Form I-485 adjustment of status is the process for becoming a lawful permanent resident without leaving the United States. You qualify to file if you were lawfully admitted or paroled into the country, you have an approved (or concurrently filed) immigrant petition, and a visa number is available for your category the month you file.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence Get those three pieces right and you can keep living and working here while USCIS decides your Green Card case.
Who Qualifies to File
The most common disqualifier is entry without inspection. To adjust status, you must have been “inspected and admitted or paroled” — meaning you came through an official port of entry where a Customs and Border Protection officer reviewed your documents and stamped you in. If you crossed the border without inspection, you generally cannot adjust inside the country unless a narrow exception applies.2eCFR. 8 CFR 245.1 – Eligibility Your Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record is the proof of that lawful entry.
You also need an immediately available visa number. For immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents), a visa is always available. Everyone else falls into a preference category with an annual cap, and the Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin tells you whether your priority date is current.3U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin If it isn’t current, you cannot file yet.
Behind the I-485 sits an underlying petition. Family-based applicants rely on a Form I-130 filed by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative. Employment-based applicants rely on a Form I-140 filed by an employer. In many cases you can file the I-485 at the same time as the petition rather than waiting for approval. USCIS calls this concurrent filing, and it’s available to immediate relatives and to preference-category applicants whose visa number is available.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485 You must be physically inside the United States when the I-485 is filed.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-485, Instructions for Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
The 245(k) Safety Valve for Employment-Based Cases
If you fell out of status before filing — for example, your H-1B expired while your employer prepared the paperwork — you’re usually barred from adjusting. Employment-based applicants get a limited exception. If your total time out of status, working without authorization, or violating visa terms adds up to 180 days or less since your last lawful admission, you can still adjust. The carve-out covers EB-1 through EB-3, EB-5 investors, and certain religious workers. It does not fix other grounds of inadmissibility, and it does nothing for family-based applicants.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 8 – Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment
What to Gather Before You File
The form itself asks for your full biographical history — every address and employer for the past several years — plus detailed questions on criminal history, prior immigration violations, and the public charge assessment. Download the current version at uscis.gov.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
Standard supporting documents include a copy of your passport biographic page or other government photo ID, an official copy of your birth certificate (with a certified English translation if it isn’t in English),8eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests your Form I-94 (retrievable on the CBP website), and the I-797 Notice of Action showing the underlying I-130 or I-140 was approved or received.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
The Medical Exam
Every adjustment applicant submits Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. Only doctors with that specific designation can do the exam; your regular physician cannot, unless they hold it. USCIS keeps a searchable list on its website.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record The exam covers a physical, blood tests, vaccination review, and screening for conditions that could make you inadmissible on health grounds. Missing vaccinations get administered or referred. Afterward the doctor seals the completed form in an envelope for you to file with the application.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-693, Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
USCIS does not set the price. Civil surgeons set their own fees, commonly $200 to $500 or more depending on location and any vaccinations or follow-up testing you need. This is separate from the filing fee.
The Affidavit of Support
Most family-based applicants and some employment-based applicants must include Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It’s a legally enforceable contract in which the sponsoring relative (or employer) promises the federal government they’ll support you so you don’t rely on public benefits.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA The sponsor’s household income must reach at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size. Active-duty military members sponsoring a spouse or child need only 100%. For 2026, the 125% threshold is $24,650 for a household of two in the continental U.S. and $37,500 for a household of four.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P – HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support Sponsors who fall short can use assets or add a joint sponsor who meets the income test independently.
Filing and Paying the Fee
The completed package goes to a USCIS Lockbox facility. The filing fee is $1,440 for applicants age 14 and older. Children under 14 filing at the same time as a parent pay $950.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule The fee covers processing, biometrics, and background checks.
Payment rules changed recently and trip up many filers. USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms unless a specific exemption applies. Most mail filers now pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or by bank withdrawal using Form G-1650. Online filers pay through the electronic system.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees When paying by card for a family, use a separate G-1450 for each application; a single card form covering multiple applications can get the whole package rejected.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
Fee waivers exist but are narrow. Form I-912 is limited to applicants in categories exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility — asylees, those adjusting under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and applicants who have lived continuously in the U.S. since before January 1, 1972. If you fall into one of these categories and currently receive a means-tested government benefit, you can request the waiver with evidence of that benefit.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for Fee Waiver Most family- and employment-based applicants don’t qualify.
