Concurrent Filing of I-140 and I-485

Effective July 31, 2002, the USCIS allows I-485 adjustment of status application with an I-140 immigration petition (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3). In the past, the USCIS required an approval of the I-140 petition before it would allow a beneficiary to apply for permanent resident status.

A visa number must be immediately available for the category in order to file the I-485 application. Since visa numbers are available to all EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories, any person who is a beneficiary (or applicant) of an I-140 petition which has already been filed is now eligible to file I-485 application. Family members will be eligible to file I-485 along with the principal alien. Additionally, applications for Employment Authorization (EAD) and Advance Parole may be filed with the I-485 application.

For all pending I-140 petitions, the beneficiary (or applicant) may file his or her I-485 adjustment of status application immediately by submitting the Receipt Notice of the pending I-140 with the I-485 application.

Recently, the USCIS has expressed its intention to terminate the current procedure of concurrent filing of the I-140 and I-485. The USCIS is considering reverting to the prior policy of prohibiting the filing of the I-485 ((Application for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Residence) until the I-140 petition (Employer petition for immigrant worker) is approved. This information was gathered from the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, made available through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).