Expiration of form - 485

[jlee 2]

Quick question:

I just noticed that the form 485 is expiring on 12/31/10, however I won't be able to file my paperwork till after the 1st of January due to payment reasons and I have to file before the 5th of Jan to be inside the 90 day window. Does USCIS renew their forms regularly? or is there a grace period? what should I do? let me know, thank you

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Quick question:

I just noticed that the form 485 is expiring on 12/31/10, however I won't be able to file my paperwork till after the 1st of January due to payment reasons and I have to file before the 5th of Jan to be inside the 90 day window. Does USCIS renew their forms regularly? or is there a grace period? what should I do? let me know, thank you

This answer is a copy/paste from a previous answer on the same topic, but different form. It applies to all forms.

That OMB date at the top of forms doesn't mean the form is obsolete. I don't have a great knowledge of this but it goes roughly something like this--

The Office of Management and Budget oversees all government forms concerning information collected by the government and how long the form will take to fill out. It's part of the Paperwork Reduction Act. So each form has to be reviewed periodically to make sure the government isn't asking for more information from you than is required for that particular "benefit" or purpose of the form. And they review the burden of time it takes to complete the form.

The actual form date (when it became effective) is at the bottom. The DS-156k date is Oct 2007. The same form could be used forever or until it needed to be changed because of changes to visa policies. The OMB date would still have to be reviewed and updated...maybe every three years (??). I'm not sure on that. So the DS-156K is due for review concerning the information it asks of you and the time to complete, but the form itself can remain unchanged. Forms don't have specific expiration dates planned in advance so they don't "expire." They can undergo revisions and newer versions produced. So it's always best to get the form straight from the goverment agency website, where the latest version will be found and also information about if previous versions will be accepted.

Find your form on this page and it will tell what version is the newest and what versions are still acceptable. For the I-485 the dates are 11/23/10; (11/08/10; 7/15/10; 12/03/09 editions also accepted)

Edited December 30, 2010 by Nich-Nick

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Quick question:

I just noticed that the form 485 is expiring on 12/31/10, however I won't be able to file my paperwork till after the 1st of January due to payment reasons and I have to file before the 5th of Jan to be inside the 90 day window. Does USCIS renew their forms regularly? or is there a grace period? what should I do? let me know, thank you

There is no deadline to file AOS so don't worry about that.

The expiry date on the forms isn't really because the form becomes invalid, it's kind of like a reminder to them that they need to double-check their info (usually there's some sort of pop-up to tell them a form is out-dated) and to make sure if any new rules come out the forms reflect it.

Some forms (most) are still valid for some time after they're actually expired, even when the form is updated you'll see a section on the USCIS website saying "other forms accepted" or something like that.