Your immigration forms - what each one is for and what to check before you sign

Immigration forms are the documents USCIS and the Department of Labor require to decide a case. Each one does a different job. One authorizes your attorney, one asks for a worker, one asks for a wage determination, one asks for permanent residence, one asks for permission to work. A single case can run on six or seven of them at once, which is why almost nobody signing a package knows what each one is.

Below is what each form is for, who signs it, and the one or two things on it worth looking at before your name goes on it. These are not filling instructions, and each section points to the guide that covers the form in full.

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What is each immigration form for, and who signs it?

Two forms in that list decide more than the others. The G-28 controls who is authorized to act on your case, and Part 4 of Form I-140 sets where your green card case is routed.

Who signs each immigration form, the petitioner or the beneficiary?

The petitioner signs the employer's forms, you sign your own applications, and each Form G-28 is signed by the client on that particular case. Nobody signs your Form I-94.

On an employer-sponsored case there are two parties. The petitioner is the company asking for the benefit. The beneficiary is the person it is being asked for. Petitions go out under the petitioner's signature, and applications filed in your own name go out under yours.

On a self-petition, an EB-1A or a national interest waiver, the two roles are one person, so the beneficiary completes and signs the I-140.

A signature on a USCIS form is a certification. Per the USCIS Policy Manual, signing certifies under penalty of perjury that the request and all evidence submitted with it are true and correct. USCIS rejects an unsigned form outright.

What does Form G-28 authorize, and how do you check which filings your attorney of record is on?

Form G-28 establishes a representative's eligibility to appear for you on a specific case, and the form lists the case it covers. USCIS requires a separate notice of entry of appearance for each case, and recognizes only one notice at a time.

Each G-28 names one client, and that client signs it. On a Form I-129 or Form I-140 the client is the employer, so the attorney and the employer sign. On your own Form I-485, I-765 or I-131, you are the client and you sign.

So the check is simple. Look at which case and which forms your G-28 names. If you have an I-129 extension and an I-485 running at the same time, one G-28 does not cover both. If your representative is on the petition but not on your adjustment application, USCIS correspondence on the adjustment goes to you alone.

Filing a new G-28 from a different attorney terminates the earlier representation on that case, with no consent required from the previous one. The Form G-28 guide covers the form field by field.

What are the employer's forms: Form I-129, Form ETA-9141, Form ETA-9089 and the labor condition application?

These forms are filed by the employer, and the employer signs them. The one you also sign is Form ETA-9089, and that happens after it is certified.

Form I-129 is the petition for a nonimmigrant worker. The employer is the petitioner and signs it. Editions matter here more than on most forms. USCIS moved to the edition dated September 9, 2026, and will accept only that edition for filings postmarked on or after November 9, 2026. The Form I-129 guide has the rest.

Form ETA-9141 is the employer's request to the Department of Labor for a prevailing wage determination. It is filed through the FLAG system and it fixes the wage floor the later filings have to meet. The job title and the duties on it should describe the role you were hired for.

Form ETA-9089 is the application for permanent employment certification, the PERM filing. The requirements stated on it are the ones the employer tested the labor market against. PERM processing time covers how long that stage runs.

This is the employer form you sign. Under 20 CFR 656.17(a)(1), the certified ETA-9089 behind an I-140 carries the original signature of the employer, the worker, and the attorney or agent on the case. DHS will not process the petition without it. Read it before you sign.

Form ETA-9035 is the labor condition application, used for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3. The employer attests to four things on it. Paying at least the prevailing or actual wage. Working conditions that do not adversely affect other workers. No strike or lockout in that occupation. And notice of the filing to workers in that classification.

You can see a certified copy. The employer keeps a public access file available for examination at its principal place of business, and the LCA guide explains what sits in it.

ETA-9141 and ETA-9089 have no guide of their own yet, so read them here and ask your employer for copies.

What does Form I-140 establish, and what does the consular processing or adjustment of status box decide?

Form I-140 establishes that you qualify for an employment-based immigrant category, and Part 4 tells USCIS where to send the approved petition. That is the box worth reading before you sign anything in the package.

The I-140 runs in numbered parts. Part 1 identifies the employer filing it, Part 2 names the immigrant category being claimed, Part 3 identifies you, and Part 4 is the processing information section.

Part 4 offers two elections. One says you will apply for an immigrant visa abroad at a named U.S. embassy or consulate. The other says you are in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status. The current edition is dated June 7, 2024. The petitioner signs it, and on a self-petition that is you.

