What is Form G-1145?

Form G-1145 is a short sheet clipped to the front of a packet you send to USCIS. It asks them to notify you by text message or email when your application is received and accepted.

It is not an application on its own and it requests no benefit. It only says how you want to hear that your packet arrived. The official paper notice still comes, a few days later.

According to the official page, it is used by people mailing a paper application to one of the USCIS intake facilities, the ones they call a “lockbox”. USCIS says the service exists only for certain forms that arrive at those facilities.

If your form is filed online or goes to a different address, the official page explains whether this notice applies. We do not decide that for you; we read what USCIS says and link you to it.

It is one of the simplest sheets there is: your name exactly as it appears on the main application, an email address and a mobile number. Nothing else.

What matters is that the name matches the main form letter for letter. A name written differently is what keeps the notice from ever arriving.

It needs no supporting documents. The general list and the official sources live on the form's page; we do not repeat them here.

First you fill out the main form: the I-130, the N-400 or whichever one you are sending. Then you fill out the G-1145 with the same contact details you wrote there.

You clip it to the front of the packet, on top of the first page. USCIS says it goes in that position, not at the end and not in the middle.

When the packet is accepted, a text or an email arrives with your receipt number. For security, that notice carries no personal details: only the number and how to check your case.

Putting it at the back of the envelope, where nobody sees it. Writing the email with one letter wrong. Using another family member's name instead of the name of the person signing the application.

And the most common one: believing the electronic notice replaces the paper notice. It does not. The official receipt notice, Form I-797C, still arrives by mail afterwards.

The text or email usually arrives before the letter. If it does not arrive, it does not mean the packet was lost: the receipt letter is the confirmation that counts.

In the guide on what happens after you mail your form we explain that receipt notice, where the number is, and how to check your case.

We ask you in Spanish, one thing at a time, and transfer your answers onto the official form with technical checks. You receive an unsigned PDF: you review it, sign it and send it with your packet.

We do not give legal advice and we do not decide which forms apply to you. If you have a legal question, a licensed attorney or a Department of Justice accredited representative can guide you.