Our fee starts at $2,000 for the I-130 alone or from $4,000 with the I-485. What the government charges, who pays what, and which costs people forget.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Fitenko, Esq. — Florida Bar #1064536. With 20+ years of experience in the legal field, she prepares marriage-based petitions for couples in Florida, in other states and abroad, in English and Russian.
Our fee for a marriage-based case starts at $2,000 when we prepare Form I-130 alone and from $4,000 when we prepare Form I-130 together with Form I-485. Government fees are separate, are paid on top of that number, and are not included in either price.
We do not print the government amounts on this page, on purpose. USCIS publishes its fees in Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, and it changes that document often: the current edition as of November 2026 is dated 10/26/26. A figure copied into an article stays on the page after the schedule moves, and USCIS rejects a filing that carries the wrong fee. The Form G-1055 page is the only number to rely on, and the day to check it is the day you file.
The total cost of a marriage green card therefore has three layers: the legal fee, the government fees for the forms your route requires, and the costs that belong to neither, such as the medical examination and translations. Which forms apply depends on one fact more than any other: where the immigrating spouse is when the case is filed. The rest of this page goes through each layer, so you can build your own list before you pay anyone.
If you first need the route itself rather than the budget, start with our guide to the marriage green card. For how legal fees work across all immigration cases, see what an immigration lawyer costs in Florida.
The price from $4,000 fits a couple where the immigrating spouse is in the United States and can file Form I-485 together with the petition. The law allows that joint filing for the spouse of a U.S. citizen, because approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available; 8 CFR 245.2(a)(2)(i)(B) treats the I-485 as properly filed whether it goes in with the Form I-130 or after it.
The price from $2,000 fits a case where only the petition is needed from us at that moment. The typical example is a spouse living abroad, or a couple who wants the petition on file first. A spouse abroad does not file Form I-485 at all: after approval, USCIS sends the petition to the National Visa Center, and the case continues at a U.S. consulate. The fee for work at that consular stage is set after the consultation, once we know the country and the facts.
| Work | Firm fee | Government fees |
|---|---|---|
| Form I-130 only | From $2,000 | Not included |
| Form I-130 with Form I-485 | From $4,000 | Not included |
| Response to a Request for Evidence, if one is issued | From $1,500 | Not included, if any |
| Form I-751, removing conditions, when required | From $4,000 | Not included |
| Immigration court | From $1,000 for one day | Depends on the application |
| Complex case | By agreement | Not included |
A complex case is one where the ordinary path has a problem in it. A prior fraud finding under INA § 204(c), a marriage entered during removal proceedings, or an entry without inspection are examples. These are priced by agreement because the work depends on the record, and we need to see the record first.
Ask any lawyer, us included, what the engagement letter says about the edges of the scope. The useful questions are whether Form I-765 and Form I-131 are in the price, whether the interview is, and what happens if a Request for Evidence arrives. The letter you sign controls, and a number without a scope is not yet a quote.
A spouse filing inside the United States usually faces USCIS fees for Form I-130 and Form I-485, and separate fees for any work permit or travel document requested. Every amount below is read from Form G-1055 on the filing date.
The trap is the old bundle. The USCIS Form I-485 page states that for an I-485 filed after April 1, 2024, you must pay additional fees to file Form I-765 and Form I-131. Older advice that the work permit and travel document came "included" with the I-485 describes applications filed before that date.
The filing fee is not the only thing to check before paying it. As of November 2026 USCIS accepts only the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485 and only the 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864. A package on an old I-485 edition is rejected, so the money spent on preparing it buys a delay.
A spouse abroad pays USCIS for Form I-130, the Department of State at the National Visa Center stage, and USCIS again after the visa is issued. The Form I-485 fee does not apply, because no I-485 is filed.
The USCIS Immigrant Fee is the one people miss. USCIS strongly encourages payment after the visa is picked up and before departure. If it is not paid, USCIS sends a notice after arrival, and you will not receive your green card until it is paid, according to the USCIS Immigrant Fee page.
The steps at the visa center are covered in our article on the NVC and Form DS-260.