Biometrics, the Interview, and Requests for Evidence
After the Lockbox accepts your package, USCIS mails a Form I-797C receipt notice with a case number for online tracking. You’ll then be scheduled at an Application Support Center for fingerprints, a photograph, and a digital signature used for background and security checks.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part C Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection
One recent change: as of December 2025, USCIS no longer uses self-submitted photos for I-485 cases. Your official photo is taken at the biometrics appointment. Older instructions telling you to mail in two passport-style photos may still appear on forms, but the agency’s current policy is to collect the photo in person.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. New Photo Policy Helps Prevent Immigration Fraud Through Enhanced Identity Verification Do not skip the appointment. A no-show without rescheduling can lead USCIS to treat the application as abandoned and deny it.
Most applicants are also called for an in-person interview at a local USCIS field office. An officer reviews your originals and asks questions to verify what you wrote. USCIS has authority to waive interviews case-by-case. Waivers commonly go to unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens and certain parents of U.S. citizens, but nothing is guaranteed.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 5 – Interview Guidelines
If the officer needs more evidence, USCIS issues a Request for Evidence. You get a maximum of 84 calendar days to respond, and USCIS cannot extend that deadline. An RFE mailed rather than sent electronically adds three days for mailing. Missing the deadline typically means denial on the existing record.21U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence
Working and Traveling While the Case Is Pending
A pending I-485 by itself does not authorize work or international travel. To work, file Form I-765 for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).22U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document Many applicants receive a combined EAD and advance parole card, sometimes called a combo card, that handles work and re-entry in one document.
Travel is where cases get destroyed. If you leave the U.S. while the I-485 is pending without advance parole (obtained by filing Form I-131), USCIS will generally treat the application as abandoned and deny it. A narrow exception covers applicants in certain nonimmigrant statuses such as H-1B or L-1, who can travel on the valid visa without advance parole. Everyone else needs the advance parole document in hand before booking any international trip.23U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
Address Changes and Your Underlying Status
If you move while the case is pending, federal law requires you to notify USCIS within 10 days, through your online account or by mailing Form AR-11. It isn’t optional. USCIS sends interview notices, biometrics appointments, RFEs, and decisions to the address on file, and a missed notice can sink an otherwise approvable case.24U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address
Filing the I-485 does not, by itself, give you lawful status. If your underlying nonimmigrant visa expires while the case is pending, you’re in what USCIS calls a “period of authorized stay,” so you don’t accrue unlawful presence — but you may technically be in unlawful status for purposes of certain adjustment bars. That matters most for family-based applicants, because the 245(k) exception only helps employment-based categories. If your nonimmigrant status is about to expire, talk to an immigration attorney before it lapses.25U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 3 – Unlawful Immigration Status at Time of Filing
How Long It Takes
Timelines depend on your category and the office handling the case. Employment-based cases at service centers have recently averaged roughly 10 to 18 months. Marriage-based cases at field offices run about 14 to 28 months, with busier offices like New York on the longer end. The numbers shift.
USCIS publishes estimated processing times on its site. Select the form, category, and office shown on your receipt notice to see the current figure.26U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Processing Times You can also track your individual case status online with the receipt number from your I-797C. If your case has been pending longer than the posted estimate, submit an inquiry through the USCIS Contact Center.
If USCIS Denies the Application
A denial isn’t necessarily the end. The denial notice states the reason and whether you can appeal, and which form applies. Most I-485 denials can be challenged by filing Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion. The deadline is 30 days from the decision, plus 3 days when the notice is mailed, giving a practical 33 days.27U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers – Appeals and Motions
An appeal goes to a different authority, typically the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office, for fresh review. You can instead file a motion to reopen (new facts or evidence) or a motion to reconsider (arguing the officer misapplied the law) with the same office that denied you. The 33-day deadline covers motions too. A denial does not automatically place you in removal proceedings if you were in lawful status when it issued, but it ends the authorized stay that came with the pending application. Move fast after a denial.