The forms to file for a marriage-based green card, when the spouse seeking the green card is already inside the United States, are Form I-130 (with the spouse supplement I-130A), Form I-485, Form I-864, Form I-693, Form I-765, and Form I-131. If the marriage is less than two years old on the day permanent residence is granted, one more form comes later: Form I-751. Each form does a specific job, and the package usually goes in together.
Form I-130 and Form I-130A: The Petition
Everything starts with the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse (the “petitioner”) filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. This is the form that asks USCIS to recognize the marriage as the basis for an immigration benefit. It can be filed online through a USCIS account for $625, or by mail for $675.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule
When the petition is for a spouse, Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary, must be included. It collects extra biographical detail about the foreign-born spouse, including a five-year employment history.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-130A Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary
Both forms need full legal names, dates of birth, addresses, the date and place of the marriage, and a complete accounting of any prior marriages with proof they ended. The petitioner also documents their own status with a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or green card. Any foreign-language document must come with a certified English translation attesting that the translation is complete, accurate, and produced by someone competent to translate.4eCFR. 8 CFR 204.1 – General Information About Immediate Relative and Family-Sponsored Petitions
Form I-485: The Green Card Application
Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is what the foreign-born spouse actually files to become a lawful permanent resident. The filing fee is $1,440 for applicants age 14 and older.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule
The form asks for current immigration status, the details of the most recent entry into the country (usually documented on Form I-94), and a full history of addresses and jobs.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-485, Instructions for Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status It also contains lengthy background questions on criminal history, immigration violations, organizational memberships, and military service. Answer honestly. A past arrest hidden on the form is more damaging than the arrest itself, because concealment is treated as fraud, which is its own independent ground of inadmissibility.
Two passport-style photographs and a copy of the applicant’s birth certificate go with the form. If a birth certificate is unavailable, alternative records like church, school, or medical documents may work, together with proof that the official record does not exist.
When the petitioner is a U.S. citizen, Form I-130 and Form I-485 can be filed at the same time. That is called concurrent filing, and it is available because a citizen’s spouse is an “immediate relative” with no annual visa cap.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
Form I-864: Affidavit of Support
The petitioning spouse must sign Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It is a legally binding contract with the U.S. government promising to support the immigrant at a level equal to at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for the sponsor’s household size.7eCFR. 8 CFR 213a.2 – Use of Affidavit of Support For 2026, that means a sponsor in a two-person household needs at least $27,050 in annual income.8U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines Active-duty military members sponsoring a spouse need to meet 100% of the poverty line rather than 125%.
The sponsor attaches the most recent federal tax return or tax transcripts as proof of income. If income falls short, there are two ways to fill the gap:
- Assets that can be converted to cash within a year. For spouses of U.S. citizens, the net value of those assets must equal at least three times the shortfall; for all other sponsors, five times. A primary vehicle does not count, though a second one can.9U.S. Department of State. I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQs
- A joint sponsor. This is a second U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who independently meets the income requirement and signs their own Form I-864.7eCFR. 8 CFR 213a.2 – Use of Affidavit of Support
The obligation is real. It stays enforceable until the sponsored spouse naturalizes, is credited with roughly 40 qualifying quarters of work (about ten years), permanently leaves the country, or dies. Divorce does not end it. Government agencies and the sponsored spouse can sue the sponsor to recover means-tested public benefits used during that period.
Form I-693: Medical Examination
Every adjustment applicant must have a medical exam documented on Form I-693. The exam has to be performed by a civil surgeon designated by USCIS; a regular family doctor cannot complete the form.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-693, Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record The surgeon tests for tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea, and other communicable diseases, and confirms that required vaccinations are current, including MMR, polio, Tdap, hepatitis A and B, varicella, influenza (in season), and several others. COVID-19 vaccination is no longer required; the CDC removed it from the immigration vaccine list in March 2025.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Vaccination Requirement
Bring existing vaccination records to the appointment. Anything missing can be given by the civil surgeon or, often at lower cost, at a pharmacy in advance. After the exam, the civil surgeon seals the completed I-693 in an envelope, and that envelope goes to USCIS unopened.
Forms I-765 and I-131: Work Permit and Travel Document
Waiting for the green card decision can take many months, and during that time the applicant usually needs to work and may need to travel. Two more forms handle those needs, and both are typically filed at the same time as Form I-485.
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, produces the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The applicant should mark eligibility category (c)(9), which covers people with a pending adjustment of status.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Employment Authorization Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, produces an advance parole document that allows international travel while the I-485 is pending. Leaving the country without a valid advance parole document is treated as abandoning the green card application, so this one is not optional if any travel is planned.
Since April 2024, each of these forms carries its own filing fee separate from the I-485 fee.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule Personal information across all three forms must match exactly, or the mismatch can slow the case down.
Evidence of a Real Marriage
The forms are only half of the package. USCIS has to be satisfied the marriage is genuine, so the filing needs to include documentary proof of a shared life:
- Joint financial records: shared bank statements, joint credit cards, joint tax returns
- Shared housing: a lease or mortgage in both names, utility bills at the same address, homeowner’s insurance
- Joint ownership: car titles, deeds, insurance policies naming both spouses
- Birth certificates of any children born to the couple
- Wedding and travel photos and records of ongoing communication
When a couple has few joint financial documents, USCIS accepts affidavits from people with personal knowledge of the relationship. Each affidavit should include the affiant’s full name, address, date and place of birth, and a detailed explanation of how they know the couple and why they believe the marriage is real.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Spouses Applications with perfect forms but thin relationship evidence tend to draw requests for additional evidence.
If the Sponsor Is an LPR, or the Spouse Is Abroad
The form list above assumes a citizen sponsor with the spouse already in the United States. Two variations shift the paperwork.
When the petitioner is a lawful permanent resident rather than a citizen, the spouse falls into the F2A family preference category, which is subject to annual numerical limits. Concurrent filing of I-130 and I-485 is only allowed when a visa number is immediately available.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485 When it is not, the LPR files Form I-130 first and waits for a visa to become current before the spouse files I-485. The State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin shows where the category stands.
When the spouse is living outside the United States, the case goes through consular processing instead of adjustment of status. Form I-130 still starts the case, but once approved it moves to the National Visa Center and eventually to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. In that path, the spouse files Form DS-260 (the online immigrant visa application) instead of Form I-485.
Fees, Payment, and Where to File
For an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen filing everything concurrently, the base filing fees for the I-130 and I-485 alone start at $2,065 when the I-130 is filed online, and the total climbs once the work permit and travel document fees are added.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule Medical exam fees are paid separately to the civil surgeon.
A payment change took effect on October 28, 2025: USCIS no longer accepts money orders, personal checks, or cashier’s checks for paper filings unless a specific exemption applies.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Transition to Electronic Payments – Policy Alert Payment is now made by credit or debit card using Form G-1450, or by ACH bank transfer using Form G-1650.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees Sending a money order in 2026 will get the package rejected and mailed back.
The package has to be mailed to the correct USCIS Lockbox for the applicant’s state of residence. The USCIS website lists which Lockbox handles each geographic area, and mailing to the wrong one is another common rejection trigger.
Form I-751 Later, If the Marriage Is New
One more form appears after the green card itself, but only for some couples. If the marriage is less than two years old on the day the applicant is granted permanent residence, the green card issued is a two-year conditional card rather than the standard ten-year card.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage Most marriage-based applicants land in this group.
To convert the conditional card to a permanent one, both spouses jointly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, during the 90-day window just before the two-year card expires.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-751, Instructions for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence Miss the window and the conditional resident loses status and becomes removable. There is no renewal option for a conditional green card.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence
If the marriage has ended by the time that window arrives, the conditional resident can request a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Waivers are available when the marriage ended in divorce, the petitioning spouse died, or the conditional resident was subjected to domestic abuse. There is no filing fee for a waiver based on abuse.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-751, Instructions for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence Waiver-based petitions can be filed at any point after conditional status is granted, without waiting for the 90-day window.