Identity and Nationality Documents for Form I-485
Form I-485 requires USCIS to establish exactly who the applicant is. Identity evidence may include a passport, government-issued photo identification, birth record, national identity document, immigration documents, and records of legal name changes. Nationality is a related but separate issue: a document that proves identity does not necessarily establish citizenship, nationality, country of chargeability, or place of birth.
What identity documents should accompany Form I-485?
The objective is not merely to submit one document with a photograph. USCIS must be able to connect the person filing Form I-485 to the civil identity, immigration history, underlying petition, biometrics, and all prior names or identifying information in the government record.
Identity, nationality and place of birth are different facts
| Fact | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Identity | The legal and biographic identity of the person applying for adjustment. |
| Citizenship or Nationality | The country or countries to which the applicant has a legal citizenship or nationality relationship. |
| Place of Birth | The geographic location where the applicant was born. |
| Country of Chargeability | The country used for immigrant visa allocation, which is generally based on place of birth but can differ under statutory chargeability rules. |
A person can be born in one country, hold citizenship in another, possess more than one citizenship, and use a different country of chargeability for immigrant visa purposes.
See Cross-Chargeability.
Government-issued photo identification
The Form I-485 instructions generally require a copy of a government-issued identity document containing the applicant's photograph.
Depending on the applicant's history, useful documents can include:
- Passport biographic page;
- National identity card;
- Employment Authorization Document;
- Driver license;
- State identification card;
- Military identification;
- Foreign government identity card; or
- Another reliable government-issued photo document.
The document should be legible and should clearly show the applicant's photograph and identifying information.
The passport is often the most useful identity document
A passport can simultaneously provide evidence concerning:
- Full legal name;
- Photograph;
- Date of birth;
- Place of birth;
- Nationality;
- Passport number;
- Issuing authority;
- Expiration date;
- Visas;
- Admission stamps;
- Parole stamps; and
- International travel.
A typical adjustment package should include the biographic page and any pages necessary to document the relevant visa, admission, parole, or immigration history. Additional pages may be important where travel or identity questions exist.
An expired passport can still be important evidence
A passport does not become historically irrelevant when it expires.
An expired passport may still document:
- The identity used during a prior admission;
- A nonimmigrant visa;
- A K visa;
- An immigrant visa;
- An admission stamp;
- A parole stamp;
- Prior nationality information;
- Earlier legal names;
- Travel history; and
- Information matching earlier immigration filings.
If the applicant has both old and current passports, the filing should include the portions of each that are relevant to adjustment eligibility.
A current passport is not available in every case
Some applicants cannot safely or practically obtain a passport from their country of nationality.
This can arise in cases involving:
- Refugees;
- Asylees;
- Stateless persons;
- Persons who fear approaching their home government;
- Countries with no functioning document system;
- Expired citizenship documents;
- Political or humanitarian emergencies; and
- Other circumstances making passport issuance unavailable.
Identity can be established through other reliable government and civil documents when a passport is genuinely unavailable. The filing should explain the absence rather than leave the record unexplained.
National identity cards
Many countries issue national identification documents separate from passports.
A national identity card can be useful where it contains:
- Photograph;
- Legal name;
- Date of birth;
- National identification number;
- Place of birth;
- Citizenship or nationality;
- Parentage information; or
- Other biographic identifiers.
The evidentiary weight depends on the issuing authority, authenticity, issuance procedure, and consistency with the rest of the immigration record.
Birth records are central identity evidence
The applicant's civil birth record often provides the foundation for the adjustment identity record.
It can establish:
- Name at birth;
- Date of birth;
- Place of birth;
- Parents' names;
- Family relationships;
- Original civil registration; and
- Information relevant to citizenship or nationality claims.
Birth-record requirements are addressed separately because foreign civil-document availability varies substantially by country and jurisdiction.
Nationality may require evidence beyond the birth certificate
Birth in a country does not always establish current citizenship of that country.
Where nationality is legally important, additional evidence can include:
- Current passport;
- Certificate of citizenship;
- Certificate of nationality;
- Naturalization certificate from the foreign country;
- National identity documentation;
- Consular certification;
- Loss-of-nationality documentation;
- Renunciation records;
- Citizenship-by-descent evidence; and
- Relevant foreign-law evidence in unusual cases.
An applicant who was born in one country but later became a citizen of another should answer the Form I-485 biographic questions based on the applicant's actual legal history rather than assuming the birth country is necessarily the current nationality.
Dual and multiple nationality
An applicant can possess more than one citizenship or nationality.
The adjustment filing should accurately disclose the applicant's legal nationality history wherever the forms or supporting record require it.
Evidence can include:
- Multiple passports;
- Certificates of naturalization abroad;
- Citizenship by descent documents;
- National identity cards;
- Consular registrations;
- Evidence of loss or retention of prior citizenship; and
- Prior visa applications identifying multiple nationalities.
If the applicant has used passports from different countries, the filing should make clear that the documents belong to the same person and explain the citizenship history where necessary.
