What if I have no evidence of my lawful entry?

Generally, when filing Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, you’ll need to prove that you had a lawful entry to the United States. Lawful entry means that you were admitted or paroled into the United States. For most people, this means that you entered the United States 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. Typically, this happens at a port of entry (airports, seaports, border crossing, etc.) when you share your passport and visa.

The evidence of your lawful entry must be related to your most recent entry to the U.S. Most adjustment of status applicants will submit a copy of at least one of the following documents:

• Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record
• Passport page with admission or parole stamp (issued by a U.S. immigration officer)
• Passport page with nonimmigrant visa
• Border crossing card (Mexican citizens only)

However, there are situations that the above documents are not available. So what do you do when you have no evidence of a lawful entry?

No Evidence of a Lawful Entry Available

Some people had a lawful entry but are unable to produce one of the above documents. For example, visitors may be “waved” across while in their cars at some border entries. This counts as a lawful entry as long as you had the proper documentation (e.g. Visa Waiver Program or valid visa). If you entered with a valid visa, but that visa has since expired, you still had a lawful entry.

Individuals admitted under the Visa Waiver Program are generally ineligible to adjust status. INA section 245(c)(4) renders foreign nationals admitted under the VWP ineligible to adjust status to that of a person admitted for permanent residence. This provision, however, includes an exception for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Therefore, immediate relatives (i.e. spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens) may adjust status to permanent resident through a Visa Waiver Program entry.

When filing Form I-485, the applicant should submit (1) a photocopy of the passport page that was valid at the time of entry; and (2) a personal declaration that the person entered through a lawful entry. The personal declaration might read like:

I, John Doe, came to the United States on June 15, 2015 and entered through the port of entry at Buffalo, New York. When I entered the United States, the immigration officer “waved” me across while I was inside my vehicle.