Green Card for Refugees
ALERT: On Jan. 22, 2025, USCIS announced that, as of Jan. 20, 2025, officers would no longer issue any Requests for Evidence (RFEs) or Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) related to the COVID-19 vaccination. On March 11, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons to remove the COVID-19 vaccination from the list of required vaccinations for aliens seeking admission as immigrants. Therefore, documentation of having completed the COVID-19 vaccination is not required for any immigration medical examinations associated with adjustment applications pending on or after Jan. 20, 2025. Until USCIS updates Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, civil surgeons can either cross out the COVID-19 section or write “N/A,” and if the alien meets all the vaccination requirements, mark “Applicant completed vaccination requirements or may be eligible for blanket waivers as indicated above.”
U.S. immigration law requires refugees to apply for lawful permanent resident status after they have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year.
This page provides specific information for refugees in the United States applying to become lawful permanent residents (get a Green Card). This is called “adjustment of status.” You should also read the Instructions for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status before you apply.
To be eligible for a Green Card as a refugee, you must meet the following requirements:
- You properly file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;
- You were admitted into the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
- You are physically present in the United States when you file your Form I-485;
- You have been physically present in the United States for at least one year after your admission as a refugee at the time you file your Form I-485;
- Your refugee status has not been terminated;
- You have not already acquired permanent resident status; and
- You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief.
To qualify for a Green Card, you must be admissible to the United States. Reasons why you may be inadmissible are listed in the INA 212(a) and are called grounds of inadmissibility.
In general, we can approve your Green Card application only if none of the applicable grounds of inadmissibility apply to you. Certain grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to refugee adjustments. Certain grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to refugee adjustments. See USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part L, Refugee Adjustment.
In addition, some grounds of inadmissibility may be waived for refugees applying for adjustment of status. See Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability. If a waiver or other form of relief is granted, we may approve your application for a Green Card if you are otherwise eligible.
Eligibility requirements for waivers and other forms of relief vary. For more information on the grounds of inadmissibility and waivers, please see USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part L, Refugee Adjustment, Chapter 3 – Admissibility and Waiver Requirements.
If you are a refugee and you have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year, you must file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to apply for a Green Card.
If you are the principal applicant, you should submit the following documentation and evidence to apply for a Green Card:
Note: Refugees do not need to pay the Form I-485 filing fee or the biometric services fee.
- Proof of your admission as a refugee (such as a copy of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, which shows the date you were admitted as a refugee);
- Evidence of one-year physical presence in the United States;
- Two passport-style photographs;
- Copy of your government-issued identity document with photograph;
- Copy of your birth certificate (if available);
- Copy of your passport page with nonimmigrant visa (if available);
- Copy of your passport page with admission or parole stamp (issued by a U.S. immigration officer) (if available); and
- Copy of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record or copy of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) admission or parole stamp on the travel document (if applicable);
Note: If CBP provided you with an electronic Form I-94 upon your arrival/admission to the United States, you may print out a paper version of the Form I-94 from the CBP website at www.cbp.gov/I94;
Note: All refugee-based adjustment applicants must submit the vaccination record portion of Form I-693. Only applicants with “Class A” medical conditions must repeat the medical examination and submit a complete Form I-693. See the Instructions for Form I-693 for more information.
- Certified police and court records of criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable); and
- Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable).
For more information on applying for adjustment of status, see the Instructions for Form I-485 . Please also see our page on Tips for Filing Forms with USCIS.
If you are the spouse or unmarried child under 21 years of age of a refugee-based principal applicant and you were granted derivative refugee status based on your spouse or parent’s principal refugee admission, you may also apply for a Green Card. For more information on derivatives and eligibility for adjustment of status, please see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Part L, Chapter 2, Section F – Special Considerations for Refugee Adjustment of Status Applicants.