Stateless applicants
A person can have a place of birth without possessing citizenship or nationality in that country.
A stateless applicant may need to establish identity through:
- Refugee documents;
- Travel documents;
- Former passports;
- Birth records;
- Residence documents;
- United Nations or humanitarian records;
- USCIS or Department of State records;
- National identity records showing lack of citizenship; and
- Other credible evidence.
The applicant should not invent a nationality merely because Form I-485 requires biographic information. The record should accurately explain statelessness or uncertain nationality where applicable.
Legal name changes must be documented
If the applicant's current legal name differs from the name on the birth certificate, passport, prior visa, or immigration petition, provide evidence connecting the names.
Common name-change documents include:
- Marriage certificate;
- Divorce decree restoring a former name;
- Court-ordered name change;
- Adoption decree;
- Foreign civil registry amendment;
- Naturalization or citizenship record; and
- Other government records documenting the legal change.
USCIS should be able to understand how the person named on the birth certificate became the person named on the current passport and Form I-485.
Aliases and names previously used
Form I-485 requires disclosure of other names used.
This can include:
- Maiden names;
- Prior married names;
- Alternative transliterations;
- Different ordering of family and given names;
- Names used on visas;
- Names used on school or employment records;
- Nicknames used as legal identifiers;
- Names used in criminal records; and
- Other identities appearing in immigration records.
An applicant should not omit a prior name simply because the variation resulted from translation or cultural naming conventions.
Transliteration differences are common
Names originally written in Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Persian, Korean, or other non-Latin writing systems can appear in several reasonable Romanized forms.
Examples of differences include:
- Mohamed / Muhammad / Mohammad;
- Family name appearing first or last;
- Hyphens or spaces added or removed;
- Middle names omitted;
- Patronymic names treated differently; and
- Different government transliteration systems.
Minor transliteration variations usually become manageable when the filing identifies them clearly. Unexplained identity differences can create security-check delays or fraud concerns.
Date-of-birth discrepancies require attention
A difference in date of birth between records can be more serious than a spelling variation.
Potential causes include:
- Clerical error;
- Late civil registration;
- Calendar conversion;
- Day/month reversal;
- Incorrect passport data;
- Approximate birth dates assigned to refugees;
- Intentional use of a false date; or
- Multiple identity records.
The filing should identify the correct date and provide documentary evidence explaining the discrepancy.
If USCIS, DOS, CBP, a passport authority, and the birth registry contain different dates, the adjustment package should confront the difference directly.
Place-of-birth discrepancies
Geopolitical changes and inconsistent civil-document terminology can cause apparent place-of-birth conflicts.
Examples include:
- A city changing countries after border changes;
- Old and new country names;
- Province versus city notation;
- Colonial-era place names;
- Disputed territories;
- Transliteration differences; and
- Passport conventions differing from the birth certificate.
Where the difference affects nationality or chargeability, the issue should be analyzed rather than dismissed as clerical.
A-number and USCIS identity records
The Alien Registration Number helps USCIS connect the adjustment application to the applicant's existing immigration file.
Applicants should review prior documents for A-numbers appearing on:
- Employment Authorization Documents;
- Immigrant visas;
- Forms I-797;
- Notices to Appear;
- Prior Forms I-485;
- Asylum records;
- Removal orders;
- Border documents;
- USCIS online account records; and
- Other DHS documents.
If government records assign more than one A-number to the same person, disclose the known numbers and provide enough identifying information for USCIS to consolidate or review the records correctly.
Identity discrepancies can affect background checks
USCIS uses biographic and biometric information in security and background screening.
Unresolved discrepancies involving:
- Name;
- Date of birth;
- Place of birth;
- Passport number;
- Nationality;
- A-number;
- Fingerprints; or
- Prior aliases
can cause delays, requests for evidence, interview questioning, or further investigation.
Consistency should therefore be reviewed across the entire immigration history before Form I-485 is filed.
Identity discrepancies can also create misrepresentation issues
Not every inconsistency is fraud.
But an identity discrepancy can become legally serious if the applicant intentionally used false biographic information to obtain:
- A visa;
- Admission;
- Parole;
- Employment authorization;
- An immigration benefit;
- A passport;
- A Social Security record; or
- Another government benefit.
Before conceding INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i), determine what statement was made, whether it was false, whether the applicant knew it was false, whether it was willful, and whether it was material.
Foreign-language identity documents require complete translations
Any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must include a complete English translation with the required translator certification.
The translation should include:
- All printed text;
- Handwritten entries;
- Official seals;
- Stamps;
- Annotations;
- Reverse-side text where relevant;
- Corrections; and
- Marginal notes.
The translator must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
Copies are generally sufficient unless USCIS requires an original
USCIS generally permits legible copies of supporting documents unless the form instructions or USCIS specifically require an original.
Applicants should retain originals of:
- Passports;
- National IDs;
- Birth certificates;
- Marriage certificates;
- Divorce decrees;
- Citizenship certificates;
- Court orders; and
- Other material civil records.
