I-140, Immigrant Petition For Alien Worker - USCIS

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I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers Alert Type info

Alert: On Jan. 9, 2026, DHS announced the Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees final rule that will increase USCIS fees for premium processing to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025.

This rule is effective March 1, 2026. If you submit a request for premium processing postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, you must include the new fee for the specific benefit you are requesting. If we receive a Form I-907 postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, with the incorrect filing fee, we will reject Form I-907 and return the filing fee. See the web alert for additional information.

Use this form to petition for an alien worker to become a lawful permanent resident in the United States.

File Online

Forms and Document Downloads

Form I-140 (PDF, 512.69 KB) Instructions for Form I-140 (PDF, 398.82 KB)

Form Details

Edition Date

06/07/24. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.

If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.

If you need help downloading and printing forms, read our instructions.

Where to File

You have 2 options for filing your Form I-140 petition with USCIS:

• By mail (paper); or
• Online.

Filing Your Form I-140 by Mail

The filing address depends on whether you are filing Form I-140 by itself or with another form. Check the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-140 for instructions on where to mail your form.

Filing Your Form I-140 Online

First create a USCIS online account or login if you already have an account. To learn more, visit our How to Create a USCIS Online Account page.

You can only file online if you are submitting a standalone Form I-140 without any other form (except Form G-28 if filing with an attorney or accredited representative).

If you are submitting Form I-140 together with another form, including Form I-907, you must file by mail. Form I-907 may still be filed by mail to request premium processing after you file your Form I-140 online. You cannot file Form I-485 online at this time. Do not upload Form I-485 with Form I-140, including as supporting evidence. We will not accept or adjudicate any Form I-485 included as supporting evidence with a Form I-140 that was filed online.

When to File

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.

Filing Fee

You can find the filing fee for Form I-140 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.

USCIS no longer accepts payments made by personal or business check, money order, or cashier’s check for forms filed by paper unless you qualify for an exemption. When filing by mail, you can pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card by completing Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, or you can make a payment directly from a U.S. bank account by completing Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions.

If you qualify for an exemption from the requirement to use an electronic payment method, you will need to complete and file Form G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment, along with submitting the correct payment.

Before sending your package to USCIS, watch What and How to Pay for additional guidance on how to file at the USCIS Lockbox with the correct payment.

USCIS continues to accept payments made through Pay.gov for applications and petitions filed online.

For more information visit our Filing Fees webpage.

Checklist of Required Initial Evidence (for informational purposes only)

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.

Form Filing Tips

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 Identification Number 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 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 our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to accurately complete, assemble and mail your form(s). Also note our special filing tips for EB-2 with National Interest Waiver.

Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form and will reject or deny any improperly signed form. Forms must include a valid signature as provided in the form instructions. USCIS will not accept:

• A typed name on the signature line;
• A signature by an attorney, representative, or family member signing for the requestor;
• A signature created by a typewriter, word processor, stamp (manual or electronic), autopen, or similar device;
• An electronic signature rendered external to the USCIS online account, signatures created using commercial signature software, and signatures that do not comply with signature guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual and the DHS Electronic Signature Guidance; or
• An image of a handwritten signature that is subsequently and separately affixed to the benefit request by either physical or electronic methods. For example, cutting and pasting a picture of a signature onto an unsigned benefit request.*

If you are submitting a copy of an original benefit request containing an original handwritten signature, USCIS retains the right to request the original, signed petition.

*A signature is generally valid if the original handwritten signature on the benefit request is later photocopied, scanned, faxed, or similarly reproduced. The copy must be of the original benefit request containing the original handwritten signature.

Special Instructions

E-Notification: If you want to receive an email and/or a text that we have accepted your form at a USCIS lockbox, complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, and clip it to the first page of your form.

Professional Athletes: Labor certifications for professional athletes issued by the U.S. DOL’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system do not contain the minimum job requirements for the offered position. USCIS needs this information to determine whether the offered job is eligible for the requested immigrant visa classification. If a labor certification-based Form I-140 petition for a professional athlete does not state the minimum job requirements and they are not provided by the petitioner through other means, USCIS may issue a request for additional evidence to obtain this information. To facilitate timely processing, petitioners filing I-140 petitions for alien professional athletes should proactively include the minimum job requirements with their petitions if they are not already contained within the athlete’s contract that is submitted with the petition. 

Related Links

• Petition Filing and Processing Procedures for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
• Recommendations for Paper Filings to Avoid Scanning Delays

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