Adjustment of status is the process of applying for a green card from inside the United States, on Form I-485, instead of through a US consulate abroad. It is generally available to someone whom immigration officers inspected and admitted or paroled, who has an immigrant visa immediately available, and is admissible. Spouses, parents and unmarried children under 21 of US citizens can often adjust even after overstaying a visa.
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| Who it is for | People in the United States with a family, employment or other basis for a green card |
|---|---|
| Main form | Form I-485, filed with USCIS |
| Key requirement | A lawful entry, and an immigrant visa available on the day of filing |
| While it is pending | Work permit and advance parole can be requested on Forms I-765 and I-131 |
| Attorney fee | A flat fee for the whole matter, agreed in writing before work begins |
| Government fees | Set by USCIS and paid separately, directly to the government |
Who qualifies for adjustment of status?
Adjustment of status is how a relative who is already here becomes a permanent resident without leaving. You generally qualify if you are physically in the United States and immigration officers inspected and admitted or paroled you. In addition, an immigrant visa must be available to you, and you must be admissible. Those requirements come from INA § 245(a), codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1255.
The application is Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. You file it with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), following the agency’s current filing instructions. It also needs a basis. Usually that is an approved or pending family immigration petition, but it can also be an employment petition, asylum or another category.
- A lawful entry An officer inspected you at a port of entry and admitted you on a visa or visa waiver, or the government paroled you. Entering without inspection generally rules adjustment out.
- A visa available now Immediate relatives of US citizens always have one. In a preference category, the priority date must be current under the Visa Bulletin.
- Admissibility No unwaived ground of inadmissibility, such as certain criminal convictions, prior fraud or a likelihood of becoming a public charge.
Some relatives live abroad, and others cannot adjust. In those cases, the case finishes through an immigrant visa interview at a US consulate instead.
What can bar adjustment of status?
INA § 245(c) lists several bars to adjustment of status. However, immediate relatives of US citizens are exempt from the most common ones. For everyone else, a gap in status or unauthorized work can close this route.
- Failure to maintain status Overstaying or violating the terms of a visa. Immediate relatives are exempt.
- Unauthorized employment Working without permission. Immediate relatives are exempt here too.
- Visa Waiver Program entry People who entered without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program can generally adjust only as immediate relatives.
- K-1 fiancé(e) entry A K-1 entrant can adjust only through marriage to the US citizen who filed the petition.
- Certain J-1 exchange visitors Those subject to the two-year home residence requirement cannot adjust until they meet it or obtain a waiver.
INA § 245(i) offers a narrow exception to several bars, including entry without inspection. It covers people who were beneficiaries of a petition or labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001. They must also pay an additional penalty set by statute.
What goes into an adjustment of status application?
An adjustment application is a package: Form I-485 plus the forms and evidence that prove eligibility, admissibility and financial support. A complete package reduces the chance of a request for evidence.
- Form I-485 The application itself, with the applicant’s full immigration, employment, address and criminal history.
- Form I-864 The Affidavit of Support, signed by the family petitioner and any joint sponsor.
- Form I-693 The medical examination, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon.
- Forms I-765 and I-131 Optional requests for a work permit and for advance parole to travel while the case is pending.
- Civil documents Birth certificate, passport, entry record, and marriage and divorce records, with certified translations.
For immediate relatives of citizens, you can usually file the family petition on Form I-130 together with the I-485. Lawyers call that concurrent filing, and it removes the wait between petition and application. It is the usual route for a spouse’s green card where the spouse entered lawfully. Likewise, a K-1 fiancé(e) files the I-485 after the wedding without a separate I-130.
How long does adjustment of status take?
Adjustment of status often takes a year or more from filing to decision. The wait also varies widely by USCIS field office. Still, every case moves through the same stages.
- Filing and receipt USCIS accepts the package and issues receipt notices, which serve as proof that the application is pending.
- Biometrics The applicant attends an Application Support Center for fingerprints and a photograph used for background checks.
- Work and travel documents If you request them, USCIS usually decides the work permit and advance parole before the green card.
- Interview An officer at the local field office reviews the case under oath. USCIS approves some cases without one.
- Decision USCIS approves or denies the application, and mails the green card after approval.
The government sets processing times and changes them without notice. We will give you the realistic range for your facts at the consultation, including the slow version.
Can you work or travel while the application is pending?
You can request permission to do both, and you generally need that permission before you do either. With concurrent filing, both requests can go in with the first package. Working and traveling without it can harm or end the application.
A work permit, requested on Form I-765, lets the applicant work for any employer while the I-485 is pending. Advance parole, requested on Form I-131, lets the applicant leave and return. Leaving without it generally abandons the application. The exception is people traveling in valid H-1B or L-1 status.
Travel on advance parole generally does not count as a departure that triggers the unlawful-presence bar. Even so, it carries risk for someone with a prior removal order or certain criminal history. Other issues can also come up on re-entry.
Does entering on a visitor visa cause problems?
Entering on a visitor visa and later applying to adjust is not automatically a problem. However, it can raise questions about what you told the officer at the border. The answer turns on your intentions when you entered and on what you said.
A visitor visa is for a temporary stay. Suppose an applicant planned to stay permanently and hid that plan to get the visa or to enter. USCIS may then treat it as willful misrepresentation, a ground of inadmissibility that can require a waiver. For immediate relatives, USCIS has generally not denied adjustment solely because the applicant intended to stay before entering. Still, the full facts matter.
A marriage or a decision to stay that came after entry, and that you honestly did not plan, is common. Many of these couples overstayed before the wedding. Our guide to what happens when you overstay a visa and marry a US citizen walks through that situation. An attorney can also review your timeline before you file the application.
What goes wrong with adjustment of status?
Most adjustment problems come from an eligibility issue nobody checked, a missing document, or a history question answered inconsistently. The I-485 asks about every arrest, every past visa and every entry, and USCIS compares the answers with government records.
- Filing without eligibility USCIS can deny an application filed without a lawful entry, or before a visa is available, and the denial may leave the applicant exposed to removal proceedings.
- An incomplete package A missing medical exam, signature or civil document leads to a request for evidence or a rejection, adding months.
- Criminal history Arrests and convictions, even old or dismissed ones, need certified court records and a review of their immigration consequences.
- Travel without advance parole A trip abroad at the wrong moment can abandon the application outright.
If USCIS denies the application, there is usually no appeal. Instead, a motion to reopen or reconsider may be available. You can sometimes renew the application before an immigration judge, too. Where the applicant entered without inspection, the path usually runs abroad after an I-601A provisional waiver.
What does adjustment of status cost?
As your adjustment of status lawyer, the firm quotes the case as a flat fee, agreed in writing before any work begins. That fee includes preparation for the interview. It does not change because USCIS takes longer than expected. USCIS sets the government filing fees, and you pay them separately, directly to the government. The fees and consultations page explains the flat-fee model.
The first consultation is free and takes about thirty minutes. We meet in person, by phone or by video, in English, Armenian, Russian or Spanish.