Marriage Green Card: I-130 With I-485 or Consular Processing, Fees and Conditional Residence (I-751)

If you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, you can become a lawful permanent resident (get a Green Card) based on your family relationship if you meet certain eligibility requirements.

You are an immediate relative if you are:

The spouse of a U.S. citizen;

The unmarried child under 21 years of age of a U.S. citizen; or

The parent of a U.S. citizen (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

If you are currently in the United States, in order to be eligible for a Green Card as an immediate relative, you must meet the following requirements:

You properly file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;

You were inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States;

You are physically present in the United States at the time you file your Form I-485;

You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa;

An immigrant visa is immediately available to you at the time you file your Form I-485 and at the time USCIS makes a final decision on your application;

Note: A visa is always available for immediate relatives.

The relationship to the family member who filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for you still exists;

None of the applicable bars to adjustment apply to you;

You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief; and

You merit the favorable exercise of USCIS’ discretion.

Use this form if you (the petitioner) are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or U.S. national (who is not a U.S. citizen) and you need to establish your qualifying relationship with an eligible alien relative (the beneficiary) who wishes to come to or stay in the United States permanently and apply for the Permanent Resident Card (also called a Green Card).

If you are currently in the United States and you meet certain other requirements, you may file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status to apply for a Green Card without leaving the country. This is called “adjustment of status.”

As an immediate relative, you may file your Form I-485 together (“concurrently”) with the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative filed on your behalf, while the Form I-130 is pending, or after the Form I-130 is approved (and remains valid). For more information, see our pages on Concurrent Filing and the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited, so the visas are always available.

(B) If, at the time of filing, approval of a visa petition filed for classification under section 201(b)(2)(A)(i), section 203(a) or section 203(b)(1), (2) or (3) of the Act would make a visa immediately available to the alien beneficiary, the alien beneficiary's adjustment application will be considered properly filed whether submitted concurrently with or subsequent to the visa petition, provided that it meets the filing requirements contained in parts 103 and 245. For any other classification, the alien beneficiary may file the adjustment application only after the Service has approved the visa petition.

You should submit the following documentation and evidence to apply for a Green Card as an immediate relative who is already in the United States:

Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;

A copy of the Form I-797, Approval or Receipt Notice, for the Form I-130 petition filed on your behalf (unless you are filing Form I-485 together with the Form I-130):

If filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with your Form I-485, submit all evidence at the same time;

Two passport-style photographs;

A copy of your government-issued identity document with photograph;

A copy of your birth certificate;

A copy of your marriage certificate, if you are married, and proof of the legal termination of any prior marriages, such as divorce decree or certificate or death certificate (if applicable);

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Alert: We now offer online filing of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, for certain applicants and their representatives.

Filing Form I-485 concurrently with an underlying visa petition (Form I-140 or Form I-130)

Attorneys or accredited representatives can file Form I-485 concurrently with an underlying visa petition filed for you by a petitioner.

Individuals who are filing a Form I-140 as a self-petitioner can also concurrently file Form I-140 and Form I-485.

If an attorney or accredited representative is not submitting a filing on your behalf, and you are not a Form I-140 self-petitioner, you may not concurrently file Form I-485 with an underlying visa petition. If you are ineligible to concurrently file Form I-485 with a visa petition, the Form I-130 or Form I-140 petitioner must first submit their petition through their USCIS online account. After the visa petitioner receives their visa petition acceptance notice, and you meet all eligibility criteria to file Form I-485, you may submit your Form I-485 application through your USCIS online account.

Generally, when you have a pending Form I-485, you may apply for employment authorization by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

If you need to leave the United States temporarily while your Form I-485 is pending, you may apply for an advance parole document by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records. An advance parole document authorizes you to appear at a port of entry to seek parole into the United States after temporary travel outside the United States. Generally, if you have a pending Form I-485 and you leave the United States without an advance parole document, we will consider your Form I-485 application abandoned.

If you are currently outside the United States, see Consular Processing for information about how to apply for a Green Card as an immediate relative.

