Here's an expanded Form I-485 process with additional details and documents as needed:
0. What is i485:
- I-485 is a personal green card application filed by the employee named in I-140 petition and by her derivative family members (spouse and children).
- Adjustment of status application focuses on employee’s personal eligibility to receive green card (e.g. absence of criminal history or other grounds of inadmissibility).
- As a part of adjustment of status application, your immigration lawyer can request a travel/work authorization card that can be used while I-485 is pending.
- The work and travel card usually arrives in 4-5 months after filing. At that point, an employee no longer needs their H-1B, though they may continue to use the H-1B until the green card is approved.
1. **Eligibility Determination**:
- Review USCIS guidelines to determine eligibility for adjustment of status based on your immigration category. Depending on the green card category and the country of chargeability, an immigrant visa number may not be immediately available.
- Ensure that you maintain lawful immigration status while your Form I-485 is pending.
- Refer to visa bulletin for the current information: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
- If the priority date is current when the PERM is approved, your lawyer may be able to move to next step immediately and file the I-485 application together with the I-140.
2. **Gather Required Documents**:
- If applying based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, include a copy of your marriage certificate.
- If applying based on employment, include a copy of Form I-797 approval notice for Form I-140 or other relevant employment-based petition.
- If applying based on family relationship, include documentation establishing the familial relationship (e.g., birth certificates, marriage certificates).
- Include any additional documents specific to your immigration category or requested by USCIS.
3. **Medical Examination**:
- Schedule a medical examination with a USCIS-approved civil surgeon.
- The medical examination includes a physical examination, vaccination review, and completion of Form I-693.
- Ensure that all required vaccinations are up-to-date or obtain any missing vaccinations during the examination.
4. **Prepare Form I-485 Package**:
- Complete Form I-485 accurately and truthfully, providing all required information.
- Sign the form and ensure all required signatures are obtained.
- Organize supporting documents in a clear and organized manner, following USCIS guidelines.
- Include translations for any documents not in English.
- If applicable, include a cover letter explaining any special circumstances or providing additional information.
5. **Submit Form I-485**:
- Mail the completed Form I-485 package to the appropriate USCIS Lockbox facility.
- Include the correct filing fee payment, which may vary based on your age, immigration category, and other factors.
- If eligible, include a request for a fee waiver or submit Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver.
6. **Biometrics Appointment**:
- Receive a notice 1-2 months after lawyer files paperwork from USCIS scheduling a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center (ASC).
- Bring the appointment notice and a valid government-issued photo identification to the biometrics appointment.
- USCIS will collect fingerprints, photograph, and signature for identity verification purposes.
7. **Interview Notice (if applicable)**:
- About 12 months after filing the paperwork, you will receive an approval, a request for evidence, or an interview notice.
- Receive a notice from USCIS scheduling an interview at a local USCIS office (if required for your case).
- Prepare for the interview by reviewing your application and gathering any additional requested documents & produce all the original civil documents, immigration status documents (H1B approvals, visa stamps, SEVIS documents, etc) and previously completed medical exam on form I-693 in a closed envelope.
- If applying based on employment the employee needs to confirm that job or a job offer is still available for them at the time of the interview.
- An immigration officer will review employee’s green card application and all their underlying immigration files.
- If applying based on marriage, be prepared to provide evidence of the bona fides of the marriage.
8. **Attend Interview (if applicable)**:
- Attend the scheduled interview with USCIS officers.
- Bring original documents and copies of any additional evidence requested by USCIS.
- Answer questions truthfully and provide any requested documents or information.
9. **Wait for Decision**:
- After the interview, USCIS will review your case and make a decision.
- If approved, USCIS will mail your green card (Form I-551) to your address on file.
- If denied, USCIS will provide reasons for the denial and instructions on how to appeal the decision, if applicable.
10. **Follow-up Actions**:
- If granted lawful permanent resident status, update relevant government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, with your new status.
- Review the conditions of your green card if applicable (e.g., conditional permanent resident status) and follow any required steps for removal of conditions in the future.
- If denied, consult with an immigration attorney to explore options for appeal or re-filing.
Maintaining Permanent Resident Status
If you are a lawful permanent resident of the United States, your green card is evidence of your status, but more may be needed to maintain your status, travel outside the United States without inconvenience, or become a naturalized U.S. citizen in the future. If you leave the United States for a prolonged period of time, you may jeopardize your permanent resident status and your future ability to naturalize.
It is important to note that maintaining permanent residence status is different from maintaining U.S. residence for naturalization purposes; some requirements overlap, but there are important differences that must be considered carefully.
Maintaining Permanent Residence during Lengthy Absences; Obtaining a Reentry Permit
If you plan to be outside the United States for one continuous year or more – for instance, if you are assigned to a new position that is located abroad and will not be traveling back to the United States during the foreign assignment – maintaining status is important so that you may continue to enter the United States as a resident. Permanent resident status is not always automatically lost by a lengthy absence abroad, but such an absence will be taken into account by USCIS in determining whether you intend to maintain or abandon your status. In order to maintain status for this purpose, you must preserve sufficient ties to the United States to indicate that you consider the U.S. to be your permanent home. To determine your intentions, the USCIS will look at several factors, including:
The length of your absence;
The reason you are traveling;
Whether you have a fixed date to return to the United States;
Whether you have continued to file tax returns as a resident alien;
Whether you have maintained bank accounts, property and a driver’s license;
The location of your family; and
The location of your employment.
Trips outside the United States for less than six months do not usually pose a problem; if you stay outside the United States for less than six continuous months, you should not ordinarily have any difficulty re-entering. Trips outside the United States of between six continuous months and one continuous year in duration may raise a red flag with an immigration officer upon your return. You may need to explain your absence, but you should be readmitted to the U.S. based upon your green card, without further documentation.
Reentry permits. If you travel abroad for a continuous year or more, you will be required to obtain a reentry permit in order to be readmitted to the United States. You must apply for the permit in the United States and attend a biometrics appointment so that your fingerprints and photographs can be collected before your departure. You may depart the United States once your application is filed, but must return for your biometrics appointment. Failure to appear for a biometrics appointment may cause your application to be deemed abandoned. If you have urgent travel plans, it may be possible to request expedited processing of the reentry permit application. Please contact your designated Fragomen professional in such cases.
Once your permit is granted, you may collect it at a U.S. consular post or overseas U.S. immigration office, or you may have it mailed to a U.S. address. The permit is typically valid for two years and is not extendable, though you may apply for a new one. When you return to the United States, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may still investigate whether you have abandoned your permanent residency and may ask about the factors listed above; the permit simply prevents the CBP from relying solely on your absence as a basis for determining whether you have abandoned your permanent resident status. Note that trips outside of the United States for one continuous year or more may raise issues in connection with any future application for naturalization to U.S. citizenship. This issue is discussed below.
Preserving Permanent Residence for Naturalization Purposes
In order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, you must fulfill several criteria, including requirements concerning your residence and physical presence in the United States. To qualify, you must continuously reside in the United States for five years after attaining lawful permanent residence (or three years if you are the spouse of a U.S. citizen); you must also be physically present in the United States for at least half of that period (two and one-half years for most aliens, one and one-half years for spouses of U.S. citizens). For naturalization purposes, lengthy trips outside the U.S. may serve to “break” the continuity of your residence period. These breaks have serious consequences and may stop the naturalization clock, requiring you to start at the beginning to re-accumulate the necessary years of residence.
In general, an absence of less than six months will not interrupt your continuous residence. An absence of six months to one year will break continuous residence unless you can give a reasonable explanation for the absence, such as an overseas assignment with your U.S. employer or a lengthy trip to care for an ailing relative. If you are absent from the U.S. for one year or more, your continuity of residence will be automatically broken for naturalization purposes unless you take specific steps to preserve continuity.
If you plan to remain outside of the United States for a year or more, you may apply to the USCIS for special benefits that will preserve the continuity of your residence during the extended absence. To qualify for extended absence benefits, you must have been physically present and residing in the U.S. as a permanent resident for one year – with no absence from the U.S. whatsoever – prior to the absence. During the absence, you must be employed abroad by the U.S. government, a U.S. research institute, a U.S. corporation or subsidiary that is engaged in the development of foreign trade or commerce, or an international organization of which the U.S. is a member (provided that you were not employed by the international organization before becoming a permanent resident). You must request the extended benefits before you have been absent for one year, and you must also show that your absence is in furtherance of your overseas employment.
Physical presence in the United States is calculated differently from residence for purposes of naturalization. As noted above, you must be physically present in the U.S. for at least two and one-half years (one and one-half years if you are the spouse of a U.S. citizen). However, unlike your residency period, your period of physical presence need not be continuous as long as you meet or exceed the minimum time requirement. The following example demonstrates how both continuous residence and physical presence are counted: You live in the United States for one year after becoming a permanent resident; you are then assigned abroad for two years, having obtained the necessary extended absence benefits. After the assignment is completed, you return to the United States and remain there for two years. In this case, you have met the requirement of five years of continuous residence. You have also met the requirement of two and one-half years of physical presence, since you were physically present for a total of three years, six months longer than necessary.
Lost or Expired Green Cards
Form I-551 Permanent Residence Cards are typically valid for ten years. Only the card expires in ten years, not your permanent resident status. You must apply for a new card before your current card expires. To do so, you must file a Form I-90 application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you lose your green card, you may apply to replace it by submitting an I-90 application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
NOTE: ANY TIMING PROVIDED ABOVE IS ONLY A ROUGH ESTIMATE BASED ON RECENT EXPERIENCE. FUTURE PROCESSING CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.
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