The core document list for a spousal green card: and why USCIS won't tell you what it costs

A spousal green card involves a lot of paperwork, but only a handful of core pieces. Get the skeleton clear first, then fill in the details.

The core forms

• I-130(Petition for Alien Relative): Establishes your family relationship, filed by the US citizen or green card holder.
• I-130A: Supplemental information about the spouse
• I-864(Affidavit of Support): Financial sponsorship showing the petitioner can support the spouse so they do not become a public charge.
• I-485: Adjustment of status, needed only if you take the domestic route (see item 20 of the checklist)

Supporting documents to attach

• Proof of the petitioner's US citizenship or permanent residence: birth certificate, passport data page, naturalization certificate, or a copy of both sides of the green card
• A certified marriage certificateYou must have an official copy with a raised seal, as a regular photocopy does not count (see item 10 of the checklist).
• Passport-style photos of both parties
• Divorce decrees or death certificates from prior marriages (if applicable)

Every non-English document needs a certified translation

No exceptions here. Taiwanese birth certificates, divorce decrees, and household registration transcripts all need a certified translation. The translator must provide a statement certifying that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate.

The one that commonly slips through: if the marriage certificate itself was issued in Taiwan or a third country, that needs translating too (see item 70 of the checklist).

Why there are no fees on this page

Because USCIS deliberately doesn't publish per-form amounts on its form pages, directing everyone to the calculator instead. It isn't that we couldn't find them; it's official policy. Fees change all the time, and they want you to check the current rates every time.

• Official fee calculator
• Full fee schedule G-1055

So treat any article that says "a spousal green card costs $XXXX" as a rough figure and run the numbers yourself before filing. Be especially careful with the old line about "no extra fee for concurrently filed applications". That is no longer safe (see item 121 of the checklist).

The official form page

USCIS Form I-130Both the form itself and the instructions can be downloaded directly right here.

Always use the current version from the official site. USCIS updates form editions (Edition Date), and filing an old one gets it rejected. PDFs circulating online are frequently out of date.

Two suggestions on preparation

1. Build a checklist and tick items offThere are a lot of documents to prepare. Missing just one piece means getting a Request for Evidence (RFE), and that back-and-forth can cost you months.
2. Scan everything before you send itDocuments you send out might not come back, and you will reuse many of the same materials later when applying for I-751 and N-400 (see items 119 and 120 of the checklist).

The forms aren't the slow part

You can fill in the forms in a week. What you actually need a head start on is evidence that the marriage is genuineThat is something you accumulate over time and simply can't make up after the fact (see item 22 of the checklist).

In one line

Use the current forms from the official site, get certified translations for everything non-English, and always compute the fees yourself with the official tool.

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