Questions
Frequently asked questions
People who are physically in the U.S., were inspected and admitted or paroled, have a visa immediately available for their category, and are admissible. Common categories include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, family-preference and employment-based applicants, and asylees or refugees.
Not always. When a visa is immediately available you can file the petition and the I-485 together, which is called concurrent filing. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can always do this.
Filing the immigrant petition and Form I-485 in the same package rather than waiting for the petition to be approved first. It is available whenever a visa number is immediately available in your category.
Compare your priority date against the State Department chart for your category and country of birth. The free Visa Bulletin tool does that comparison for you.
Only with an approved work permit. You can file Form I-765 alongside the I-485, and you must wait for the card before you start work.