The election routes the file. It is not a permanent commitment. USCIS accepts updates on a pending petition, and after approval there is a separate request for action on an approved petition if the route needs to change.

The cost of changing runs one way. Moving from a consular election to adjustment of status needs no new filing and no fee. Moving from adjustment to consular means a Form I-824, with its own fee and its own wait, which is why the box is worth getting right the first time.

Your approval date also is not your priority date. Where a labor certification was required, the priority date is the date DOL accepted the PERM application. Consular processing versus adjustment of status compares the two routes in full.

Two routes to the same green cardConsular processing and adjustment of status compared on timing, travel, work authorization and what each one costs.

Compare the two routes

What is Form I-485 and who signs it?

Form I-485 is your application to become a permanent resident while you are inside the United States, and you sign it yourself. Every USCIS form carries an edition date, which is the day that version was issued. The current I-485 edition is dated September 18, 2026, and USCIS gave this revision no grace period for earlier editions.

The part that causes trouble is the question you leave blank. USCIS instructions are explicit about this. Where an item does not apply, you write N/A. Where a numeric answer is zero, you write None. A blank field reads as an unanswered question, and unanswered questions generate requests for evidence.

The other thing to check is your own history as the form asks for it. Every entry and exit, every status held, and every address, consistent with the record. Discrepancies against your I-94 history are a common source of follow-up questions. What Form I-485 is covers the form part by part.

In May 2026, USCIS issued policy memorandum PM-602-0199 restating that adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, meaning an officer weighs the full record rather than approving on eligibility alone. It does not change what the form asks for or who signs it. Adjustment of status still fits many applicants, particularly those who need to keep working in the U.S. throughout.

What do Form I-765 and Form I-907 do for a case already filed?

Both attach to something else rather than standing alone. One asks for work permission, the other asks for speed.

Form I-765 is the application for an employment authorization document. The field that matters is the eligibility category code, because it drives both the filing fee and the filing address.

USCIS rejects a form filed with an incorrect fee, so a wrong code is a rejection risk rather than a correctable typo. The code also depends on your posture, since a pending application and a granted benefit can carry different codes. The Form I-765 guide lists them.

Form I-907 requests premium processing. It buys a faster decision on the underlying petition, not a better one, and not a faster decision on anything downstream. The fee is $2,965 for an H-1B Form I-129 and for an EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 Form I-140. Check which form your I-907 is attached to before assuming it covers your whole case. Premium processing and filing Form I-907 cover the request itself.

Current as of October 2026. USCIS fees and form editions change. Confirm both on the USCIS fee schedule and the form's own page before you file.

What is Form I-94, and what does Form DS-160 lock in?

Neither is an application. Form I-94 is the record of your admission, and Form DS-160 is the application you complete before a nonimmigrant visa interview.

Your I-94 is issued by CBP when you are admitted, and the admit until date on it is the date your status expires. Your visa controls when you may travel to a port of entry. It does not control how long you may stay. When the two dates disagree, the I-94 is the one that governs, and what the I-94 form is explains how to retrieve yours.

Form DS-160 is submitted online and signed electronically by clicking Sign Application. Once submitted, it is locked, and a change requires the consular section to reopen it for you. Print the confirmation page and keep it. The consulate uses the barcode on it to pull your application, so take it to the interview. The DS-160 guide walks through the sections.

Two more documents arrive rather than being filed. A receipt notice on Form I-797 confirms what USCIS received and when, and your alien registration number is the number that follows you across filings. The green card itself is Form I-551.

What three checks apply to every form, starting with the form edition date?

1. The form edition date. It is printed at the bottom of the form and the instructions. USCIS sometimes accepts an older edition during a transition and sometimes does not, as with the September 2026 Form I-485. Check the form's own page for the current edition before filing.
2. Your name exactly as it appears in your passport. Same spelling, same order, same hyphens. Variations across filings are the kind of thing that surfaces as a question later.
3. Dates of entry and exit against your I-94 record. Pull your travel history and reconcile it, rather than reconstructing it from memory. You can also check your case status by receipt number once something is filed.

What does it cost to have immigration forms prepared?

The forms themselves are free to download from USCIS. The cost of a case sits in the government filing fees and in who prepares the package, and those two are worth seeing separately before you compare any two quotes.

You can run your own numbers in the Tukki pricing tool, which returns the government fees and the preparation cost for your case as separate lines. Our process covers how a case is prepared and filed.

How much does a visa cost?Get a personalized price and timeline estimate based on your visa type and nationality.

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If you are holding a package with your name on the signature lines, a short call is the fastest way to find out what each form in it does.

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