I-130 vs I-485: what's the difference

What each form is for

Form I-130, the Petition for Alien Relative, is the form a US citizen or lawful permanent resident files to ask USCIS to recognize a family relationship for immigration purposes [Tier 1: USCIS.gov Form I-130 page, https://www.uscis.gov/i-130]. The I-130 establishes the relationship — that the petitioner and the beneficiary are, for example, spouses, parent and child, or siblings. It does not grant any immigration status and does not by itself give the beneficiary a green card.

Form I-485, the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is the form a beneficiary who is already inside the United Statesfiles to become a lawful permanent resident without leaving the country [Tier 1: USCIS.gov Form I-485 page, https://www.uscis.gov/i-485]. The I-485 is what actually requests the green card. “Adjustment of status” is the name for changing from a temporary or other status to permanent residence while remaining in the US.

Put simply: the I-130 answers “is the family relationship real and recognized?” and the I-485 answers “will the beneficiary become a permanent resident from inside the US?” A beneficiary outside the US does not file an I-485 at all — that path is covered below.

Side-by-side comparison

The two forms differ on who files, what they request, and where the beneficiary has to be:

Each form carries its own USCIS filing fee. The fees change; the live sources are the I-130 form page and the I-485 form page, and the consolidated USCIS Fee Calculator [Tier 1: USCIS Fee Calculator, https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator].

When the two forms are filed together (concurrent filing)

USCIS allows the I-130 and the I-485 to be filed at the same time — called concurrent filing — when the beneficiary is inside the United States and an immigrant visa number is immediately available [Tier 1: USCIS.gov Form I-485 page, https://www.uscis.gov/i-485]. For the immediate-relative categories of US citizens (spouses, parents of a US citizen petitioner who is 21 or older, and unmarried children under 21), a visa number is treated as always available, so these cases are the most common candidates for concurrent filing.

Whether a visa number is immediately available depends on the relationship category and the Visa Bulletin [Tier 1: travel.state.gov Visa Bulletin]. For preference categories (such as siblings or married children of US citizens), a number is not always immediately available, which often means the two forms cannot be filed together. The priority date and Visa Bulletin page explains how visa availability is read.

Filing concurrently can let the beneficiary apply for a work permit and travel document while the case is pending, and it collapses two waits into one. Whether concurrent filing is available in a particular case depends on category and timing; a licensed immigration attorney can advise on a specific set of facts.

When the I-485 is replaced by consular processing

The I-485 is only for beneficiaries who are physically in the United States. When the beneficiary is abroad, there is no I-485 — the beneficiary instead goes through consular processing: after the I-130 is approved, the case is forwarded to the National Visa Center and then to a US embassy or consulate, where the beneficiary applies for an immigrant visa using Form DS-260 [Tier 1: travel.state.gov, The Immigrant Visa Process, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process.html].

So the I-485 and consular processing are two ends of the same fork. One question decides which applies: is the beneficiary inside the US (I-485) or outside it (consular processing)? The consular processing vs adjustment of status page walks through both paths end-to-end.

Filing order if not concurrent

When the two forms are not filed together, the I-130 comes first. The general sequence is:

1. The petitioner files the I-130 and USCIS establishes the family relationship [Tier 1: USCIS.gov Form I-130 page, https://www.uscis.gov/i-130].
2. For preference categories, the case waits until the priority date is current on the Visa Bulletin [Tier 1: travel.state.gov Visa Bulletin].
3. Once a visa number is available and the beneficiary is inside the US, the beneficiary files the I-485 [Tier 1: USCIS.gov Form I-485 page, https://www.uscis.gov/i-485]. If the beneficiary is abroad, the case proceeds through consular processing instead.

The reason the I-130 has to be on file (or approved) before the I-485 can succeed is that the I-485 relies on an approved or approvable underlying petition — the green card cannot be granted to a relationship USCIS has not recognized. For a fuller walk through the whole I-130 lifecycle, see How the I-130 process works.

Related pages

• How the I-130 process works
• Consular processing vs adjustment of status
• How long does the I-130 take
• Priority date and the Visa Bulletin