Immigration law assigns who files each form, and that is a different question from whose money is used. The U.S. spouse is the petitioner on Form I-130 and normally the sponsor on Form I-864. The immigrating spouse is the applicant on Form I-485 or the immigrant visa.
| Item | Who files or signs | Who receives the money |
|---|---|---|
| Form I-130 | U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse | USCIS |
| Form I-485, I-765, I-131 | Immigrating spouse | USCIS |
| Form I-864 | Sponsor, and any joint sponsor | USCIS or Department of State, by route |
| Immigration medical examination | Immigrating spouse | Civil surgeon or panel physician |
| Immigrant visa application fee | Immigrating spouse | Department of State |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | Immigrating spouse, or someone on their behalf | USCIS |
| Legal fee | Client under the engagement letter | The firm |
We found no USCIS rule saying which spouse's account must pay a filing fee. The one page that addresses payers directly is the USCIS Immigrant Fee page, which says a family member, friend, employer, attorney or accredited representative can pay for the immigrant. Couples ordinarily pay from shared money.
One kind of payment is a serious problem: money given in exchange for the petition. INA § 216(d)(1) asks whether a fee or other consideration was given for filing the petition, and 6 USCIS-PM I.3 explains that this does not refer to fees paid to attorneys or others who assisted with the filing. It refers to payment made so that the petitioner will file, in connection with a fraudulent marriage. A citizen spouse paying a filing fee is ordinary. Paying a citizen to file is the conduct the statute is aimed at.
The largest forgotten cost is the medical examination. Fees for immigration medical examinations are set by the civil surgeon and may vary by doctor, the USCIS Form I-693 page says, so the way to budget is to call two or three designated doctors and ask. Form I-693 must be submitted with Form I-485, and USCIS may reject the I-485 without it.
Translation is the second. Every foreign-language document given to USCIS needs a full English translation, certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a certification of the translator's competence, under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). For a Russian-speaking couple this usually means birth certificates, marriage certificates, and every divorce decree from a prior marriage.
The third group depends on the route. Abroad, it includes police certificates for anyone 16 or older under 9 FAM 504.4-4, plus travel to the consulate. Where the country has no immigrant visa processing, that travel can be international: 9 FAM 504.4-8(E) lists Warsaw as the designated post for residents of Russia and Belarus.
The last group is ordinary: certified copies of civil records, passport photographs and courier charges. None of these is large by itself. Together they are the reason a budget built only from Form G-1055 comes up short.
The real cost of Form I-864 is not a filing fee but the obligation it creates. A sponsor must generally show income of at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or 100 percent for an active-duty service member sponsoring a spouse or child, under 8 CFR 213a.2(c)(2).
For a household of two in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., the 125 percent line on Form I-864P effective March 1, 2026 is $24,650. Each additional person adds $6,425. The chart updates every year, so read the current Form I-864P before relying on these figures.
The obligation does not end with a divorce. The Form I-864 instructions say so directly, and divorce does not appear in the list of terminating events in 8 CFR 213a.2(e). The obligation ends when the immigrant naturalizes, is credited with 40 quarters of work, permanently leaves after losing status, receives a new adjustment as relief in removal, or dies, or when the sponsor dies.
Two details are new. The 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864 authorizes USCIS to request information from consumer reporting agencies. Policy Memorandum PM-602-0201, dated November 4, 2026, adds that failing to meet I-864 obligations may count as a negative factor in the sponsor's own naturalization case. A sponsor who falls short can use a joint sponsor, who signs a separate affidavit and carries the same liability. See our page on Affidavit of Support cases.
The most common way is a wrong amount. Form G-1055 says plainly that if the fee is incorrect, the application, petition or request will be rejected. A rejection is not a denial, but the package comes back unfiled and the date you thought you had is gone.
The second way is the payment method. As of November 2026 USCIS no longer accepts personal or business checks, money orders or cashier's checks for paper filings unless you qualify for an exemption with Form G-1651. By mail you pay with a card on Form G-1450 or from a U.S. bank account on Form G-1650; online filings are paid through Pay.gov.
The third way is a combined payment. USCIS recommends paying each filing fee separately, because a single payment for a package may force USCIS to reject the entire package when one form in it is defective. For a couple filing Form I-130, Form I-485 and Form I-765 together, that means one payment for each form.
