Instructions For Application To Register Permanent Residence Or Adjust Status (Form I-485) (Page 10 of 42) in pdf

C. Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record (See Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record in the General Instructions

section of these Instructions).

If you cannot produce this primary evidence, and DHS has no record of the admission or parole, USCIS will presume

that you came into the United States without admission or parole.

You may, however, provide secondary evidence (records maintained in the ordinary course of business by any

individual or organization other than DHS) to support your claim that you were admitted or paroled.

If no secondary evidence is available, you may submit separate written statements, signed under penalty of perjury

under United States law, from yourself and from any other individuals who have personal knowledge of the

circumstances of your claimed admission or parole. Any statement should explain in detail when and where you came

into the United States; what travel documents you had, if any; whether you showed them to the immigration inspector;

any questions the immigration inspector asked; and any other details about your claimed admission or parole.

5. Documentation of Your Immigrant Category (see Part 2., Item Numbers 1.a. - 1.g. of Form I-485)

All Form I-485 applicants must submit evidence showing that they are eligible for adjustment of status in a particular

immigrant category.

Filing as a Beneficiary of an Immigrant Petition

If you are filing as a beneficiary of an immigrant petition, you generally must submit a photocopy of Form I-797,

Approval Notice, for your petition (or the principal applicant’s petition, if you are a derivative applicant), as

appropriate.

If you are filing as a principal applicant and your immigrant category allows you to file Form I-485 before your

petition is approved, you may submit your Form I-485 together with:

A. Your immigrant petition; or

B. A photocopy of Form I-797, Receipt Notice, for your immigrant petition.

If you are filing as a derivative applicant based on the principal applicant’s petition, you may submit your Form I-485

together with a photocopy of:

A. Form I-797, Approval or Receipt Notice, for the principal applicant’s immigrant petition (if applicable); and

B. Form I-797, Approval or Receipt Notice, for the principal applicant’s Form I-485 (if applicable) or a copy of the

principal applicant’s Form I-551 (Green Card) (if applicable).

Filing Your Form I-485 Based on a Category That Does Not Require an Underlying Petition

If you are filing your Form I-485 based on a category that does not require an underlying immigrant petition, you must

submit other documentation. See the Additional Instructions for more category-specific information.

6. Marriage Certificate and Other Proof of Relationship

If you are filing Form I-485 as the derivative applicant spouse of the principal applicant, you generally must submit

a photocopy of your marriage certificate issued by the appropriate civil authority where the marriage took place.

Refugee derivative applicant spouses do not need to submit a photocopy of the marriage certificate. There are also

some immigrant categories that require the principal applicant to submit a marriage certificate (for example, K-1

nonimmigrants (person admitted to the United States as a fiancé(e)), abused spouses and children under the Cuban

Adjustment Act (CAA), Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) dependents, and abused spouses and

children under HRIFA). See the Additional Instructions for more category-specific information.

If either party to this marriage was previously married, you must also submit evidence to prove the legal termination

of any prior marriages, typically a divorce certificate or death certificate. If a required marriage certificate (or divorce

certificate or death certificate) is unavailable or does not exist, you must demonstrate its unavailability/nonexistence

and provide other acceptable evidence as explained above for birth certificates.

Form I-485 Instructions 06/26/17 N

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Instructions For Application To Register Permanent Residence Or Adjust Status (Form I-485) Page 10