In support of your I-485 Adjustment of Status Application, we require the following information and documents for each applicant:

Birth Certificates (with translation)

Please provide a copy of your birth certificate. Birth certificates must conform to the Department of State (DOS) guidelines for birth documents from your country of birth, which you can view here.

If your birth certificate is not in English, you will also need to provide a certified translation. If you do not already have a translation, please let us know and we can help you obtain one.

Marriage Certificate and/or Prior Divorce Decree

If you are married, please provide a copy of your marriage certificate. If you were previously married, please also provide a copy of your divorce decree(s). Marriage certificates and divorce records must also conform to Department of State guidelines for documents from the country where the marriage or divorce was finalized. You can view the DOS document requirements here.

If your marriage certificate or divorce decree is not in English, you will also need to provide a certified translation. If you do not already have a translation, please let us know and we can help you obtain one.

Passport Biographical Information Page and US Visa/Entry Stamps

Please provide a copy of the biographical information page of your most current passport. Please also provide copies of all US Port of Entry stamps and US visa stamps in any current or prior passport. You do not need to provide copies of blank passport pages.

I-94 Record

Please provide a copy of your most recent I-94 arrival/departure record, which you can access at the CBP website.

Nonimmigrant Status Documents

Please provide a copy of all nonimmigrant status documents ever issued to you. Depending on your nonimmigrant history, this may include:

  • Form I-20s

  • Form DS-2019

  • Form I-129 Approval Notices

J-1 Status Documents

If you ever held J-1 or J-2 nonimmigrant status, and you were subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement, please provide either:

  • A copy of your J-1 waiver approval notice (I-612); or

  • Evidence that you have satisfied the two-year home-country physical presence requirement

If you are a physician who received a J-1 waiver under the Conrad 30 program, please also include a letter from your Conrad 30 employer or relevant State Health Department confirming that your Conrad 30 employment obligations have been satisfied.

Employment Authorization Documents (EAD)

Please provide a copy of all EADs ever issued to you. Please include copies of the front and back of EAD card.

I-140 and PERM Labor Certification Documents

If Ellis Porter did not prepare your underlying I-140 Immigrant Petition, please provide us with a copy of your I-140 Approval Notice.

For PERM-based I-140s, we will also need a copy of your approved ETA 9089 Labor Certification or a copy of the originally-filed I-140 Immigrant Petition.

Physicians, Nurses, Physical Therapists and Other Healthcare Workers

If you are a physician, registered nurse, physical therapist or work in another healthcare occupation that requires a professional license, please provide a copy of your current license.

Also, please provide a copy of your Visa Screen certificate if you work in one of the following healthcare occupations:

  • Registered Nurse

  • Physical Therapist

  • Physician Assistant

  • Occupational Therapist

  • Audiologist

  • Speech Language Pathologist

  • Clinical Laboratory Technician / Medical Laboratory Technician

  • Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Medical Laboratory Technologist

Photographs

Each applicant will also need to obtain six (6) identical passport photographs that meet the DOS passport photograph guidelines.

Medical Examination

Each applicant will need to obtain a medical examination performed by a physician approved by USCIS (also called a “civil surgeon”). After the exam, the physician will complete a Form I-693 and seal the form in an envelope, which you must send to us so we can include it with your Adjustment of Status application. Do not open the sealed envelope.

You can find a list of approved USCIS physicians here.

When to Submit the Medical Examination

A medical examination can be submitted at the time an Adjustment of Status application is filed or anytime after the application is filed, up until the date of final adjudication. When submitting a medical examination after the application is filed, the applicant may bring their medical examination report to their Adjustment of Status interview at a USCIS local office or submit it in response to Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS. USCIS will not accept a medical examination report submitted after the Adjustment of Status application unless it is being submitted in response to an RFE.

An I-693 medical examination report submitted at the time the Adjustment of Status application is filed remain valid for 2 years from the date it is signed by the USCIS civil surgeon, as long as the civil surgeon signed the I-693 medical examination report within 60 days prior to the application filing date.

An I-693 medical examination report submitted anytime after the date the Adjustment of Status application is filed remains valid for 2 years from the date it is signed by the USCIS civil surgeon.

Please see the chart below from the USCIS Policy Manual for further explanation of the medical examination filing options and validity periods.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As noted above, Adjustment of Status applicants are not legally required to include an I-693 medical examination report with their initial I-485 application filing. Instead, the medical examination can be provided to USCIS after they issue a request for the medical examination, which could be months or years after they accept the application.

For individuals hoping to file an Adjustment of Status application in October 2020,
we highly recommend filing your application without including a medical examination to avoid delays in preparing your application and to avoid extremely high fees being charged by USCIS approved physicians right now because of the October 2020 Adjustment of Status application filing rush.

Information About Upcoming Travel Plans

You must be physically present in the US to file an I-485 Adjustment of Status application. Please let us know of any potential international travel plans (including to Mexico and Canada) for any applicant, as this may affect the I-485 application filing strategy.