File your I-485 with up to 39 checks before USCIS sees it

Immiva checks your I-485 in layers. Your answers are checked as you type, so a badly formatted date or number is flagged right away. You only see the questions that apply to you, and you type each fact once: earlier answers fill every later spot. Before you pay, your answers are reviewed against the USCIS rules for your I-485, and you get a report that lists every check and what to fix. You also get a personal checklist of documents, where to sign and where to mail. We check filing addresses, fees and form editions against uscis.gov every day.

Family-based, employment-based and VAWA applicants can file Form I-485 from a USCIS online account once the underlying petition is filed. You can upload Form I-765, Form I-131 and Form I-864 with it, except a fee-exempt (c)(9) Form I-765, which still goes by mail. Filing on paper is also allowed, and we give you the instructions for your route.

Yes, once your petition is filed. In a family case filed without a lawyer, your sponsor submits Form I-130 online first, and you file Form I-485 from your own USCIS online account after the receipt notice arrives. Only attorneys and accredited representatives can submit both forms in a single online filing. You can also mail both forms in one packet. Either way, your finished application is the same, and we give you the instructions for your route, including the right lockbox address if you are mailing it.

The I-485 asks dozens of questions about your entry, your status and your background, and knowing which answers matter is our job, not yours. We check each one against the rest and put anything that needs attention in your report before you file. An open immigration court case, a removal order, or a prior denial belongs with a lawyer first. If your answers point to one, we tell you.

You do not have to decide. Your answers tell us whether your category needs one, and if it does, we add Form I-864 to your packet and prepare it. As a rule of thumb: family cases almost always need it, employment cases usually do not, and asylees and refugees are exempt. When it applies, we also work out your household size, check your sponsor's income against the 125% guidelines, and tell you if you need a joint sponsor. Check the income requirement

Only with the right documents. You file the work permit on Form I-765 and the travel document on Form I-131 separately, and USCIS can treat leaving the country without advance parole as abandoning your application.

Your birth certificate, passport and I-94, the approval or receipt notice for your petition, the medical exam on Form I-693, and two photos. Family cases also need the sponsor's tax return and proof of income for Form I-864. Your category adds or removes items, and we build the list from your answers. See the I-485 document checklist

It depends on your category, your field office, and the visa bulletin. Immediate relatives of citizens move fastest. Employment cases wait on a current priority date. USCIS publishes current times by office and category.

Immiva's fee is $249, paid once, after you have seen the report. It covers the finished form, the pre-filing report, your document list, and the filing instructions. The USCIS filing fee is separate and goes to the government.

USCIS sets the Form I-485 filing fee, and it can change, so read the current amount on the USCIS fee schedule before you file. Immiva's fee is separate: $249, paid once, after you have read your report. USCIS fee schedule

Count the USCIS filing fee for Form I-485, the separate fees for the work permit on Form I-765 and the travel document on Form I-131 if you file them, the doctor's charge for the medical exam on Form I-693, and Immiva's fee of $249. Which of these apply depends on your category. The USCIS fee schedule has the current government amounts. USCIS fee schedule

Yes. Your answers build an adjustment of status checklist for your category, and you download it with your finished application. A generic list misses items that apply only to you, such as the Affidavit of Support for family cases. For a general version, read the I-485 document checklist. Read the I-485 document checklist

You need a category that lets you adjust (family, employment, asylee or refugee, or a special route), an underlying petition that is filed or approved where your category needs one, and a visa that is available to you. Most categories require that you were inspected and admitted or paroled, unless 245(i) applies; asylee, refugee, VAWA and SIJ routes have their own rules. You must also be admissible. Some categories also require lawful status to be maintained. The free eligibility check tells you which of these apply to you. Check my eligibility

Start with your category, because it decides which questions you see. Then answer each question about your identity, your entry, your status, your family and your background. Skip nothing: write N/A or None where a question does not apply, so USCIS does not send a request for evidence. In Immiva you answer in everyday English, and we write your answers onto Form I-485 and check them before you pay.

USCIS sends a receipt notice, then schedules a biometrics appointment for fingerprints. It may ask for more evidence or call you to an interview, then it decides your case. How long each stage takes depends on your category and your field office. USCIS publishes current times. USCIS processing times