citizen, the foreign spouse counts as an “immediate relative” under 8 USC 1151(b)(2).¹ Immediate relatives are not subject to the annual visa caps that create long waits elsewhere. Spouses of permanent residents fall into a preference category with a limited number of visas each year, which can add months or years before an immigrant visa is available.

Pick Your Path: Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing

Where the foreign spouse is living decides the route.

If the Foreign Spouse Is Already in the U.S.

A spouse who entered the U.S. lawfully — inspected and admitted at a port of entry — can apply to adjust status without leaving the country under 8 CFR Part 245.² Spouses of U.S. citizens can file the I-130 petition and the I-485 green card application together, a shortcut called concurrent filing that is always available to immediate relatives because there is no visa number wait.³ Spouses of permanent residents generally cannot file concurrently and must wait for a visa number before submitting the I-485.

If the Foreign Spouse Is Abroad

The sponsor still files Form I-130 with USCIS, but after approval the case moves to the Department of State. The National Visa Center sends a Welcome Letter with instructions for creating an account in the Consular Electronic Application Center, paying immigrant visa fees, and uploading documents.⁴ The foreign spouse then completes Form DS-260, the online immigrant visa application.⁵ Once the NVC finds everything complete, it schedules an interview at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Watch one deadline: federal law requires the applicant to apply for the immigrant visa within one year of being notified that a visa is available, or the petition can be terminated. If circumstances beyond the applicant’s control caused the delay, there is a two-year window to request reinstatement.⁴

The Forms and Evidence You File

For adjustment of status inside the U.S., the package usually includes:

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed by the sponsoring spouse to prove the qualifying relationship. Filing costs $625 online or $675 by mail, and the sponsor must also submit Form I-130A with additional biographical information about the foreign spouse.⁶
Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, the actual green card application. It covers biographical history, past addresses, employment, and grounds of inadmissibility, and it cannot currently be filed online.⁷
Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, the sponsor’s binding financial commitment.⁸
Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon and returned to you in a sealed envelope. The exam typically costs $150 to $400, plus $20 to $150 per vaccine if any catch-up doses are needed.⁹

Supporting evidence goes in with the forms. Certified copies of birth certificates and the marriage certificate are the baseline. Beyond that, USCIS wants proof the marriage is real: joint bank statements, a shared lease or mortgage, insurance policies naming each other as beneficiaries, utility bills at the same address, and photographs across a range of dates and settings. Officers compare this evidence against interview answers, so quality matters more than volume.

Fees and the Income Requirement

Paper filing fees for the core forms come to $2,115 — $675 for the I-130 and $1,440 for the I-485.¹⁰ Filing the I-130 online drops that piece to $625, but the I-485 still has to be mailed. Payment can be by check, money order, or credit card using Form G-1450, and every payment in a single mailing must be the same type.¹¹ Fee waivers using Form I-912 exist but only for applicants exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility, which excludes most marriage-based applicants.¹²

Send the package to the USCIS Lockbox facility that covers your state of residence. Sending it to the wrong Lockbox means the whole package comes back. A receipt notice (Form I-797C) usually arrives within about 30 days and carries the 13-character receipt number you use to track the case and to file follow-on requests.¹³

The Affidavit of Support is a separate hurdle. It’s a contract with the federal government in which the sponsor promises to support the immigrant at 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (100 percent for active-duty military sponsors).¹⁴ For 2026, a sponsor in the 48 contiguous states with a household of two needs at least $27,050 in annual income; a household of three needs $34,150, and a household of four needs $41,250. Alaska and Hawaii have higher thresholds.¹⁵

Proof of income includes federal tax returns, pay stubs, and an employment verification letter. If the sponsor’s income falls short, a joint sponsor who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and meets the threshold can file a separate I-864 to share responsibility. The obligation lasts until the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, is credited with roughly 40 qualifying quarters of Social Security work, permanently leaves the country, or dies. Divorce does not end it.

Biometrics and the Interview

After the filing is accepted, USCIS schedules a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprints and a photograph.¹⁶ Photos are not reused across cases, so attendance is required even if you’ve been printed before. Missing the appointment without rescheduling can push the case back significantly.

The in-person interview is the centerpiece. Both spouses must attend. Bring originals of everything you previously submitted as copies: passports, birth certificates, the marriage certificate, and financial documents. Updated proof of an ongoing life together — recent joint tax returns, newer bank statements, photos from events since you filed — makes a real difference. You have the right to bring an immigration attorney or accredited representative, who can be present throughout the interview and raise objections when appropriate.¹⁷

The officer verifies the information in your written application and asks questions about how you met, daily routines, family backgrounds, and future plans. If the officer is satisfied and no grounds of inadmissibility apply, the case is approved and the green card arrives by mail within a few weeks.

Working and Traveling While You Wait

A pending I-485 does not by itself let the foreign spouse work or travel abroad. Both require separate authorization.

For work, file Form I-765 under eligibility category (c)(9) to get an Employment Authorization Document. It can go in with the I-485 or be filed later with a copy of the I-485 receipt notice. For I-485s filed on or after April 1, 2024, the I-765 fee is $260.¹⁸

For travel, file Form I-131 for an advance parole document before leaving the country. Leaving without it causes USCIS to treat the I-485 as abandoned, which closes the case and forfeits the filing fees.¹⁹ Even with advance parole, reentry is not guaranteed — a Customs and Border Protection officer makes the final call at the border.²⁰ If a family emergency abroad forces a decision before advance parole is in hand, talk to an immigration attorney before booking a flight.

Conditional Card vs. Ten-Year Card

The type of green card issued depends on how long the couple has been married when permanent residence is granted. If the marriage is less than two years old on that date, the card is conditional and valid for only two years under 8 USC 1186a.²¹ Marriages already past the two-year mark produce a standard ten-year card, and the rest of this section can be skipped.

Conditional residents must file Form I-751 during the 90-day window immediately before the two-year card expires.²² Both spouses usually file jointly with updated proof the marriage is still intact: joint financial records, shared housing documents, birth certificates of any children, and similar evidence. The fee is $750 by paper or $700 online.¹⁰

Missing the I-751 window is one of the costliest mistakes in the process. Failing to file automatically ends permanent resident status and makes the person removable from the U.S. USCIS may excuse a late filing if extraordinary circumstances beyond the resident’s control caused the delay and the length of the delay was reasonable, but that is a high bar.²³

A conditional resident can file the I-751 individually — without the other spouse — if the marriage ended in divorce, the citizen spouse has died, or the conditional resident experienced battery or extreme cruelty. In abuse-based cases the filing fee is waived.²³

1
Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1151(b)(2) – Immediate Relatives
2
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 245 – Adjustment of Status to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
4
Travel.State.Gov. NVC Processing
5
U.S. Department of State. Step 6 – Complete Online Visa Application (DS-260)
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-693 Instructions – Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. e-Request – Non-Delivery of Notice
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions – Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P – HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Biometrics Collection
17
eCFR. 8 CFR 292.5 – Service Upon and Action by Attorney or Representative of Record
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765 Instructions – Application for Employment Authorization
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
21
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1186a – Conditional Permanent Resident Status for Certain Alien Spouses and Sons and Daughters
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence
23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-751 Instructions – Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence