Form I-824 for Guatemalans in the US (October 2026): Action on an Approved Petition, the $590 Fee and Where to File

Quick summary

• What it is: USCIS Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition. In the words of the USCIS form page: “Use this form to request additional action on a previously approved application or petition.”
• Approval required first: “We will not process your Form I-824 if your petition or application is still pending or has been denied.” USCIS or CBP will also not approve it if your previous approval has expired or was revoked.
• Fee: $590 for general filing, according to Form G-1055 (edition 10/07/26). Certain categories pay $0.
• Where to file: USCIS changed the I-824 filing location on October 7, 2026. For filings with USCIS, the current address is the Phoenix Lockbox. Forms sent to a prior location are accepted if they are postmarked on or before November 9, 2026.
• One action per form: “A separate Form I-824 must be filed for each action being requested.”
• Not a visa guarantee: “The approval of Form I-824 does not guarantee a visa will be granted by the U.S. Consulate overseas.”

What Form I-824 does and what it does not do

Form I-824 works only on a case USCIS has already approved. It does not create a new petition, it does not fix a denial, and the instructions state that it cannot be used to verify the status of a pending application or petition.

Jurisdiction depends on where your file is. The USCIS Policy Manual says the I-824 is handled by the office that originally approved the underlying benefit. If the file has since been transferred, the office currently holding the file handles it.

If you are looking for the provisional unlawful presence waiver (Form I-601A), that is a different form with its own rules. See our separate guide to the I-601A waiver for Guatemalans. This page does not repeat that material.

The actions you can request

The evidence rule in the instructions works by Item Number. If you select Part 2, Item Numbers 1.a., 1.b., 1.c. or 1.d., you provide a copy of Form I-797 for the previously approved application or petition. If you select Item Number 1.e., you provide a copy of Form N-550. In both cases, copy the front and back. The excerpt we reviewed does not show which requests Item Numbers 1.a. and 1.b. correspond to, so check the form itself before you file.

Some requests have limits:

• Duplicate approval notice. The duplicate repeats only the approval information from the original Form I-797. It does not include a copy of the approved petition or application. No replacement work permit (EAD), Permanent Resident Card, travel document or other USCIS authorization document comes with it.

• Sending a petition to the NVC (1.d.). This option is no longer available if the beneficiary has already become a permanent resident through an approved Form I-485.

• Telling the State Department you naturalized (1.e.). You do not have to use Form I-824 for this. The instructions describe two other routes:

  • Attach your naturalization certificate to the NVC Public Inquiry Form.
  • Mail your request with a copy of your naturalization certificate to: National Visa Center, ATTN: WC, 31 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

  If you are naturalizing and want to keep your Guatemalan nationality, see our guide to dual citizenship between Guatemala and the US.

Follow-to-join for a spouse or children in Guatemala

This is the request most relevant to Guatemalans who became permanent residents inside the United States. Item Number 1.c. asks USCIS to notify a US Consulate, through the NVC, that you adjusted status based on an approved Form I-485. According to the instructions, this lets your spouse and children apply for an immigrant visa and follow to join you.

The instructions list two conditions.

1. An Immigration Judge or USCIS approved your permanent resident status.
2. Your approved I-485 was based on one of these:
   • a family preference visa petition (Form I-130)
   • an employment-based visa petition (Form I-140)
   • a religious worker or VAWA petition (Form I-360)
   • a diversity case number

Who should not file Form I-824 for follow-to-join

The instructions say not to file Form I-824 with USCIS for follow-to-join benefits if any of these describes you:

1. You received an immigrant visa at a US Embassy or Consulate through consular processing and were admitted as a permanent resident on that visa. This includes Guatemalans who interviewed in Guatemala City and entered on the immigrant visa.
2. You were granted refugee status after you were admitted to the United States.
3. You were granted asylee status in the United States.
4. You gained permanent resident status through a T or U visa.

The excerpt we reviewed does not say which procedure applies instead in these cases.

Fee

The I-824 row of the USCIS fee schedule we read shows no separate online-filing amount and no separate biometrics amount. The USCIS I-824 page and the G-1055 page were both last reviewed on October 7, 2026. Check the fee schedule on the day you file.

Evidence and translations

Submit every piece of evidence the instructions request. USCIS can reject or deny the application if required evidence or supporting documents are missing.

For requests made under Item Numbers 1.a. through 1.e., the core evidence is the copy of Form I-797 or Form N-550 described above. The USCIS I-824 sources we reviewed do not list Guatemalan RENAP documents or an apostille as I-824 evidence. If you need an apostille for a different procedure, see our guide to the birth certificate apostille from the USA.

If any document you send has information in Spanish or another foreign language, the I-824 instructions require two things:

• a full English translation
• a certification signed by the translator stating that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate into English

The translator’s certification must also show their signature, printed name, signature date and contact information. The federal regulation at 8 CFR 103.2 sets the same translation rule for any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS.

Where to file (after the October 7, 2026 change)

USCIS changed the I-824 filing location on October 7, 2026. It is giving a 30-day grace period: forms sent to any prior filing location are accepted if they are postmarked on or before November 9, 2026.

If you file Form I-824 together with another USCIS form, mail it according to that other form’s filing instructions. Otherwise, use the address for the agency you are filing with:

The USCIS form page warns: “Applications that are not submitted to the appropriate direct filing address may experience processing delays.”

Biometrics and interviews

USCIS may ask you to attend an interview or a biometrics appointment (fingerprints, photograph and/or signature) before deciding the case. If it does, you will receive a notice with the date, time and location. If you are overseas, the notice will tell you to contact a US Embassy, a US Consulate or a USCIS office outside the United States to schedule the appointment. The instructions are clear about missing it: “If you do not attend your biometric services appointment, we may deny your application.”

The USCIS sources we reviewed give no guaranteed processing time and no approval validity period for Form I-824.

After a follow-to-join or NVC request: the Guatemala City stage

Approval of Form I-824 does not issue a visa. A spouse or child in Guatemala still goes through the immigrant visa process at the US Embassy in Guatemala City; see our guide to the immigrant visa interview in Guatemala City. The embassy’s list for its immigrant visa interview (page last updated October 3, 2024) includes these points:

• Any document that is not in English or Spanish must come with a certified English translation.
• Bring the original birth certificate. An English translation is needed only if the original is not in Spanish.
• If the applicant is married, bring an original or certified copy of the marriage certificate, plus one photocopy.
• If the applicant was previously married, bring an original or certified copy of each divorce certificate or spouse’s death certificate, plus one photocopy of each.

The State Department’s Guatemala civil documents page gives two more instructions. Birth certificates should be requested from RENAP, not from the city or town. Both the front and back pages are required.

RENAP says its online portal handles 19 services, including birth, death, marriage and divorce certifications. A RENAP notice also says Guatemalans can request their DPI (first issue, replacement or renewal), registry amendments and annotations, and the issuance of birth certifications. For the DPI from the United States, see getting your DPI from the USA. To find your consulate, use find your Guatemalan consulate. If you married in the US and the marriage needs to be recorded in Guatemala, see recognition of a marriage abroad.

Source notes

• The USCIS I-824 page lists the form’s edition date as 04/01/24 and was last reviewed on October 7, 2026.
• The instructions PDF we retrieved from USCIS carries a draft marking dated December 26, 2023, but its page footer shows the 04/01/24 edition. Before you file, compare the instructions you download against the edition date on the USCIS form page.