Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (2024)

Form I-140 may be filed at any time. However, effective July 16, 2007, all labor certifications expire 180 days from the date of certification. We must receive any Form I-140 based on an approved labor certification before the 180-day validity period has elapsed. We will reject a petition that contains an expired labor certification. In instances where the ending date of the labor certification’s validity period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, we will accept the petition if we receive it by the next business day. We will reject petitions with expired labor certifications filed after the next business day.

You can find further guidance on the Form I-140 instructions and on the Petition Filing and Processing Procedures for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers webpage.

View the checklist of required initial evidence.

For more details on requirements of each classification, please see Volume 6, Parts E and F of the USCIS Policy Manual.

Filing Tips for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers

Complete all sections of the form. We will reject the form if the following fields are missing:

• Part 1 – Information About the Person or Organization Filing This Petition
  • Family Name OR Company or Organization Name;
  • Mailing Address;
  • IRS Employer IdentificationNumber or Social Security number (does not apply to Part 2. Petition Type 1.a., alien of extraordinary ability or 1.h., national interest waiver);
  • Question 5 must have a selection of either Yes or No regarding your organization’s non-profit/government research status;
    • Self-petitioners should select No when answering question 5.
  • Question 6 must have a selection of either Yes or No regarding your organization’s number of full-time employees;
    • Self-petitioners with a total of 25 or fewer full-time employees should select Yes when answering question 6.

Note: Responses to questions 5 and 6 are used to determine whether the petitioner qualifies to file with a reduced Asylum Program Fee. If you provide the full $600 Asylum Program Fee with your petition, and do not indicate that you qualify for a reduced Asylum Program Fee, we will accept the full payment provided.

• Part 2 – Petition Type
• Part 3 – Information About the Person for Whom You Are Filing
  • Date of Birth
• Part 8 – Contact Information, Certification, and Signature of the Petitioner or Authorized Signatory
  • Petitioner’s or Authorized Signatory’s Signature

When filing a Form I-140 and Form I-485 together, do not combine your supporting documents. We recommend assembling each form package in the following order:

• Form I-140
  • Check or money order or Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions;
  • Form G-1145, Request for e-Notification (if applicable);
  • Form G-28 (if applicable);
  • Form I-140; and
  • Supporting documentation.
• Form I-485
  • Check or money order or Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions;
  • Form G-1145, Request for e-Notification (if applicable);
  • Form G-28 (if applicable);
  • Form I-485; and
  • Supporting documentation.

Filing Tips:Review ourTips for Filing Forms by Mailpage for information on how to ensure we will accept your form.

Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.

E-Notification: If you want to receive an e-mail and/or a text thatwe have accepted your form at a USCIS lockbox, completeForm G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance,and clip it to the first page of your form.