Adjustment of Status (AOS) Requirements and Eligibility

Adjustment of status is the process for getting a Green Card without leaving the United States, and the requirements and eligibility rules come from Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.¹ To qualify, you need to fit an immigrant category, have a visa number available, have entered the country lawfully, and be admissible under the general grounds that apply to any Green Card applicant. The mechanics involve filing Form I-485 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, supplying a stack of supporting documents, and clearing biometrics, background checks, and usually an interview.

Who Qualifies as an Immigrant

Every adjustment applicant has to fit an immigrant category. There is no general “I’ve lived here a long time” path.

Family-Based Applicants

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens get the strongest position. This group covers spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents (when the citizen child is 21 or older).² Immediate relatives are not subject to annual visa caps, so a number is always available. Other family preference categories (adult children, married children, and siblings of citizens, plus spouses and children of lawful permanent residents) are capped and can involve years or decades of waiting depending on category and country of birth.

Employment-Based Applicants

The employment-based categories run from EB-1 (priority workers with extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational managers) through EB-3 (skilled workers, professionals, and other workers), plus EB-4 for certain special immigrants and EB-5 for investors.³ Most employment-based applicants need an approved Form I-140 before, or filed alongside, the I-485. Filing the two together is called concurrent filing and is allowed when a visa number is available at the time of filing.⁴

Special Categories

Asylees can adjust one year after being granted asylum.⁵ Refugees follow a comparable path. Diversity Visa lottery winners can adjust, but the entire case has to be completed by September 30 of the fiscal year the lottery covers, with no carryover into the next year.⁶ K-1 fiancé(e) visa holders can adjust after marrying the citizen petitioner, but only if the marriage happens within 90 days of entry.⁷

The Core Statutory Requirements

You Were Inspected and Admitted or Paroled

Section 245 requires that you were “inspected and admitted or paroled” into the United States, meaning you came through an official port of entry and were processed by a Customs and Border Protection officer.¹ Crossing the border without inspection generally disqualifies you from adjusting inside the U.S., subject to the narrow 245(i) exception discussed further down.

You Maintained Lawful Status (With a Big Exception)

For family preference and employment-based applicants, Section 245(c) bars adjustment if you overstayed a visa, worked without authorization, or otherwise fell out of status after your last admission.¹

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are largely exempt from these bars. If you are adjusting as the spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 21 of a citizen, you can file even if your nonimmigrant status expired, you worked without authorization, or you violated the terms of your visa.⁸ This is one of the most valuable features of the immediate relative category.

You Are Admissible

USCIS also screens for criminal history, security concerns, health-related grounds, past immigration fraud, and the public charge factor. The 2022 public charge rule looks at age, health, family situation, financial resources, and education or skills, and considers whether you have received certain cash benefits such as Supplemental Security Income or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.⁹ Non-cash benefits like Medicaid or food assistance do not count against you.

Some inadmissibility grounds can be waived on Form I-601 by showing that denial would cause extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative.¹⁰ Not every ground is waivable. Security-related and certain criminal grounds have no waiver.

Visa Availability and Priority Dates

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can file the I-485 as soon as the I-130 petition is filed or approved, because a visa number is always available. Everyone else has to wait for a number to open up. USCIS uses the Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin, which lists cutoff dates by category and country of birth, and announces each month whether the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Final Action Dates” chart controls I-485 filing.¹¹

Your priority date is the date the underlying petition (I-130 for family, I-140 for employment) was properly filed.¹² If your priority date is earlier than the cutoff on the applicable chart, you are eligible to file.

If You Have Status Problems: 245(k) and 245(i)

Section 245(k): Up to 180 Days for Employment-Based Applicants

Employment-based applicants in EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, or EB-5 (and certain EB-4 special immigrants) can still adjust if their total time out of status, working without authorization, or violating visa terms since their last lawful admission adds up to 180 days or fewer.¹ The count is cumulative across all types of violations. Only violations after the most recent lawful admission count, and returning on advance parole does not reset the clock. Section 245(k) does not cure entry without inspection or other inadmissibility grounds.

Section 245(i): Grandfathered Petitions Only

Section 245(i) allows adjustment for people who entered without inspection or who fall under the 245(c) bars, but only if a qualifying immigrant petition or labor certification was filed on their behalf on or before April 30, 2001. Applicants whose petition was filed after January 14, 1998, must also have been physically present in the U.S. on December 21, 2000.¹ Those who qualify pay a $1,000 penalty fee on top of the regular filing fee (waived for children under 17 and certain family members of legalization beneficiaries). The pool of eligible applicants is shrinking, but the provision is still alive for those who meet the criteria.

Forms and Documents You Need

Form I-485

Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is the centerpiece.¹³ It asks for your complete residential and employment history for the last five years, including any gaps and how you supported yourself during them.¹⁴ Reconstruct the timeline before you start filling out the form. Gaps and inconsistencies are a common trigger for Requests for Evidence.

