Green Card Document Checklist: What You Need to Apply

Applying for a green card requires more than filling in a form. You need to establish your eligibility, have an approved immigrant petition in most cases, and provide evidence that supports your application. The exact documents you must submit depend on your category and whether you are inside or outside the United States. This page sets out the core documents most applicants will need and the circumstances that change the checklist, based on USCIS guidance.

First, Determine Your Eligibility Category

Before gathering documents, you need to know which immigrant category you are applying under. USCIS lists the possible categories on its Green Card Eligibility Categories page, and the eligibility requirements vary by category. Your category determines which petition form, if any, someone must file for you, and whether you can file the petition and the green card application together.

Most people who apply for a green card need to complete at least two forms: an immigrant petition and a green card application (Form I-485). In most cases, someone else files the petition for you — often called sponsoring or petitioning for you — although you may be eligible to file for yourself in some categories.

The Core Documents: Petition and Application Forms

The most common petition forms are:

• Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative — for family-based petitions.
• Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker — for employment-based petitions.
• Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition — for certain relatives of refugees or asylees.
• Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal — for asylum seekers.

Other petitions include Form I-360 (Amerasian, widow(er), or special immigrant), Form I-526 (immigrant investor), Form I-918 (U nonimmigrant status), and Form I-929 (qualifying family member of a U-1 nonimmigrant).

You must refer to your eligibility category to see whether you need a petition and which one. If you already have an approved immigrant petition and an immigrant visa is available, you file Form I-485 with USCIS. If you do not have an approved petition, check whether your category allows concurrent filing — filing the petition and Form I-485 at the same time.

Adjustment of Status vs Consular Processing

Your location determines which process you use and which documents you submit where.

Your location	Process	Where you file
Inside the United States	Adjustment of status	File Form I-485 with USCIS
Outside the United States	Consular processing	File a visa application with the U.S. Department of State

If you are in the United States and have an approved petition and an available visa, you file Form I-485. If you do not have an approved petition, check whether your category permits concurrent filing. If you are outside the United States, you use consular processing through the Department of State, and your next steps are set out on USCIS’s Consular Processing page.

The General Application Steps and Evidence

USCIS describes a general process that most applicants go through, though the steps vary by situation:

1. Someone files an immigrant petition for you (or you file for yourself in some categories).
2. After USCIS approves the petition and a visa is available, you file a green card application with USCIS or a visa application with the Department of State.
3. You attend a biometrics appointment to provide fingerprints, photos, and a signature.
4. You attend an interview.
5. You receive a decision.

Your supporting evidence must demonstrate your eligibility under your category. USCIS does not publish a single universal document checklist because the required evidence depends on the category. However, the general process implies that you will need identity documents, evidence of the relationship or employment basis for your petition, and any documents specific to your category. You should check your eligibility category page for the specific evidence requirements.

Additional Evidence: Medical Exam, Affidavit of Support, and Public Charge

Most green card applications require a medical exam. You must complete the exam with a designated civil surgeon and follow the specific forms and procedures USCIS requires. Check the Immigration Medical Examinations page for details.

An affidavit of support is a form a sponsor files on your behalf when you apply for a green card or immigrant visa. It is required for some — but not all — immigrant categories before you can become a permanent resident. Its purpose is to show you have the financial means to live in the United States without needing welfare or financial benefits from the U.S. government.

Most immigrants must also show they will not become a public charge. The public charge test is a separate requirement from the affidavit of support, and you should review USCIS’s public charge page to understand what evidence you may need to provide.

If You Already Have a Green Card: Renewal and Replacement

If you already hold a green card, the document checklist changes. You do not file Form I-485 to renew or replace your card. Instead, you file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, online or by mail.

You must replace your green card if it is expired or will expire within the next six months, if it was lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed, if it contains incorrect information, or if you legally changed your name or other biographic information. You must also replace it if you received it before age 14 and have reached your 14th birthday (unless the card expires before your 16th birthday), if you never received the previous card, or if you hold an older version of the alien registration card such as Form AR-3, AR-103, or I-151.

If you are a conditional permanent resident, you cannot renew your two-year green card. Instead, you must file a petition to remove conditions 90 days before your card expires, or you will lose your permanent resident status. Family-based conditional residents file Form I-751; investor-based conditional residents file Form I-829.

What to Do Next and What to Verify

Start by confirming your eligibility category on the USCIS Green Card Eligibility Categories page. That page tells you which petition form, if any, applies to you and what evidence your category requires. Then determine whether you are inside or outside the United States, because that decides whether you file Form I-485 with USCIS or a visa application with the Department of State.

Before you file, verify the current version of each form and the filing fee on the official USCIS form pages. Fees and forms change, and the USCIS website is the authoritative source. If your mailing address changes after you file, update it with USCIS and USPS promptly — failing to do so can delay your case, lose documents, and require you to reapply and pay the fee again.

If USCIS denies your application, you cannot appeal the denial. You may submit a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider to the same office that made the decision. A motion to reopen must state new facts and include evidence; a motion to reconsider must show USCIS incorrectly applied immigration law or policy and that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence in your file.