Get a PDF ready for USCIS online filing

How to USCIS PDF upload

1. If the PDF asks for a password, or has limits set by its owner, open Unlock PDF first, type the password, and download the unlocked copy.
2. Back on this page, press Choose a PDF and pick the unlocked copy. Fit a size is already set, with 11700 in Must be under (KB).
3. Press Compress PDF.
4. Zoom in on every page to make sure it can still be read, then press Download.

What USCIS says about uploaded files

USCIS lists its file rules on its own page “Tips for filing forms online” (checked on 7 October 2026; the page says it was last reviewed on 23 March 2026). Rules can change, so read that page again before you file. For the files you upload, it says:

• Each file must be no larger than 12 MB.
• Files must be PDF, JPG or JPEG. For some forms, TIF or TIFF is accepted too.
• “Do not encrypt or password protect your files.”

Step 1: remove a password you know

Papers from banks, employers and other offices sometimes arrive as locked PDFs. Some ask for a password before they open; others open freely but carry limits set by their owner, such as no printing or no editing. Unlock PDF removes them, but only with the right password, which you type: the open password removes the lock on opening, and the owner password also removes the owner’s limits. This site never guesses, cracks or works around a password. If you don’t know it, ask whoever sent you the file.

Compress PDF refuses locked files, so unlocking always comes first. And don’t add a password of your own with Protect PDF before uploading: that is exactly what USCIS asks you not to do.

Step 2: get each file under 12 MB

Most PDFs you download or make on a computer are already far under 12 MB; you can upload those as they are. Large files are usually scans or phone photos of documents. In our tests with 11700 in the box, ten Letter pages scanned in color at 300 dpi (22 MB) kept Best quality at about 10.9 MB; fifteen such pages fitted at Balanced (about 7.6 MB); and twelve pages with one detailed 12-megapixel photo each kept Best quality at about 11.3 MB.

Why 11700? USCIS’s page does not say whether it counts a megabyte as 1,024 × 1,024 bytes or a round 1,000,000. Here 1 KB is 1,024 bytes, so 11700 KB is 11,980,800 bytes: under 12 MB either way (12,582,912 or 12,000,000 bytes).

A digitally signed PDF needs a tick in the box I understand the digital signature will no longer be valid before it can be compressed. Keep the signed original as well.

Step 3: make sure every page can still be read

A small file is no use if the person reviewing it cannot read it. Zoom in on the smallest print, dates, stamps, signatures and ID numbers. If they look soft, keep fewer pages in each file with Split PDF, if the upload screen lets you add more than one file.

USCIS also lists JPG and JPEG. If you would rather upload pictures, PDF to JPG saves pages as JPG; choose JPG, not PNG, which is not on the USCIS list. This site does not make TIF files.

What this page is not

PDF Medic Online is not a USCIS service and has no connection with USCIS or any government agency. It does not fill in forms, check your evidence or give legal advice. It only removes a password you know and makes files smaller, on your own device. The three USCIS rules above are the only ones this page relies on. For questions about your case or which documents to send, ask USCIS or a qualified immigration lawyer.

Everything happens in your browser: your file is never uploaded to any server. You can check: once your file is open, turn on airplane mode — the tool still works.

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