Eligibility Criteria for Adjustment of Status as Derivative Applicants
To be eligible for a Green Card as a refugee-based derivative applicant, you must meet the following requirements:
- You properly filed your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;
- You are currently the principal applicant’s spouse or child;
- You were admitted as an accompanying derivative of the principal refugee applicant or as a following-to-join beneficiary of an approved Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition;
- You are physically present in the United States when you file your Form I-485;
- You have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after admission as a refugee when you file your Form I-485;
- Your refugee status has not been terminated;
- You have not already acquired permanent resident status; and
- You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief.
If you are a derivative applicant (a spouse or child), you should submit the following evidence to apply for a refugee-based Green Card:
Note: You can find the filing fee for Form I-485 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.
- Copy of documentation showing your relationship to the principal applicant, such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate, or adoption decree;
- Evidence of your admission as a refugee (such as a copy of the Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, or approved Form I-730 petition filed on your behalf that shows the date you were granted refugee status as a derivative);
- Evidence of 1 year physical presence in the U.S.;
- Two passport-style photographs;
- Copy of your government-issued identity document with photograph;
- Copy of your birth certificate (if available);
- Copy of your passport page with nonimmigrant visa (if available);
- Copy of your passport page with admission or parole stamp (issued by a U.S. immigration officer) (if available);
- Copy of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record or copy of the CBP admission or parole stamp on the travel document (if applicable);
Note: If CBP provided you with an electronic Form I-94 upon your arrival/admission to the United States, you may print out a paper version of the Form I-94 from the CBP website at www.cbp.gov/I94;
Note: All refugee-based derivative applicants must submit the vaccination record portion of Form I-693. Only certain derivative applicants must repeat the medical examination and submit a complete Form I-693. See the Instructions for Form I‑693 for more information.
- Certified police and court records of criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable); and
- Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable).
If you are a refugee and would like to work in the United States, you may do so immediately when you arrive in the United States. For principal refugees and their accompanying derivatives, we will create a digital Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for you and adjudicate it after you are admitted to the United States. You should receive your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) within a few weeks after you arrive, depending on delivery times. Following-to-join refugee derivatives (Form I-730 beneficiaries) will submit their paper Form I-765 after they are admitted to the United States.
Refugees do not need an EAD to work in the United States, but you may find it convenient to have an EAD to demonstrate your identity and employment authorization. If you need to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, before you receive your EAD, you can show your employer the Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, that DHS issued you when you arrived. Your I-94 is acceptable evidence of employment authorization and identity for 90 days after your arrival to the United States. After 90 days, you must present an unexpired EAD or a combination of other documents, such as a state-issued driver’s license and an unrestricted Social Security card. For more information on documents that you may present to your employer as a refugee, see the Handbook for Employers, M-274, Section 7.3, Refugees and Asylees.
Refugees do not need to pay any fees for an initial or renewal EAD. Generally, EADs are only valid until the expiration date printed on the EAD. However, as a refugee, you can still work if your EAD is facially expired because refugees do not need an EAD to work in the United States. If you want to renew your refugee-based EAD, you must file Form I-765 under the “(a)(3)” category.
If you are filing Form I-485 to adjust your status to a lawful permanent resident, and you are also filing Form I-765 to receive an EAD based on your refugee status, do not file your Form I-765 and Form I-485 in the same envelope. For more information on where to file a Form I-765 based on your refugee status, see the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization page. For more information about working in the United States, see the Refugees page (“Working in the United States” section).
If you are a refugee and would like to travel outside the United States, you may apply for a refugee travel document by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. Do not file your Form I-131 in the same envelope as your Form I-485. For more information about refugee travel documents, see the Travel Documents page.
If we approve your refugee-based Green Card application, you may use your Green Card as proof of your employment authorization and for travel and identification purpose
For more information, see the following:
- INA 209 – Adjustment of Status of Refugees
- INA 212 – Excludable Aliens
- 8 CFR 209.1 – Adjustment of status of refugees
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part A, Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part L, Refugee Adjustment