Adjustment of status is the procedure for becoming a lawful permanent resident without the necessity of leaving the United States. The adjustment of status is different from the customary method of gaining permanent residence: application for an immigrant (CR-1, IR-1) visa at a consulate abroad.

Rules regarding adjustment of status are found at §245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"). In accordance with INA §245(a): the status of an alien who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States may be adjusted by the Attorney General, in his discretion and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if:

1. the alien makes an application for such adjustment,
2. the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence, and
3. an immigrant visa is immediately available to him at the time his application is filed.

Who are we?

In order to apply for an adjustment of status, an immigrant visa must be immediately available to the alien when his or her adjustment application is filed. This is not a problem in the case of a K-1 or K-3 Visa holders because an unlimited number of “green cards” (permanent residence cards) can be issued to immigrants who are immediate relatives, i.e. spouses. An adjustment of status application should be filed with the USCIS district director in the district of the applicant's residence.

Adjustment of status package
Gold Package
	Consultation with our Immigration lawyers Preparation of Adjustment Status petition Filing of the adjustment of status petition Form I-485 Assistance in filing Form I-131 Application for Travel Document Assistance in filing Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (EAD) Assistance in securing Social Security Number and Card for the spouse Client updates 24-hour customer service
$1,095 includes

It should be noted that adjustment of status is discretionary. USCIS can, and sometimes does, deny an application for adjustment of status even when there is no specific statutory reason to do so.

In reality, USCIS grants adjustment of status when the alien is eligible by statute and there are no "negative factors." When there are negative factors, these factors will be weighed against “positive factors” in order to judge whether adjustment will be granted. A close kinship, like a spousal relationship, will likely be a strong factor favoring approval of adjustment.

If an applicant enters the United States on a non-immigrant visa (ex. Tourist Visa) with the intent to remain in the US this may be viewed as an attempt to perpetrate a fraud against the USCIS, this could lead to criminal penalties and possible deportation of the immigrant/applicant. Even if this course of action does not meet the definition of fraud or willful misrepresentation, it will likely be a sufficient “negative factor” to deny the applicant’s adjustment of status.

8 CFR §245.2(a)(4)(ii), states that an application for adjustment of status will be considered abandoned if the alien/applicant departs the United States while awaiting approval of his or her application.

The alien/applicant can apply for advance parole prior to departure from the United States to guarantee that his or her application will not be deemed to have been abandoned. Advance parole is an option for any alien/applicant with a legitimate personal or business reason.

Aliens who are temporarily admitted under either a K-1 fiancé visa or a K-3 spouse visa may only be adjusted to conditional permanent residence. The United States citizen who filed the K-1 or K-3 petition must also file the petition for adjustment of status. All immigrants who are in the US on conditional permanent resident status are ineligible for adjustment of status. However, once conditional residence is terminated (2 years has passed) the immigrant may petition to have the conditional status lifted and the immigrant is thereafter a permanent resident.