A marriage-based adjustment of status package filed from inside the United States is five forms and roughly five dozen supporting documents, and for the spouse of a U.S. citizen who also wants a work permit and a travel document it costs $3,005 by mail or $2,855 online. That total is not printed anywhere on the USCIS fee page, because the fee rule that took effect on April 1, 2024 split apart what used to be a single payment.
This checklist is organized around the concurrent filing package, which is what couples inside the country actually assemble: Form I-130 and Form I-130A from the petitioning spouse, Form I-485 from the immigrant spouse, and the optional Form I-765 and Form I-131 that authorize work and travel while the case sits in the queue. It also covers the two forms that carry no filing fee at all and still sink more packages than anything else, Form I-693 and Form I-864.
Concurrent filing is only possible when an immigrant visa number is immediately available. A spouse of a U.S. citizen is an immediate relative, so a number is always available and the I-130 and I-485 can go in the same envelope on day one. A spouse of a lawful permanent resident falls in the F2A preference category and can only file the I-485 when the priority date is current under the chart USCIS designates that month. For August 2026, USCIS instructs all family-sponsored preference filers to use the Dates for Filing chart. The practical gap between the two situations is covered in our breakdown of the marriage green card timeline for a citizen versus a green card holder spouse.
Free toolCSPA Age-Out Calculator OnlineForm editions are a rejection trigger, not a formality. As of this writing the accepted editions are I-130 and I-130A dated 04/01/24, I-485 dated 01/20/25, I-131 dated 01/20/25, I-693 dated 01/20/25, I-765 dated 08/21/25, and I-864 dated 10/17/24. USCIS rejects packages assembled from mismatched page sets, so print each form in one pass and confirm the edition date at the bottom of every page.
Form I-693, the sealed medical exam, now has to be in the box. USCIS states plainly that if you are required to submit Form I-693 or a partial I-693 and you do not, it may reject the Form I-485 outright. Mail filers submit it in the civil surgeon’s original sealed envelope. Online filers open the envelope, upload the contents, and keep the original and the envelope until USCIS makes a final decision.
The bona fide marriage evidence is where officers spend their attention, and not all of it is weighted the same. Joint financial commingling and shared housing carry real evidentiary weight. Photographs and message screenshots do not carry much on their own, though their absence is noticed. Our longer treatment of the subject ranks the categories in the ultimate list of bona fide marriage evidence; the tiers below compress that into what actually goes in the package.
One more layer matters in the current adjudication climate. The USCIS Policy Manual states that approving an adjustment application is a matter of administrative grace, that meeting the eligibility rules does not entitle anyone to approval, and that officers weigh the totality of the circumstances including family and community ties, employment history, and tax compliance. That framework is why the checklist below includes a discretionary evidence category most document lists leave out, and why eligibility alone is no longer enough for an I-485 approval.
Work through the ten categories in order. Green items are required for essentially every marriage-based filer, amber items are strongly recommended and are what separate a clean approval from a Request for Evidence, and gray items apply only if the described situation matches yours. If you want the failure modes rather than the document list, start with the eight most common Form I-485 filing mistakes.
The forms in the concurrent filing package
Five forms do the work and four more show up depending on your situation. The petitioning spouse signs the I-130, I-130A and I-864. The immigrant spouse signs the I-485, I-765 and I-131. Each form needs its own signature in ink or its own electronic signature; USCIS rejects unsigned forms without exception.
USCIS rejects an unsigned form outright rather than issuing a Request for Evidence. Two signatures are missed most often: the petitioner’s signature on Form I-130A, and the immigrant spouse’s own signature on the Form I-693 that the civil surgeon prepared.
Fees: what the 2024 rule unbundled
Before April 1, 2024, the I-485 filing fee bought interim benefits. An applicant paid once and the associated I-765 work permit and I-131 advance parole were free for as long as the adjustment application stayed pending. The current fee schedule broke that bundle. Filing the same package today means four separate payments instead of two.
The figures below come from Form G-1055, the USCIS fee schedule, edition 05/29/26. Note the $50 online discount that applies to most of these forms, and note that the I-485 fee no longer carries a separate biometric services fee.
| Form | By mail | Online | Who pays and when |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-130 plus I-130A | $675 | $625 | Petitioning spouse, at filing |
| I-485, applicant age 14 or older | $1,440 | $1,390 | Immigrant spouse, at filing |
| I-485, applicant under 14 filed with a parent’s I-485 | $950 | $900 | Only when filed concurrently with one parent |
| I-765 with a pending I-485 filed with a fee on or after Apr 1, 2024 | $260 | $260 | Immigrant spouse, optional |
| I-131 advance parole with a pending I-485 | $630 | $580 | Immigrant spouse, optional |
| I-693 medical exam | $0 | $0 | Civil surgeon charges separately |
| I-864, I-864A and I-864EZ | $0 | $0 | No USCIS fee |
| Full package: I-130, I-485, I-765 and I-131 | $3,005 | $2,855 | Spouse of a U.S. citizen, age 14 or older |
Two fee traps are worth naming. The reduced $260 I-765 fee only applies if your I-485 was filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024 and is still pending; applicants whose I-485 was filed before that date and who paid the old fee still get a $0 EAD. And the fee that was mandated by Public Law 119-21 for parole does not reach adjustment applicants: Form G-1055 lists as an exception any person who is a lawful applicant for adjustment of status under INA 245 and who is returning to the United States after temporary travel abroad. Carry proof of the pending I-485 when you re-enter, as our guide to travel rules for I-485 and advance parole holders explains.
The Form I-485 instructions state that traveling anywhere outside the United States while the application is pending, including brief trips to Canada or Mexico, is treated as abandonment unless you obtained advance parole first. The exceptions are narrow: H-1B, H-4, L, V and K-3 or K-4 holders who maintain status and return on a valid visa.
Petitioner status, photos and civil documents
The petitioning spouse has to prove two things before the marriage evidence matters at all: that they hold the status that gives them standing to petition, and that the marriage is legally valid, which means every prior marriage for both spouses was properly terminated.
A translator certification is three lines: a statement that the translation is complete and accurate, a statement that the translator is competent in both languages, and the translator’s signature, printed name, address and date. The translator does not need to be certified by any body and can be a friend, but should not be either spouse.
Identity, entry and immigration history
Adjustment under INA 245(a) requires a lawful entry with inspection. USCIS wants the paper trail for that entry, and it wants the honest version of everything that happened afterward. Gaps in status are survivable for the spouse of a U.S. citizen, who is forgiven most unlawful presence and unauthorized employment under INA 245(c); they are usually fatal for a spouse in the F2A preference category, who must show continuously maintained lawful status.
The Form I-864 financial package
The Affidavit of Support fails more marriage cases than the marriage evidence does, and it fails on paperwork rather than income. The sponsoring spouse must show current individual annual income at or above 125 percent of the HHS poverty guidelines for the household size, or 100 percent if the sponsor is on active duty in the armed forces and petitioning for a spouse or child. Under the guidelines effective March 1, 2026, that threshold in the 48 contiguous states is $27,050 for a household of two, $34,150 for three and $41,250 for four.
The single most consequential choice in this package is transcript versus photocopy. Submit an IRS tax return transcript and you are done; you do not include W-2s or 1099s. Submit a photocopy of the return instead and USCIS requires every single Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to it, plus every Form 1040 schedule you filed. That distinction is why so many packages draw a Request for Evidence, and it is covered in more depth in our piece on why sponsors should use IRS tax transcripts on Form I-864. For the form mechanics themselves, see the six essential requirements for completing the I-864.
For I-864 purposes USCIS reads the Total Income line on the Form 1040. Means-tested public benefits cannot be counted as income at all, and neither can income from illegal sources even if it was reported and taxed.
Bona fide marriage evidence, ranked by weight
The Form I-130 instructions list six categories of bona fide marriage evidence and ask for one or more of them: joint ownership of property, a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, documentation of combined financial resources, birth certificates of children born to the couple, sworn affidavits from third parties with personal knowledge, and any other relevant documentation of an ongoing marital union.
In practice officers weigh those unevenly. Documents created by a third party that would be expensive or legally risky to fake, a mortgage, a joint tax return, an insurance policy, carry the most weight. Documents either spouse could produce in an afternoon carry the least. That is the logic behind the three tiers below.
A higher standard applies in two situations. If the marriage took place while the immigrant spouse was in exclusion, deportation, removal or rescission proceedings, or if the petitioner obtained permanent residence through a prior marriage that did not end in death and is petitioning a new spouse within five years of that grant, the couple must show by clear and convincing evidence that the marriage was entered in good faith. In those cases treat every Tier 2 item as required.
Volume is not evidence. A binder of three hundred photographs and chat logs with no joint lease, no joint account and no joint tax return reads as a couple compensating for the absence of a shared financial life. Lead with Tier 1, use Tier 3 to fill gaps.
Evidence that speaks to discretion
The USCIS Policy Manual is explicit that adjustment of status is discretionary and that meeting the eligibility rules does not entitle anyone to approval. Officers weigh the totality of the circumstances, and the manual’s own table of factors names family and community ties, length of lawful residence, employment history and stability, compliance with tax laws, and good standing in the community as positive factors.
Almost no marriage checklist covers this, and most packages send nothing to address it. These items are not required by any form instruction. They are what you add when the case has a wrinkle, an old overstay, a dismissed charge, a gap in employment, and you want positives in the record to weigh against it.
Paying the fees correctly
Each form needs its own payment. USCIS rejects the entire package when one fee is wrong, and a rejected package means the whole thing comes back and has to be refiled with the current editions and the current fees.
U.S. citizen spouse versus green card holder spouse
The document list barely changes between the two situations. The filing mechanics change completely.
When the petitioner is a U.S. citizen, the immigrant spouse is an immediate relative. A visa number is always available, so the I-130 and I-485 can be filed together on day one, and INA 245(c) forgives most periods of unlawful presence, unauthorized employment and failure to maintain status. That is the single largest structural advantage in family immigration.
When the petitioner is a permanent resident, the spouse falls into the F2A preference category. The I-130 can be filed immediately, but the I-485 waits until the priority date is current under the chart USCIS designates for that month, and the checklist adds one item that is not optional: proof that the immigrant spouse continuously maintained lawful status since arriving. Check the designated chart before assuming you can file concurrently, and if the petitioning spouse naturalizes while the I-130 is pending, the case upgrades to immediate relative and the wait disappears.
One thing is identical in both cases. If the marriage is less than two years old on the day the green card is approved, the immigrant spouse receives conditional residence valid for two years and must file Form I-751 to remove the conditions in the 90 days before it expires. Everything in Tier 1 and Tier 2 above gets reused in that filing, so keep the originals and keep building the file after approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a marriage-based green card cost when filing inside the US?
For the spouse of a U.S. citizen aged 14 or older, the full concurrent package costs $3,005 by mail or $2,855 online. That is $675 for the I-130, $1,440 for the I-485, $260 for the I-765 work permit and $630 for the I-131 advance parole. Forms I-693 and I-864 carry no USCIS fee.
Can I file Form I-130 and Form I-485 at the same time for my spouse?
Yes if the petitioning spouse is a U.S. citizen. The immigrant spouse is an immediate relative, so a visa number is always available and both forms go in one package. If the petitioner is a permanent resident, the case falls in the F2A preference category and the I-485 waits until the priority date is current under the chart USCIS designates that month.
Do I have to send Form I-693 with my I-485?
Yes. USCIS states that if you are required to submit Form I-693 or a partial I-693 and you do not include it, it may reject your Form I-485. Mail filers submit the civil surgeon’s original sealed envelope. Online filers open the envelope, upload the contents, and keep the original until USCIS makes a final decision.
Is the I-765 work permit still free with a pending I-485?
No. Under the fee schedule that took effect April 1, 2024, an applicant whose I-485 was filed with a fee on or after that date pays $260 for the I-765, whether by mail or online. Only applicants who filed the I-485 between July 30, 2007 and April 1, 2024 and paid the old fee still get a $0 EAD.
How much income do I need to sponsor my spouse on Form I-864?
The sponsor needs current individual annual income at or above 125 percent of the HHS poverty guidelines. Under the guidelines effective March 1, 2026 for the 48 contiguous states, that is $27,050 for a household of two, $34,150 for three and $41,250 for four. Sponsors on active duty petitioning a spouse or child use the 100 percent column.
Should I send tax transcripts or copies of my tax returns with Form I-864?
Transcripts are simpler. If you submit an IRS tax return transcript for the most recent tax year, you do not attach W-2s or 1099s. If you submit a photocopy of the return instead, USCIS requires every single Form W-2 and Form 1099 tied to it plus every Form 1040 schedule you filed. Missing attachments are a common cause of a Request for Evidence.
What counts as the strongest proof of a bona fide marriage?
Third-party documents that would be expensive or legally risky to fabricate. A joint federal tax return filed as married filing jointly, a deed or lease naming both spouses, and joint bank account statements with real activity from both people carry the most weight. Photographs and message logs are the weakest tier and cannot substitute for a shared financial record.
Can I travel abroad while my marriage green card application is pending?
Only with an approved advance parole document. The Form I-485 instructions state that traveling anywhere outside the United States while the application is pending, including short trips to Canada or Mexico, is treated as abandonment unless you obtained advance parole first. Narrow exceptions apply to H-1B, H-4, L, V and K-3 or K-4 holders who maintain status and return on a valid visa.
Do adjustment applicants have to pay the $1,000 immigration parole fee?
No. Form G-1055 lists an exception to the Public Law 119-21 parole fee for a lawful applicant for adjustment of status under INA 245 who is returning to the United States after temporary travel abroad. Carry proof of the pending Form I-485 along with the advance parole document when you re-enter.
