Green Card Application Fee: Current Filing Costs

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Contents

The current adjustment-of-status fee
Work authorization and travel have separate fee lines
Petition fees and a useful subtotal
Exemptions and waivers are not interchangeable
Immigration-court adjustment has additional charges
Consular processing uses a different set of fees
Government fees are not the entire cost
The correct payment must accompany the correct filing
Sources

Key Facts

Federal level: The ordinary Form I-485 fee is $1,440 on paper or $1,390 through an available USCIS online filing option, unless a different category or exception applies.
Federal level: The reduced child fee requires an applicant under 14 to file concurrently with a parent’s Form I-485; a 14-year-old is outside that age exception.
Federal level: A new adjustment application does not automatically include the fees for employment authorization and advance parole.
Federal level: A category-based fee exemption and an inability-to-pay waiver are different forms of relief, and not every adjustment category qualifies for a waiver.
Federal level: Consular processing uses a different set of charges from adjustment inside the United States, including a separate USCIS Immigrant Fee when applicable.

A green card application fee is best understood as a charge for a particular application or processing step, rather than one price that covers the entire immigration case. The route, filing category, applicant’s age, filing method, and any qualifying exemption determine which fee entries apply.

The broader Form I-485 guide explains the adjustment process; this article focuses on the government charges and the costs outside them.

The current adjustment-of-status fee

Form I-485 is the application used to seek permanent resident status from inside the United States.

Ordinary filing: $1,440 on paper, or $1,390 for an eligible online filing.
Child under 14 filing concurrently with a parent: $950 on paper, or $900 for an eligible online filing.
Qualifying exempt category: no I-485 filing fee, subject to the category’s specific requirements.

The regulation places applicants age 14 or older in the ordinary age bracket. For a younger child, the reduced amount depends on concurrent filing with a parent, not simply on being included in the same family’s immigration plans.

Online pricing does not mean every applicant can use every online filing arrangement. USCIS currently allows online I-485 filing for certain applicants, with different concurrent-filing options for representatives, qualifying I-140 self-petitioners, and other unrepresented applicants.

Work authorization and travel have separate fee lines

For an employment-authorization request based on a fee-paid I-485 filed on or after April 1, 2024, the current I-765 fee is $260 while the adjustment application remains pending. That $260 amount is the same for paper and eligible online filing; the ordinary online discount does not reduce it again.

An advance-parole request on Form I-131 based on a pending I-485 ordinarily costs $630 on paper or $580 through an available online filing option.

A different rule remains for a pending I-485 filed with the required fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024: the related I-765 and I-131 filing fees can remain zero under the legacy provisions. The receipt date and the basis of the later request therefore matter, even when the forms have the same numbers.

The separate statutory immigration parole fee is not the same charge as the I-131 application fee. Federal law provides an exception for a lawful adjustment applicant under INA section 245 who is returning after temporary travel abroad, subject to an individual determination that the exception applies. A fee attached to a grant of parole should therefore not be added automatically to every adjustment applicant’s travel budget.

Petition fees and a useful subtotal

An underlying family petition on Form I-130 has its own ordinary fee: $675 on paper or $625 online. The I-485 fee does not replace that separate petition charge.

Some applicants also need Supplement A for adjustment under INA section 245(i), which ordinarily carries a separate $1,000 payment unless a specified exception applies.

Simplified example: For an ordinary adult paper I-485 with a qualifying $260 I-765 request and a $630 I-131 request, those three filing fees total $2,330. That subtotal excludes the underlying petition, any separately applicable statutory charge, medical services, photographs, and other case expenses. It is an illustration of fee separation, not a universal green card price.

Exemptions and waivers are not interchangeable

An exemption follows from a qualifying filing category, while a fee waiver requires a permitted request and proof of inability to pay.

I-485 exemptions include qualifying refugee, special immigrant juvenile, T or U nonimmigrant, VAWA, and specified Afghan or Iraqi special-immigrant filings. An exemption for one application does not establish that every separate petition or statutory charge in the case is free.

For an ordinary USCIS I-485 fee waiver, the regulation limits eligibility to applicants exempt from the public-charge ground of inadmissibility. The financial standards include receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit, household income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or extreme financial hardship from extraordinary expenses or other circumstances. Meeting a financial standard alone does not make an otherwise ineligible adjustment category waivable.

A waiver request must accompany the benefit request and include the reasons and supporting evidence; Form I-912 is the USCIS request form for this purpose. A zero-dollar filing without an applicable exemption or an accepted waiver can be rejected for the missing fee.

Immigration-court adjustment has additional charges

Federal law imposes an additional fee on an application for permanent-resident adjustment filed with an immigration court or adjudicated there. For fiscal year 2026, the EOIR schedule lists a $1,540 statutory component and a standard I-485 total of $2,980, excluding any applicable biometrics fees. That court total is different from the ordinary USCIS adjustment filing fee, and the statutory component is subject to annual inflation adjustments.

Court fee-waiver procedures are governed by EOIR rules, rather than by submitting a USCIS fee-waiver request alone. The current court instructions and the precise type of charge determine the payment and any available waiver procedure.

Consular processing uses a different set of fees

Applicants completing immigrant-visa processing abroad pay Department of State charges instead of treating I-485 as their visa application.

Family-based immigrant visa application: $325 per person.
Employment-based immigrant visa application: $345 per person.
Other immigrant visa applications: the schedule lists $205 for the residual category, with separate exemptions for specified cases.
Diversity visa: the application fee is $330, separate from the schedule’s $1 registration fee.
Affidavit of Support review: $120 when the review is performed domestically, subject to any applicable exemption.

The USCIS Immigrant Fee is a separate $235 charge for domestic processing and issuance of documents after an immigrant visa is issued. The current fee schedule exempts children entering through the orphan or Hague adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, returning lawful permanent residents with SB-1 visas, and K nonimmigrants from that particular charge.

Nonpayment of a required USCIS Immigrant Fee can prevent delivery of the physical green card without undoing permanent-resident status already obtained on admission.

Government fees are not the entire cost

Adjustment evidence can include passport-style photographs, civil records, certified English translations, and an immigration medical examination when required.

A photographer’s charge for producing application photographs is a separate private service cost, not part of the I-485 payment. USCIS also explains that civil-surgeon examination prices can vary significantly and that insurance may not cover every part of the examination. A quote for medical care or document preparation therefore should not be mistaken for an official government fee.

The correct payment must accompany the correct filing

USCIS can reject a filing submitted without the correct fee, and a rejected filing does not retain a filing date. A failed payment can also invalidate a receipt already issued.

For ordinary mailed filings, USCIS now requires an accepted electronic payment method rather than a personal or business check, money order, or cashier’s check, unless a payment-method exemption applies. The current mailed-payment options include Form G-1450 for a credit, debit, or prepaid card and Form G-1650 for an ACH payment from a U.S. bank account. The agency’s fee schedule, the form’s filing instructions, and the payment instructions for the receiving office must be read together.

USCIS filing fees are generally nonrefundable regardless of the outcome or later withdrawal. Paying the correct amount satisfies a filing requirement; it does not establish eligibility for permanent residence.