The Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group filed paperwork in the United States to sell stock to the public for the first time, in an embrace of the global capital markets that represents a coming-of-age for China’s booming Internet industry.

In the filing, Alibaba said it intended to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering — a figure used to calculate its registration fee. But the company is expected ultimately to raise $15 billion to $20 billion, which would make it the biggest American I.P.O. since Facebook’s $16 billion offering in May 2012.