Affidavit of Support (Form I-864)

Most family-based applicants and some employment-based applicants need a financial sponsor to file Form I-864.¹⁵ The sponsor must show household income at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (100% for active-duty military members sponsoring a spouse or child).¹⁶ For 2026, a sponsor supporting a household of two in the 48 contiguous states needs at least $27,050 in annual income, with higher thresholds in Alaska and Hawaii.¹⁷ Each additional household member adds roughly $7,100. If the sponsor’s income is short, a joint sponsor can step in.

Medical Examination (Form I-693)

A medical exam by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon is required for almost all applicants. The surgeon completes Form I-693, checking for communicable diseases and verifying vaccinations, and hands it back to you in a sealed envelope. USCIS rejects the form if the seal is broken.¹⁸¹⁹

A form signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023 does not expire. Forms signed before that date remain valid for two years from the signature.²⁰

Supporting Evidence

Government-issued birth certificate, with a certified English translation if the original is in another language.
Copies of every page of your current passport, including the visa stamp, plus your I-94 arrival/departure record.
Two identical passport-style photos taken within the last 30 days.
Evidence of the underlying relationship or employment, such as a marriage certificate, birth certificates showing parent-child ties, or an employment offer letter.

Filing Fees

USCIS charges an I-485 filing fee that varies by applicant age and category, and the amounts have changed several times in recent years. Check the current Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) before filing.¹³ Submitting the wrong amount gets the whole package returned with no filing date, which can be disastrous if your visa number was current only for a short window.

I-485 fee waivers are available only if you are exempt from the public charge ground. That covers asylees, refugees, certain VAWA self-petitioners, T and U visa holders, and Special Immigrant Juveniles. Standard family-based and employment-based applicants subject to the public charge determination cannot get a fee waiver for the I-485.²¹

Work and Travel While Your Case Is Pending

A pending I-485 by itself does not authorize work or international travel. To get either, file Form I-765 (employment authorization) and Form I-131 (advance parole) with the I-485 or while it is pending.²² Filed together, they can produce a single combo card serving as both the Employment Authorization Document and advance parole.²³

Travel matters here. If you leave the country while your I-485 is pending without advance parole, USCIS treats the application as abandoned.²⁴ The main exception is for applicants in H-1B or L-1 status, who can generally travel on the underlying visa. Everyone else should treat advance parole as mandatory before any international trip.

Children and the Child Status Protection Act

Children can “age out” of eligibility if they turn 21 while waiting for a visa number or for the petition to be processed. The Child Status Protection Act freezes the child’s age by subtracting the days the underlying petition was pending from the child’s biological age on the date a visa became available.²⁵ If the result is under 21, the child is still a “child” for immigration purposes. The child must also remain unmarried. For family preference and employment-based cases, the “visa availability date” is the later of the petition approval date or the first day of the month when the Visa Bulletin shows a visa is available. Running that math carefully before a 21st birthday can decide whether the child stays eligible.

What Happens After You File

Once USCIS accepts the package, it issues Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a receipt number for online tracking.²⁶ You will then be scheduled for a biometrics appointment for fingerprints, photograph, and signature. I-485 biometrics require a new collection and cannot reuse prior data.²⁷ Those results feed into background checks that must clear before a decision.

Most applicants attend an interview at a local USCIS field office. Bring organized originals of every document you submitted as a copy, plus anything the interview notice specifically requests. For marriage-based cases, expect questions aimed at confirming the marriage is genuine. USCIS sometimes waives interviews in certain employment-based categories, but do not assume yours will be waived without a written notice.

If everything checks out, the application is approved and the Green Card is mailed. If something is missing, USCIS issues a Request for Evidence with a deadline. Miss it and the case is denied.

The Risk of a Denial

A denial can do more than end the case. If you have no other lawful status when the I-485 is denied, USCIS can issue a Notice to Appear, placing you in removal proceedings.

Unlawful presence bars can also come into play. Accruing more than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence and then leaving the U.S. triggers a three-year bar on returning. One year or more triggers a ten-year bar.²⁸ If status expired while the I-485 was pending and USCIS then denies, unlawful presence can start accruing right away. Talking to an immigration attorney before leaving the country after a denial is one of the few times generic legal advice actually earns its keep.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
2
USCIS. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of US Citizen
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Asylees
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card Through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
7
USAGov. Learn About K-1 Fiancee Visas and Sponsoring a Future Spouse
8
USCIS. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 8 – Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment
9
USCIS. Public Charge Resources
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-485 – Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
17
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
20
USCIS. USCIS Announces New Guidance on Form I-693 Validity Period
21
USCIS. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part B Chapter 4 – Fee Waivers and Fee Exemptions
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
23
USCIS. USCIS to Issue Employment Authorization and Advance Parole Card for Adjustment of Status Applicants
24
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
25
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
26
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
27
USCIS. Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents – Policy Alert
28
USCIS. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility