Forms

Form I-485

Also called I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is the application by which someone already inside the United States becomes a permanent resident without going abroad for a consular interview; an EB-5 investor who files it receives the same two year conditional residence a consular applicant gets on admission.

What it decides

8 U.S.C. 1255(a) requires that the applicant was inspected and admitted or paroled, is admissible, and has a visa immediately available when the application is filed. The 2022 Act added 1255(n), so where approval of the I-526 or I-526E would make a visa immediately available the I-485 is properly filed whether it goes in with the petition or after it, and the same Act added fifth preference to 1255(k), which forgives up to an aggregate 180 days of status or employment violations. Immediately available is the clause people miss: if the investor's category and country are not current on the chart USCIS designates, there is nothing to file behind. On fees, USCIS accepts an online I-485 only with an underlying Form I-130 or I-140, so an EB-5 adjustment goes on paper at $1,440, or $950 for a child under 14 filing at the same time as a parent. The $1,390 and $900 online rates cannot be reached on this route, and work and travel authorization are now paid for separately.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1255(a), (k) and (n), subsection (k) amended and (n) added by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, sections 102(d)(1) and 102(d)(2); USCIS page uscis.gov/i-485, last updated 24 July 2026, which states that online filing runs only with an underlying Form I-130 or I-140; Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, for $1,440 paper, $1,390 online, and $950 paper for a child under 14 filing concurrently with a parent. G-1055 lists the online rates but is not evidence they are payable on an EB-5 case.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into form i-485 rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Adjustment of statusAdjustment of status is the process under 8 U.S.C. 1255 by which someone already in the United States becomes a permanent resident without leaving, on Form I-485, instead of collecting an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. An EB-5 investor who adjusts is granted conditional permanent residence for two years, the same status a consular applicant receives on admission.
Concurrent filingConcurrent filing is submitting Form I-485 together with Form I-526 or I-526E, or while the petition is still pending, instead of waiting for the petition to be approved. 8 U.S.C. 1255(n) permits it whenever approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available to the investor.
Form DS-260Form DS-260, Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, is the Department of State application an EB-5 applicant files when taking the consular route, the counterpart to Form I-485 for someone who will collect an immigrant visa abroad rather than adjust status inside the United States.
Form I-765Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, is the request for an Employment Authorization Document, filed by an EB-5 investor and each derivative under eligibility category (c)(9) once Form I-485 has been filed, so the family may work while the adjustment application is pending.
Form I-131Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, carries two unrelated EB-5 requests: advance parole, which lets an adjustment applicant leave the United States without abandoning Form I-485, and a reentry permit, which protects a resident's status during a long absence abroad.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary