The Complete Guide to Form G-1145

Filing paperwork with the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) can become complicated. Especially if you mail your applications to the USCIS. How will you know if they have received it? What can you do to get the acceptance notice regarding your applications? What if your application got lost in the mail?

Form G-1145 is the perfect solution to your challenge. Below we show you how it will help the USCIS to contact you and shorten the time it takes for you to be notified when your application gets accepted.

What is Form G-1145?

Aren’t you tired of physical mail? Though it has its benefits, physical mail notices take unnecessarily long and sometimes result in you missing important ones. Times have changed. People don’t use physical mail that often anymore. Many live on the road and aren’t “at home” for months on end. Despite this, you are still required to mail the USCIS any application to serve them with the proper documentation.

The good news is that even though you still have to do some mailing, the USCIS created a supplementary solution to an ineffective outdated way of communication.

The Form G-1145 (also called e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance) is an optional document you can fill out that supplies the USCIS with an alternative way to reach you. With this form, you are asking them to contact you on your mobile phone with a text. Or they may send you an email once your application is accepted. This will help you to eliminate any communication problems caused by physical mail notices.

Please note, you still need a physical mail address to receive your original copies of official documentation. But this provides an additional solution and means of communication.

Which Forms Are Eligible for Use with Form G-1145?

Unfortunately, you can’t use the Form G-1145 for everything. It’s only available for a select few forms.

Here is a short list of the forms you can combine with the Form G-1145:

• Form I-90 – Application to replace a permanent resident card. This is for someone who wants to replace a Green Card.
• Form I-130 – Petition for alien relative (parents may need some help with an application checklist).
• Form I-485 – Application to adjust status. Especially for a foreign national who married a U.S. citizen.
• Form I-765 – Application for employment authorization (work permit). This is the document foreign nationals need before they are allowed to be employed in the U.S.
• Form N-400 – Application for Naturalization. This is for someone who wants to become a citizen.

The Form G-1145 is only available to people who want to submit the above-mentioned applications. The USCIS will use the contact details in your Form G-1145 to inform you when your application has been accepted.

When You Should File Form G-1145

You should file this form when you submit your application at a USCIS lockbox. A lockbox is a service which receives and processes payments. So all of the forms mentioned in the previous section applies, but only when you submit an application at a USCIS lockbox.

When You Shouldn’t File Form G-1145

Applications that aren’t filed at a USCIS lockbox doesn’t get a Form G-1145. Applications submitted at a USCIS service center or field office don’t get the e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance option. This may cause unnecessary delays when there are extra forms in your application package.

How to Use Form G-1145

You can download a copy of the form from the USCIS website. Complete the necessary fields and paperclip it to the first page of your application package. You can supply both your mobile number and an email address, or just one of the two.

The USCIS will notify you on your preferred method of communication within 24 hours of accepting your application. Be patient though, your application acceptance may very well only take place a few days (if not more) after your submission date. The USCIS first needs to review the completeness of your application before they can accept it.

Where to File Form G-1145

Each state has different lockbox addresses. You need to address your application to the applicable one. Consider filing a Form G-1145 even though it is not compulsory. You will know within 24 hours when your application has been accepted. You’ve really got nothing to lose.

How Much Does Form G-1145 Cost?

There is no fee to make use of the Form G-1145. It is for free since it is an “opt-in” formality. It simply informs the USCIS about the alternative methods of communication you prefer for the first application acceptance notice.

Difference Between Form I-797C and Form G-1145

All the talk of these different forms and acronyms might get you confused. So let’s clear that up by looking at the difference between a Form I-797C and Form G-1145. It’s much simpler than you may think.

Form G-1145

An e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance notice is purely to inform you about the acceptance of your application. This means your case is now in process. The USCIS will now review your application and decide whether it is successful. The acceptance of your application does not mean it is successful. You still need to wait for the notice which confirms and explains the outcome of your case.

Form I-797C

This form is valuable and must be kept safe with the copies of your application package. The USCIS will mail you this form to notify you about the state of your case. It contains a document number that serves as the reference number for your case. You can use the document number in future inquiries to track the status of your case.

A Form I-797C serves one of the following purposes:

• Receipt notice – This notice informs you about your case number (receipt number) and it confirms that payment of your application fee has been received. Use this receipt number when you make future inquiries about the progress of your case.
• Rejection notice – This informs the applicant about the rejection of an application. It may be because of an incomplete application due to erroneous information. An incorrect payment procedure may also cause this outcome.
• Transfer notice – This informs the applicant about the transfer of their case or application to another office to improve processing times. The USCIS informs petitioners and applicants when their cases are moved to other offices.
• Re-open cases – This notice informs you that a case has been re-opened for processing. Your case may perhaps have been denied due to an error caused by the USCIS and you applied for the case to be re-opened.
• Appointment notice – This notice supplies you with the time, date, and venue regarding important appointments during the processing of your case. The USCIS may require you to complete a biometric screening test or a physical interview of some sorts.

You need to keep these documents in safe places. Even make backup copies of it. You’ll need to produce it at appointments. Some of these documents may even be necessary for future applications to prove certain disputes.

Conclusion

Communication with the USCIS can become burdensome. Especially if the postal services in your area are unreliable. You don’t need to struggle with outdated methods of communication.

The USCIS gives you the option to provide an alternative method of communication. Form G-1145 enables you to receive an e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance notification. It will considerably shorten the time it takes for you to receive the message. A simple text or email (according to your needs) will also be sent to you within 24 hours of the acceptance of your application. File a Form G-1145 with your next application (with the qualifying forms) to prevent any unnecessary miscommunication.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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