Form I-485, Application To Register Permanent Residence Or: Fill & Download for Free

Thanks for the A2A, Habib!I’ve written some good things about Trump. Which is ironic, because in my day to day working life as an immigration lawyer, he is my nemesis.Photo by Jamelle Bouie/Flickr on What the Ancient Greeks would have to say about TrumpHe’s like the evil giant at the top of a great immigration law pyramid, who is directing all of the parts and workings against me.If I had to sum up his policy in one sentence, it would be this: to make legal immigration as much of a pain in the ass possible, within the existing legal framework.The actual immigration laws, which must be passed by Congress, haven’t changed.What has changed is the interpretation and execution of the existing laws. There is a lot of legal leeway and room for interpretation within immigration law.I could cite many examples of these frustrating changes in execution and interpretation. But I’ll just give two, because I think they are illustrative.In June and July of 2018, two USCIS memos were issued that, especially working in tandem with each other, could have a chilling effect on people applying for immigration benefits.The first was the Notice to Appear Policy Memorandum. A “Notice to Appear” is the document that people are served with when the government initiates removal proceedings against them. That means the government tries to remove them from the country.“Starting Oct. 1, 2018, USCIS may issue NTAs on denied status-impacting applications, including, Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.Starting Nov. 19, 2018, USCIS may also issue NTAs based on denials of Forms I-914/I-914A, Applications for T Nonimmigrant Status; I-918/I-918 Petitions for U Nonimmigrant Status; I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Violence Against Women Act self-petitions and Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions); Form I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant; I-730 Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions; and I-485 Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjustment of Status with these underlying form types.”For those not familiar with some of these visa types, T visas are for victims of human trafficking; U visas are for victims of certain typically violent crimes who cooperate with law enforcement, and Special Immigrant Juveniles are children who have had to be placed in the custody of the state or the courts.The previous policy was that when these applications were denied, they would only be issued an NTA or referred to ICE if there were indicators of fraud, significant criminal activity, or national security concerns.Today, if a victim of human trafficking, for example, is not in lawful status, and their case is denied for lack of sufficient evidence, USCIS may put them in removal proceedings.The second USCIS memo was issued the following month, in July of 2018. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/USCIS_Policy_Update_on_Issuing_RFEs_and_NOIDs.pdfThis memo allows USCIS to issue denials instead of first issuing a Request For Evidence (RFE) to give people the chance to correct mistakes or provide additional items for their applications.One example that the memo gives is that a denial notice may be issued instead of an RFE when an Affidavit of Support is not submitted with an Adjustment of Status application.Before your eyes glaze over with boredom, think about how these two memos go together.If dealing with immigration agencies in the United States was simple and self-explanatory, I wouldn’t have a job. Everyone would do everything themselves.But not everyone can afford a lawyer. So the situation now is that vulnerable people, such as victims of human trafficking and other violent crimes, widows, people who were abused by their U.S. citizen spouse or former spouse, and children or young adults who are or have been wards of the state, may qualify for an immigration benefit under the law.But if they apply and are denied, USCIS may or may not put them in removal proceedings.On top of that, if they forget a form, or forget to include some other piece of required evidence, their application can be denied without them having a chance to correct it.That means that, “I forgot to include a form, now I am facing removal from the country” is not a particularly far-fetched scenario.Even for people who qualify for an immigration benefit, such as permanent resident status, everything is much more difficult, and takes much more time and work once someone is in removal proceedings.That means that the same immigration lawyers become a lot more expensive. And there are no government-appointed lawyers for Immigration Court.The end result of these policy changes could very well be that at least some people who otherwise would have become permanent residents, because they qualify to become permanent residents, will instead be torn from their homes and families and removed from the country.To be clear, I believe that the government has the legal authority to do all of the things I have mentioned. The law gives the president and the attorney general a lot of discretion in how to enforce immigration laws.But there’s a big difference between what the President has the right to do and what is the right thing to do.For those who believe that religion has no place in public discourse, forgive me. But as a Christian, my thoughts on the right thing to do are guided in part by Scripture:Deuteronomy 10:17-19 – “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the stranger, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (NRSV). Home | Donald E. Burke, Ph.D. (emphasis added).

If you are offered a job in USA , your employer has to File Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status and Form -765, Employment Authorization Document.Copied it from Can you transfer from M1 to H1 visa?

Just a quick add-on to Matt Pickering’s answer, you can file the Form I-765 - Application for Employment Authorization concurrently with your I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) and I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) so that the EAD can be issued while the base petitions are processing. If you’ve already filed the I-130 and I-485, you can still file the I-765 and will just need to provide a copy of your processing receipt for the underlying I-485 application (Form I-797C) to prove that it has been filed and is pending.Good luck!