Once you are the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and an immigrant visa number is immediately available to you, there are two ways to apply for lawful permanent resident status (a Green Card). If you are outside of the United States, you may apply at a U.S. Department of State consulate abroad for an immigrant visa in order to come to the United States and be admitted as a permanent resident. This pathway is referred to as consular processing.

If you are already in the United States, you can apply for permanent resident status without having to return to your home country to complete processing. This process is called adjustment of status. For more information, see our Adjustment of Status page.

3. Wait for a Decision on Your Petition

USCIS notifies the petitioner of a decision. If USCIS denies the petition, the notice will include the reasons for denying the petition and whether you may appeal the decision. If the petition is approved and you live outside the United States (or live in the United States but want to apply for your immigrant visa abroad), USCIS will then send the approved petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center. The petition will remain there until an immigrant visa number is available for you. See our Visa Availability and Priority Dates pages for more information.

4. Wait for Notification from the National Visa Center

The National Visa Center (NVC) is responsible for collecting visa application fees and supporting documentation. The NVC will notify the petitioner and you (the beneficiary) when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is about to become available. They will also notify you when you must submit immigrant visa processing fees (commonly referred to as “fee bills”) and supporting documentation.

5. Go to Your Appointment

Once a visa is available or your priority date is current (earlier than the cut-off date listed in the monthly Visa Bulletin), the consular office will schedule you for an interview. The consular office will process your case and decide if you are eligible for an immigrant visa.

You will need to pay a USCIS Immigrant Fee. USCIS uses this fee to process your immigrant visa packet and produce your Green Card. We encourage you to pay the fee online after you receive your visa packet and before you depart for the United States.

A conditional permanent resident receives a Green Card valid for two years. To remove the conditions on your permanent resident status, you must file a petition within the 90-day period before your conditional Green Card expires. Use our Filing Calculator to determine your 90-day filing date. You cannot renew your conditional Green Card. If your conditions are not removed, you will lose your permanent resident status and you will become removable from the United States.

Your permanent resident status is conditional if it is based on marriage and you were married less than 2 years on the day you obtained permanent resident status. You obtain conditional permanent resident status when you are either admitted to the United States on an immigrant visa or adjust your status to that of a lawful permanent resident.

Your status is conditional until we approve your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.

You cannot file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), if you are a conditional permanent resident, unless you should have been admitted or adjusted without conditions on your permanent resident status.

A conditional permanent resident is an alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence within the meaning of section 101(a)(20) of the Act, except that a conditional permanent resident is also subject to the conditions and responsibilities set forth in section 216 or 216A of the Act, whichever is applicable, and part 216 of this chapter. Unless otherwise specified, the rights, privileges, responsibilities and duties which apply to all other lawful permanent residents apply equally to conditional permanent residents, including but not limited to the right to apply for naturalization (if otherwise eligible), the right to file petitions on behalf of qualifying relatives, the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed; the duty to register with the Selective Service System, when required; and the responsibility for complying with all laws and regulations of the United States. All references within this chapter to lawful permanent residents apply equally to conditional permanent residents, unless otherwise specified. The conditions of section 216 of the Act shall not apply to lawful permanent resident status based on a self-petitioning relationship under section 204(a)(1)(A)(iii), 204(a)(1)(A)(iv), 204(a)(1)(b)(ii), or 204(a)(1)(B)(iii) of the Act or based on eligibility as the derivative child of a self-petitioning spouse under section 204(a)(1)(A)(iii) or 204(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, regardless of the date on which the marriage to the abusive citizen or lawful permanent resident occurred.

Generally, you must apply to remove the conditions on permanent residence with your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or stepparent (called “filing jointly”) if:

You are still married to the same U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident when you file your Form I-751;* or

Your parent is still married to the same U.S. citizen spouse or lawful permanent resident and you are not included in your parent’s Form I-751.

You may file Form I-751 without your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or stepparent if:

The U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or stepparent is deceased and you entered the marriage in good faith;*

You married in good faith, but the marriage ended through divorce or annulment;*

You married in good faith, but you or your child were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse ;*

Your parent married in good faith, but you were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident stepparent or parent; or

The termination of your status and removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship.*

*If you are a conditional permanent resident spouse, you may include your conditional permanent resident children on your petition if they obtain their status either at the same time as you, or within 90 days of you.

Refer to the Form I-751 Instructions for more specific eligibility requirements.

(a) Filing the petition—(1) General procedures. Within the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date on which the alien obtained permanent residence, the alien and the alien's spouse who filed the original immigrant visa petition or fiance/fiancee petition through which the alien obtained permanent residence must file a Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence (Form I-751) with the Service. The petition shall be filed within this time period regardless of the amount of physical presence which the alien has accumulated in the United States. Before Form I-751 may be considered as properly filed, it must be accompanied by the fee required under 8 CFR 106.2 and by documentation as described in paragraph (a)(5) of this section, and it must be properly signed by the alien and the alien's spouse. If the joint petition cannot be filed due to the termination of the marriage through annulment, divorce, or the death of the petitioning spouse, or if the petitioning spouse refuses to join in the filing of the petition, the conditional permanent resident may apply for a waiver of the requirement to file the joint petition in accordance with the provisions of § 216.5 of this part. Upon receipt of a properly filed Form I-751, the alien's conditional permanent resident status shall be extended automatically, if necessary, until such time as the director has adjudicated the petition.

If you are a conditional permanent resident, your Green Card will expire 2 years from the date you obtain conditional permanent residence. If you do not apply to remove the conditions in time, you could lose your conditional permanent resident status and potentially be removed from the country.

If you are filing Form I-751 jointly with your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, you must file your Form I-751 within the 90-day period immediately before your Green Card expires.

If you are a child filing a joint petition, separately, you may do so at any time, even before the 90-day period before your Green Card expires.

Use our Filing Calculator to determine your 90-day filing date.

If you do not properly file Form I-751 within the 90-day period before your Green Card expires, your status as a conditional permanent resident automatically terminates. We will:

Send you a notice telling you that you failed to remove the conditions; and

Begin removal proceedings against you by sending you a Notice to Appear at a hearing. At the hearing, you may review and rebut (deny) the evidence against you. You must prove that you met the requirements of your conditional permanent resident status; we do not need to prove that you did not meet the requirements.

If you file your Form I-751 after the 90-day period, you must include a written explanation for why you are filing late. We will determine whether there was good cause for your failure to file your Form I-751 within the required time period.

If you cannot apply with your spouse or stepparent to remove the conditions on your residence, you may request a waiver of the joint filing requirement before or after the 90-day period immediately before your Green Card expires, until a final removal order has been issued.

You may request a waiver of the joint filing requirements if:

Your deportation or removal would result in extreme hardship;

You or your parent entered into the marriage in good faith, and not to circumvent immigration laws, but your spouse or stepparent subsequently died;

You entered into your marriage in good faith, and not to circumvent immigration laws, but the marriage ended by annulment or divorce, and you were not at fault in failing to file a timely petition;

You entered into your marriage in good faith, and not to circumvent immigration laws, but during the marriage you or your child were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty committed by your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, and you were not at fault in failing to file a joint petition; or

Your parent entered into the marriage in good faith, and not to circumvent immigration laws, but during marriage you were battered or subject to extreme cruelty by your parent or your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident stepparent.

(a) General. (1) A conditional resident alien who is unable to meet the requirements under section 216 of the Act for a joint petition for removal of the conditional basis of his or her permanent resident status may file Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence, if the alien requests a waiver, was not at fault in failing to meet the filing requirement, and the conditional resident alien is able to establish that:

(i) Deportation or removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship;

(ii) The marriage upon which his or her status was based was entered into in good faith by the conditional resident alien, but the marriage was terminated other than by death, and the conditional resident was not at fault in failing to file a timely petition; or

(iii) The qualifying marriage was entered into in good faith by the conditional resident but during the marriage the alien spouse or child was battered by or subjected to extreme cruelty committed by the citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent.

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If you properly file Form I-751, your receipt notice will extend the validity of your conditional permanent resident status, and work authorization, for 48 months. If your Form I-751 is still pending and you need evidence of your status after the initial 48-month extension, you must call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283.

To remove the conditions on a Green Card based on marriage, you must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence.