Documents an Asylee Needs to File Form I-485

Filing Form I-485 after asylum is simpler than most green card applications. There is no petition, no sponsor, no affidavit of support, and no priority date to wait for. The evidence still has to be complete, because a missing proof of the grant or a missing medical examination produces a rejection or a request for evidence that adds months. Our asylee adjustment of status practice assembles the package in the order below, and this checklist notes the items asylees most often get wrong. Confirm first that you have completed the one-year presence period, which our post on when an asylee can apply for a green card explains, because the best file in the world is rejected if it is filed early.

Proof of the asylum grant, the core of an asylee I-485

This evidence must show that you were granted asylum and that the grant is still in effect. For an affirmative case, include the USCIS approval letter. For a case won in court, include the immigration judge’s order and proof that it became final: either the government’s waiver of appeal noted on the order or the Board of Immigration Appeals decision. Include your I-94 record showing asylee status, which USCIS issued with the grant. A derivative includes the I-730 approval notice and their own I-94.

If the approval letter is lost, do not file without it. Request a copy of your file through a USCIS FOIA request, and if the I-94 is missing, apply for a replacement on Form I-102. A derivative who entered from abroad should also keep the travel packet and the stamp from entry, because the admission date starts their one-year clock.

Identity and civil documents

• A passport, if you have one, including expired passports; an expired passport is still evidence of identity. Do not renew a home-country passport for the purpose of this filing without legal advice, because renewal can be read as re-availing yourself of that country’s protection.
• Your birth certificate with a certified English translation. If it cannot be obtained, include a written explanation and secondary evidence such as a baptismal record, school record, or affidavits from relatives, following the USCIS rule on unavailable civil documents.
• Marriage certificate and any divorce decrees, for you and for any derivative spouse, with translations.
• Documents for any name change.
• Two passport-style photographs taken within the last 30 days.
• A copy of your current employment authorization card or other government photo identification.

Evidence of physical presence and the travel record

USCIS wants to see that you have been in the United States for at least one year since the grant. Leases, pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, school enrollment records, and medical records with dates cover it. Then list every trip outside the country since the grant, with departure and return dates and the destination, and include copies of the refugee travel document pages and entry stamps. Days abroad do not count toward the year, so this list is what USCIS uses to check your eligibility date, and it must match your passport and the government’s own entry records. A trip to the home country belongs nowhere on this list, because it invites a review of the asylum grant itself.

Form I-693, the medical examination

A USCIS-designated civil surgeon completes Form I-693 after an examination that includes the required vaccinations and screening for communicable diseases. As of this writing USCIS requires the completed form to be submitted with the I-485 rather than brought to an interview, so schedule the exam early and check the current form instructions before filing. The surgeon seals the form in an envelope; do not open it. Asylees usually had no medical examination abroad, so the full exam applies. If a vaccination is medically contraindicated or a health ground arises, a waiver may be available, as covered in our post on inadmissibility waivers for asylee green card applicants.

Criminal and immigration history

Include a certified court disposition for every arrest, citation, or charge anywhere in the world, even if it was dismissed, expunged, or resulted in no conviction. USCIS will see the arrest in the fingerprint results; what it needs from you is the outcome. Include any prior removal order or prior immigration filing, and a copy of your original I-589 and declaration. The adjudicator reviews the I-485 against the asylum file, and the dates, names, and addresses on the two must agree. If any ground of inadmissibility applies, add Form I-602, the waiver application, with its supporting evidence, in the same package rather than waiting to be asked.

Fees, forms, and the final package

• Form I-485, signed, with every section answered, writing N/A where a question does not apply rather than leaving a blank.
• The current USCIS filing fee, or Form I-912 with evidence of income or benefits if you request a fee waiver, which asylee applicants may do as of this writing.
• Form I-765 for a new work card and Form I-131 for a refugee travel document, if you want them processed with the application.
• Form G-28 if an attorney represents you.
• A cover letter and an index of exhibits, so the adjudicator can find each item.

Keep a complete copy of everything you file. The form itself has its own traps, from name formatting to the questions on prior citizenships and memberships; our step-by-step guide to completing Form I-485 covers those. Once filed, USCIS issues a receipt, schedules biometrics, and may call you to an interview at the field office. If anything on this list is missing, do not file a partial application and hope for a request for evidence; a short delay to complete the file is cheaper than the months an RFE costs. If you are unsure whether your situation fits the asylee category at all, the asylum and humanitarian protection overview describes the routes that lead here.

If you are assembling an asylee I-485, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can review the package before it goes out. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Sena Sahin. Clear advice for individuals, families, and business owners.

Need help with this topic? See our green card through asylum page or schedule a consultation.