Our step-by-step method for confirming a fee is in how to verify USCIS filing fees. Form G-1055 also shows whether a fee waiver or reduced fee exists for a given form.
The first possible addition is a Request for Evidence, for which our fee starts at $1,500. Under Policy Alert PA-2026-05 of August 5, 2026, USCIS may deny a request without first issuing an RFE when required initial evidence is missing, so the cheapest RFE is the one a complete filing never receives.
The second is Form I-751. If the marriage is less than two years old on the day the spouse becomes a resident, the green card is conditional under INA § 216. A joint petition is then due in the 90 days before the second anniversary of residence, with its own USCIS fee. Our fee for Form I-751 starts at $4,000.
The third is citizenship, which many couples plan from the start. Our standard Form N-400 fee is $2,000, and the USCIS fee is on Form G-1055.
The last is the expensive scenario. As of November 2026, Policy Memorandum PM-602-0187 directs USCIS to issue a Notice to Appear when a benefit request is denied and the person is not lawfully present in the United States, and a family petition itself does not bar removal under 6 USCIS-PM B.5. If a case reaches immigration court, our fee starts at $1,000 for one day. That is the reason to fix a weak filing before it goes in rather than after.
Our initial consultation is $200 for 30 minutes, paid by card through a link before the meeting and always credited toward your fee. It takes place by Google Meet, by phone, or at our office at 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076. Our second office at 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 is by prior appointment only. We take clients from other states and other countries and work with them by Google Meet.
In those 30 minutes we settle the facts that fix the price: where the spouse is, how they last entered the United States, whether either of you has a prior petition or a removal case, and who will sign Form I-864. After that you will know which of the prices above applies and whether the case is ordinary. USCIS fees are not part of our fee.
We do not predict outcomes. Florida Bar rules do not allow it, and no fee buys an approval.
To start, complete the intake questionnaire, call (305) 315-3425, or email fitenkolaw@gmail.com. More on this kind of case is on our marriage green card page.
There is no single honest total, because it is a sum of three parts. Our legal fee starts at $2,000 for Form I-130 alone or from $4,000 for Form I-130 with Form I-485. Government fees are added from the current Form G-1055, and then the medical examination, translations and document costs. A spouse in the United States and a spouse abroad pay different government fees, so the route has to be known first.
No. USCIS fees are not part of our fee and are paid in addition to it. Our price for Form I-130 with Form I-485, from $4,000, is the legal fee. The government amounts come from Form G-1055 on the filing date, and the engagement letter lists the work the legal fee covers.
Not for a new filing. The USCIS Form I-485 page says that for an I-485 filed after April 1, 2024, additional fees must be paid to file Form I-765 and Form I-131. The bundled arrangement applied to applications filed from July 30, 2007 until April 1, 2024.
Yes, a spouse paying the couple's immigration costs is ordinary, and we found no USCIS rule requiring a particular spouse's account for a filing fee. What the law treats as a problem is payment made so that the petitioner will file, which INA § 216(d)(1) addresses. Fees paid to an attorney for help with the filing are a different thing, as 6 USCIS-PM I.3 explains.
The list of fees is different, and whether the total is lower depends on the current schedules. A spouse abroad pays no Form I-485 fee and instead pays Department of State fees and the USCIS Immigrant Fee. The two routes also differ in where the spouse must wait and in travel cost. For a spouse already in the United States, leaving can trigger the bars under INA § 212(a)(9)(B), so never choose the route by price alone.
Plan on no. Under 8 CFR 103.2(a)(1)(v), filing fees generally are non-refundable regardless of the outcome, and any refund is at the discretion of USCIS. A rejected package is a different event, because it was not accepted for filing, so read the rejection notice for what came back. Confirm the fee on Form G-1055 before you pay.
$200 for 30 minutes, in English or Russian, paid by card through a link before the meeting and always credited toward your fee. Call (305) 315-3425, email fitenkolaw@gmail.com, or start with the intake questionnaire.
This article is informational only and is not legal advice. USCIS and Department of State fees, form editions and policy change; confirm the current amounts on Form G-1055 and with the agency before filing. Firm fees are stated as of November 2026. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Fitenko Law PLLC, 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076 (main office); 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (by appointment only). Phone: (305) 315-3425. Email: fitenkolaw@gmail.com