Fill out Form I-824 online

Who uses Form I-824

• Applicants or petitioners who need a duplicate approval notice
• Applicants or petitioners who want a different U.S. Consulate or port of entry notified about an approval
• Permanent residents who adjusted status in the U.S. and want their spouse or children to follow to join them
• Petitioners who want USCIS to send an approved immigrant visa petition to the National Visa Center
• Petitioners who became U.S. citizens through naturalization and want the State Department told

Before you start

• The Form I-797 Notice of Action for the approved application or petition, which shows its receipt number
• The form number, filing date and approval date of that approved application or petition
• Your A-Number, USCIS Online Account Number and Social Security number, if you have them
• Your Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship number, if you are a naturalized U.S. citizen
• The principal beneficiary's name, date of birth, country of birth, A-Number, phone number and addresses, if the beneficiary is not you
• For a follow-to-join request: each dependent's name, date of birth, country of birth, citizenship, relationship to you, contact details and foreign address

How to fill out Form I-824

1. 1

   Part 1: Information about you

   In Item 1, say whether you were the applicant or the petitioner on the approved case. Give your name in Items 2.a-2.c, or leave them blank and use Item 3 if the petitioner is a company or organization. Item 4 asks for your current or most recent immigration status (U.S. citizens write N/A). Items 5-12 cover your certificate number, A-Number, birth details, citizenship, IRS tax number (for a business), Social Security number and USCIS Online Account Number.

2. 2

   Part 1: Addresses

   Items 13.a-13.i are your mailing address, if it is different from your physical address. Items 14.a-14.h are your physical address, which must have a street number and name or a rural route number. Do not use a PO Box for the physical address.

3. 3

   Part 2: Reason for request

   Select only one box. 1.a is a duplicate approval notice; CBP filers also use 1.a to ask for a duplicate Form I-192 or I-212 approval notice. 1.b asks USCIS to notify a new U.S. Consulate or port of entry, different from the one first requested, and has a line for its name. 1.c asks USCIS to tell a U.S. Consulate through the NVC that you adjusted to permanent resident, so your spouse or children can follow to join you. 1.d asks USCIS to send an approved immigrant visa petition to the NVC. 1.e asks USCIS to tell the State Department you became a U.S. citizen through naturalization. A separate form is needed for each action.

4. 4

   Part 3: The approved application or petition

   Items 1.a-1.d ask for the form number of the approved application or petition, its receipt number from Form I-797, the filing date and the approval date. USCIS rejects the form if the receipt number is missing. If the principal beneficiary is not you, give their name, date of birth, country of birth, A-Number and phone number in Items 2.a-2.g, their mailing address in 3.a-3.i and their physical address in 4.a-4.h.

5. 5

   Part 3: Dependents (only for Part 2, Item 1.c)

   If you chose 1.c, list each spouse or child for whom you are asking for follow-to-join benefits. The form has room for four dependents (Items 5.a-11, 12.a-18, 19.a-25 and 26.a-32), with name, date of birth, country of birth, citizenship, relationship, email and phone. Items 33.a-33.g are the dependents' foreign address and Item 34 their foreign phone number. Use Part 7 for more dependents, with the same details.

6. 6

   Part 4: Your contact details and signature

   Give your daytime phone number in Item 1, and your mobile number and email address in Items 2 and 3 if you have them. Read the certification, then sign and date in Item 4. A parent or legal guardian may sign for an applicant under 14, and a legal guardian may sign for a mentally incompetent person.

7. 7

   Parts 5-7: Interpreter, preparer and extra space

   If someone interpreted the form for you, they complete and sign Part 5. If someone else prepared the form, they complete and sign Part 6. Use Part 7 for any answer that does not fit: write your name and A-Number at the top, give the page, part and item number for each answer, and sign and date each extra sheet.

After you fill it out

Attach a copy (front and back) of the Form I-797 for the approved case if you chose Part 2, Item 1.a, 1.b, 1.c or 1.d, or a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization if you chose 1.e. The form goes to USCIS, or to CBP for approvals CBP issued, and the mailing address depends on that agency and on whether the underlying case is VAWA, T or U related, so check the filing address on the official Direct Filing Addresses page and the fee on the USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055). If you file Form I-824 together with another USCIS form, mail it as that other form's instructions say. CBP filers can also file at a CBP-designated port of entry.

Signing: Part 4 needs a handwritten signature (a parent or legal guardian may sign for an applicant under 14); USCIS does not accept a stamped or typewritten name, and it rejects an unsigned form. Print the completed form and sign it in ink (a photocopy, fax or scan of that handwritten original is accepted).

Questions about Form I-824

Official information

• USCIS: Form I-824 page
• Instructions for Form I-824 (PDF)
• Direct filing addresses for Form I-824
• USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

Related forms

• Form I-130Petition for Alien Relative
• Form I-485Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-90Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
• Form G-28Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative
• Form G-1145e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance