Green Card through Adjustment of Status

To file an adjustment of status application, the intending immigrant must meet three fundamental requirements. Eligibility to adjust status requires that the applicant must:

• Be physically present inside the United States;

  You must be inside the United States when the adjustment of status application is filed (and will need to complete the process inside the U.S.).

• Have made a lawful entry into the United States; and

  Lawful entry means that you were admitted or paroled into the U.S. For most people, this means that you entered the U.S. with valid documentation and made face to face contact with a U.S. immigration officer, and that officer acknowledged your entry to the United States. If you entered with a valid visa, but that visa has since expired, you still had a lawful entry.

• Have an immigrant visa immediately available to you.

  Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens may file the adjustment of status application together with the I-130 petition. That's because a visa is always available. However, family preference applicants must make sure a visa is available. Their category must be "current" in the visa bulletin before filing Form I-485. (For a detailed explanation, see How to Read the Visa Bulletin).

It’s also important that the intending immigrant maintain eligibility throughout the adjustment process. Changes in circumstances can affect the success of an adjustment application. Only a very limited group of people can adjust status. That’s why adjustment is generally only used by some immediate relatives, spouses that entered as K-1 fiancés, asylees, refugees, or those who arrived on an employment visa (e.g. H-1B) and the employer sponsored them for a green card.

After you file your application, USCIS will mail you an appointment notice for a biometric screening. This is a relatively quick appointment at a USCIS Application Support Center to obtain your photo, fingerprints and signature. USCIS uses the biometric data to conduct a mandatory criminal background check.

Several months later, USCIS will likely require you to attend an adjustment interview. In many cases, the relative that filed Form I-130 will also be required to attend. USCIS has the ability to waive an interview for certain individuals. They will notify you of the time, date, and location for an interview. USCIS uses the adjustment of status interview to confirm the information you and your petitioner have provided on the petition and the adjustment application. It’s also an opportunity for them to see if circumstances have changed that may make you ineligible. Generally, this is a quick interview that only lasts 20 to 30 minutes.

The entire adjustment process may take 8 to 14 months for most applicants. For a more detailed look at what happens and each step, review the Form I-485 processing time line.

Although the adjustment of status process typically takes longer than consular processing, it has its advantages. The adjustment of status timeline is generally 8 to 14 months for family-based applications (and often longer for other application types).

However, the most significant advantage to adjusting status is that the intending immigrant may remain in the United States with family during the process. It avoids the travel expense and prolonged separation between family members. So even though it may take slightly longer than consular processing, you can live, work and even travel outside the U.S. (Additional authorization must be obtained for employment and travel abroad by I-485 applicants.)

If USCIS denies Form I-485 to adjust status, the applicant may challenge the denial through the administrative and/or judicial appellate processes. Consular processing decisions for a green card are final. For a more detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of adjusting status versus consular processing, read this comparison.