USCIS may request originals later or ask the applicant to bring them to interview.
Check the current form instructions before surrendering an original civil or identity document to USCIS.
Foreign civil documents should be checked against the Reciprocity Schedule
The Department of State maintains country-specific civil-document information identifying how birth, marriage, death, police, and other records are issued.
The Reciprocity Schedule can help determine:
- Whether the document exists;
- What issuing authority is recognized;
- What document title is expected;
- Whether alternate versions exist;
- Whether the record is considered unavailable;
- How the record can be obtained; and
- Whether special country-specific problems exist.
This becomes particularly important when USCIS questions whether a foreign identity or civil document is the correct official version.
Refugees and asylees may have unusual identity evidence
A refugee or asylee may have fled without ordinary civil records or may reasonably avoid seeking documents from the government responsible for persecution.
Potential identity evidence can include:
- Refugee Travel Document;
- Form I-94;
- Asylum approval record;
- UNHCR documents;
- Former passports;
- National identity documents;
- School or employment records;
- Religious records;
- Family records;
- Government records already in the A-file; and
- Credible secondary evidence.
Where obtaining a national passport would require an asylee to approach the government from which protection was sought, the immigration consequences and safety concerns should be evaluated before requesting the document.
Example: maiden name and married name
The applicant's birth certificate and old passport use a maiden name, while the current passport and Form I-485 use the applicant's married surname. The filing should include the marriage certificate and list the prior name in the other-names-used section so USCIS can connect the records without treating them as separate identities.
Example: dual citizenship
An applicant was born in Country A, acquired citizenship in Country B through a parent, and holds passports from both countries. The filing should not assume that only the passport used for the most recent U.S. entry is relevant. The applicant's citizenship and nationality history should be answered accurately, while immigrant visa chargeability is analyzed separately under the applicable statute.
Example: two birth dates in government records
The birth certificate shows June 7, while an older visa application shows July 6 because the date and month were reversed during data entry. The adjustment filing should submit the primary civil record, identify the discrepancy, and explain the source of the prior error rather than simply using the preferred date without explanation.
Identity and nationality evidence checklist
- Government-issued photo identification.
- Current passport biographic page where available.
- Relevant expired passports.
- National identity card where useful.
- Birth record.
- Citizenship or nationality evidence where necessary.
- Evidence of dual citizenship where relevant.
- Evidence explaining statelessness where applicable.
- Marriage certificate documenting name change.
- Divorce decree documenting restored name where applicable.
- Court name-change order.
- Adoption decree where identity changed through adoption.
- Evidence of all aliases and prior legal names.
- Documents reconciling date-of-birth discrepancies.
- Documents reconciling place-of-birth discrepancies.
- All known A-numbers.
- Certified English translations.
- Explanation of unavailable primary identity documents.
- Secondary evidence where appropriate.
Common identity-document mistakes
Submitting Only a Passport
The filing assumes one passport automatically satisfies every civil identity and birth-record requirement.
Ignoring Old Passports
The current passport is submitted but the old passport contains the visa, admission stamp, earlier name, or travel evidence relevant to adjustment.
Unexplained Name Differences
The applicant uses several spellings or surnames without providing the legal or transliteration history connecting them.
Confusing Birthplace With Nationality
The filing assumes citizenship from place of birth even though the applicant's nationality law or later naturalization history is different.
Ignoring Multiple A-Numbers
Prior immigration files remain disconnected because the applicant fails to disclose other known A-numbers.
Partial Translation
Only the front or favorable portion of a foreign identity record is translated.
Primary authorities
Related INA245.com guides
Frequently asked questions
What photo identification should I submit with Form I-485?
A passport biographic page is commonly used, but another government-issued photo identity document may be appropriate depending on the applicant and the current Form I-485 instructions.
Can I use an expired passport?
An expired passport can still be important evidence of identity, prior visas, admissions, travel, former names, and immigration history. A current identity document should also be submitted where available.
Is nationality determined by where I was born?
Not necessarily. Place of birth, citizenship, nationality, and immigrant visa chargeability are distinct legal concepts.
What if I have two citizenships?
Document the actual citizenship history and disclose the information requested by USCIS. Multiple nationality does not automatically determine immigrant visa chargeability.
What if my name is spelled differently on different documents?
List prior names and aliases as required and provide evidence or an explanation connecting transliteration differences, marriage names, legal name changes, or clerical variations.
Do foreign identity documents need translations?
Yes. A foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a complete English translation and the required translator certification.
Should I send USCIS my original passport?
Generally no unless USCIS or the applicable instructions specifically require the original. Legible copies are ordinarily submitted and originals retained for later inspection if requested.
Identity problems become immigration problems when names, dates, passports, nationality, and prior government records do not connect cleanly.
The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A. represents adjustment applicants in matters involving identity discrepancies, nationality, missing passports, aliases, conflicting dates of birth, prior immigration records, fraud allegations, RFEs, NOIDs, and complex Form I-485 evidence.
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