The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues a number of forms for people to submit to them relating to immigrant and non-immigrant visa statuses. These forms begin with the letter "I". None of the forms directly grants a United States visa (visas can only be issued by US consulates outside the United States), but approval of these forms may provide authorization for staying or extending one's stay in the United States as well as authorization for work. Some United States visas require an associated approved USCIS immigration form to be submitted as part of the application.

Although the term immigration form is used on this page, and the forms begin with the letter "I", many of the forms pertain to non-immigrant visa classifications.

The USCIS also issues some administrative request forms (AR) for purposes such as address change as well as G forms for other administrative purposes. The AR and G forms are generally filed in conjunction with a USCIS I form. The two most important G forms are the G-28 (notice of entry or appearance of attorney) and the G-1145 (e-notification of application/petition acceptance).

The USCIS also handles forms related to naturalization and citizenship. These forms begin with the letter "N" and are not discussed on this page.

There are two main forms that begin with the letter I and pertain to immigration status but are not managed by USCIS: Form I-20 (issued by educational institutions to students on a F visa status) and Form I-94 (issued by United States Customs and Border Protection when an alien enters the United States).

Filing details

Fees

All USCIS forms are free to download. The filing fees vary by form, from free to several hundred dollars.

The filing fee for a form may not be the only fee that needs to be paid for the status being sought on the form. There may be additional fees associated with that status. For instance, Form I-129 is used to apply for H-1B status (among many other statuses); there are several additional fees associated with H-1B status.

Two of the forms, Form I-129 and Form I-140, are eligible for the Premium Processing Service, which requires the filing of Form I-907. As of April 2025, this services costs $1,685 for the H-2B and R classifications and $2,805 for all others.

Some applicants are eligible for a fee waiver. To apply for a fee waiver, the applicant must submit Form I-912, Request for a Fee Waiver, along with the application form.

Fees paid for USCIS immigration forms are deposited in the Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA) managed by the United States Treasury; this account funds most of the USCIS budget.

Paper filing

All USCIS forms can be filed on paper. Payments must be included in the form of a check or money order along with the paper filing of the form.

The rules associated with where forms are to be mailed are complex: the location for mailing a form depends on the form name, the category of application, and the mailing address specified by the applicant (this may differ from the address the applicant sends the application from). The mailing address is either one of the lockbox addresses or one of the Service Center addresses. The lockboxes are in three US cities: Chicago (Illinois), Phoenix (Arizona), and Lewisville (Texas) (this is near Dallas, Texas and is often referred to as the Dallas lockbox). They are managed for the USCIS by a Department of Treasury designated financial agent. The lockbox cashes in on the included payment, sends an e-notification if the applicant filed Form G-1145 with the application, and forwards the rest of the application to the service center.

Any response to a Request For Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) must always be sent to the Service Center that sent the request, and never to a lockbox address, regardless of whether or not the original application was filed with a lockbox.

Electronic filing

Some of the USCIS forms may be filed electronically via e-Filing (for Forms I-131, I-140, I-765, I-821, and I-907) or the USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS) (for Forms I-526, I-539, I-90, or the Immigrant Fee).

Electronic filing offers the following benefits:

It reduces the hassle and cost of filing a paper application (but see the caveat below). Fees may be paid by debit card or credit card. The applicant receives an immediate confirmation of receipt of the application.

However, there are two major caveats:

Supporting documents must be sent in by mail within 7 days of online filing, to the address specified on the e-Filing Confirmation Receipt. USCIS does not begin processing the application until all supporting documents are received. If they are not received then USCIS may send the applicant a request for evidence (RFE). If the applicant is requesting a fee waiver (filing Form I-912) then the application cannot be submitted online and must be filed on paper.

To enhance privacy and security for applicants, USCIS uses the HTTPS protocol for e-filing.

Forms

The two main kinds of forms are:

Petition forms: Filed by a petitioner requesting a benefit (immigrant or non-immigrant) for a beneficiary, who is usually a different person, though some self-petition options exist. These forms often carry the most uncertainty regarding approval and may be subject to quotas. Application forms: Related to entry to or exit from the United States, or work authorization. These benefits are generally governed by clearer rules and involve less uncertainty than petition forms.

In addition, there are affidavits (e.g., Form I-134, Affidavit of Support), verification forms (Form I-9, Employee Eligibility Verification Form), and request forms such as Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

Family-based petition forms

Form name Who needs to file? (relationship between petitioner and beneficiary) Filing fee Filed to lockbox or service center? Electronic filing? Associated visa or immigration statuses I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) United States citizen or lawful permanent resident seeking to bring the alien fiancé(e) to the United States $535, with some caveats Lockbox No K visas I-130, Petition for Alien Relative United States citizen or lawful permanent resident seeking to establish relationship with aliens who wish to immigrate to the US $535 Lockbox No Family-based immigration (includes IR and CR visas)Note: This form is eligible for Direct Consular Filing I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (also related: I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) United States citizen who seeks to classify non-US orphan not residing in a Hague Convention country as immediate relative $775 per child, unless adoptees are birth siblings Dallas Lockbox No Family-based permanent immigrationNote: This form is eligible for Direct Consular Filing I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition Refugee/asylee already in the United States requesting follow-to-join benefits for an immediate relative No fee Service Center No Family-based immigration I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative (filed in conjunction with I-800A), Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country United States citizen prospective adoptive parent who seeks to classify as adoptee a resident of a Hague Convention country No fee for first petition based on an approved I-800A (which in turn has a $775 fee). Each subsequent petition costs $775, unless the new petition is on behalf of a sibling of a previously petitioned child. Dallas Lockbox No Family-based permanent immigration I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant U visa non-immigrant requesting non-immigrant status for a family member $230 Vermont Service Center No Family-based temporary migration (i.e., non-immigrant status)

Other petition forms (employment-based, entrepreneurial, and special)

Form name Who needs to file? (relationship between petitioner and beneficiary) Filing fee Filed to lockbox or service center? Electronic filing? Associated visa or immigration statuses I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker Employer requesting permission to hire the beneficiary non-immigrant worker $460 Service center No Statuses for initial employment: H-1B, H-1C, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1 and R-1. Statuses for extension of stay or change of status: All the preceding, plus various treaty and free trade statuses: E-1, E-2, E-3 (for Australia), H-1B1 (for Chile and Singapore) and TN (for Canada and Mexico).Note: This form is eligible for Premium Processing Service I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker United States employer requesting permission to hire the beneficiary immigrant worker $700 Lockbox for regular processing, Service Center for premium processing Yes, via e-Filing (for some categories) Employment-based visas (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) (with path to Lawful Permanent Resident status).Note: This form is eligible for Premium Processing Service I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant Beneficiary must self-petition $435 (special instructions) Lockbox or Service Center, depending on the subcategory No Permanent immigration status (depends on subcategory within I-360).Note: This form is eligible for Direct Consular Filing I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur Beneficiary must self-petition $3675 Dallas Lockbox Yes, via ELIS EB-5 visa (with path to Lawful Permanent Resident status) I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status Beneficiary must self-petition $3750 (+ biometric services fee of $85) Dallas Lockbox Yes, via ELIS EB-5 visa (with path to Lawful Permanent Resident status) I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status Beneficiary must self-petition No fee (biometric services may be required at no cost to the applicant) Vermont Service Center No U visa

Application forms

There are many application forms. Only the most important ones are listed below.