INA 245 Adjustment of Status: Requirements, Bars, and Documents

To adjust status to a green card from inside the United States under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, you must meet three requirements: you were inspected and admitted or paroled into the country, you are eligible for an immigrant visa through an approved petition, and a visa number is immediately available when you file. Meeting those three is only the start. A separate list of statutory bars can still disqualify you even when the basic requirements are satisfied, and understanding both halves is what determines whether adjustment is realistically on the table.¹

The Three Core Requirements

Section 245(a) sets the baseline. First, you must have been inspected and admitted or paroled by an immigration officer, which typically means a Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry reviewed your documents and let you in. Second, you must be eligible to receive an immigrant visa — in practice, an approved immigrant petition placing you in a category. Third, an immigrant visa must be immediately available at the time you file.¹

The inspection requirement is what stops the most people. If you crossed the border without being inspected, you generally cannot use the standard adjustment path. A narrow exception under Section 245(i) exists for people who were the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition or labor certification properly filed on or before April 30, 2001. If that qualifying petition was filed after January 14, 1998, the applicant must also have been physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000.² Applicants adjusting under 245(i) pay an additional penalty fee on top of the standard filing fee.³

The eligibility requirement is anchored in a petition. Family-based cases run through Form I-130, filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative.⁴ Employment-based cases run through Form I-140, filed by the employer.⁵ Approval of the petition gives you no immigration status by itself. It establishes the qualifying relationship or job offer and clears the way for the next step.

What “Immediately Available” Means

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 — have unlimited visa numbers. Availability is never an obstacle for them, and the I-485 can often be filed concurrently with the I-130.⁶

Everyone else falls into preference categories capped by annual numerical limits, which produces backlogs that vary by category and country of birth.⁷ The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin tracks when a number becomes available in each category, keyed to your priority date — generally the date your petition or labor certification was filed.⁸ You can file the I-485 only when the Visa Bulletin shows your priority date is current under the chart USCIS designates for that month, either Final Action Dates or the more generous Dates for Filing.⁹ File when your date is not current and USCIS rejects the package and keeps none of the filing fees safe from that loss.

Concurrent filing — submitting the I-485 with the underlying petition rather than after approval — is available for most employment-based applicants and their eligible family members, provided a visa number is immediately available on the filing date.¹⁰ Some categories still require the petition to be approved first.

If the Visa Bulletin retrogresses after you file, your I-485 does not get denied. It sits pending, and USCIS holds the final decision until your priority date is current again. You keep the ability to renew work authorization and travel documents in the meantime.

The Statutory Bars That Disqualify Otherwise-Eligible Applicants

Section 245(c) lists disqualifications that override the basic eligibility in 245(a). The two that catch the most people sit in 245(c)(2) and 245(c)(8). Section 245(c)(2) bars anyone who accepted or continued unauthorized employment before filing, who was in unlawful immigration status on the filing date, or who failed to continuously maintain lawful status since entering the country. Section 245(c)(8) separately bars anyone who worked without authorization.¹ Other bars apply to crew members, most Visa Waiver Program entrants, and people deportable on terrorism-related grounds.

These bars reach further than most applicants expect. Overstaying a visitor visa by even a short period, taking freelance work without authorization, or letting a student visa lapse can all be enough. USCIS looks at your entire history since your most recent entry, not just recent months.

Immediate Relative Exemption

The single most consequential carve-out belongs to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. The statute exempts them from the bars in 245(c)(2), and USCIS extends that exemption to 245(c)(8) as well.¹¹ A U.S. citizen’s spouse, parent, or young unmarried child can adjust status even after working without authorization or falling out of status. VAWA self-petitioners, special immigrant juveniles, and certain members of the U.S. armed forces are also exempt.

The 245(k) Safety Valve for Employment-Based Applicants

Employment-based applicants who are not immediate relatives have a narrower path around the same bars. Section 245(k) lets you adjust despite 245(c)(2), (c)(7), and (c)(8) if, since your most recent lawful admission, you have not exceeded 180 days total of status violations, unauthorized employment, or other violations of your admission terms.¹² The count is aggregate; separate short gaps add up. You must also have been present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission on the day you file the I-485.¹³

Why Doing This Inside the Country Matters

The bars in 245(c) push some applicants toward leaving and applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad instead. That move carries a serious risk. Under INA 212(a)(9)(B), someone unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than a year who then departs is barred from reentering for three years. One year or more of unlawful presence plus a departure triggers a ten-year bar.¹⁴

What triggers the bar is the departure, not the unlawful presence. Someone who overstayed by two years but adjusts status inside the United States without leaving does not set off the bar. Someone who leaves for a consular interview does. Waivers exist under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(v) but require proving extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, which is a high standard. That is why establishing eligibility to adjust inside the country is often worth significant effort even when the process is slower or more paperwork-heavy.

Documents You Have to File

The core filing is Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.¹⁵ The form asks for detailed residence and employment history along with dozens of admissibility questions covering criminal record, security grounds, and prior immigration violations. A material misrepresentation can produce a permanent inadmissibility finding, so accuracy matters more than speed.

Supporting documents have to prove each eligibility element:

Proof of lawful entry — typically your I-94 arrival/departure record — showing inspection and admission or parole.¹⁶
A certified copy of your birth certificate, with a certified English translation if it is in another language.
Government-issued photo identification such as a passport or national ID card.
Two passport-style photographs meeting USCIS specifications.
A copy of the approved I-130 or I-140, or evidence that the petition was concurrently filed.

Medical Examination and Vaccinations

Every applicant must submit Form I-693, the Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon.¹⁷ As of December 2024, USCIS requires the I-693 to be submitted with the I-485 at filing; sending it later can cause the whole application to be rejected. Required vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenzae type B, and any others recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices.¹⁸ Missing required vaccinations makes you inadmissible.

Affidavit of Support

Most family-based applicants and some employment-based ones need Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support. The petitioning sponsor signs a legally binding contract agreeing to maintain the immigrant at an annual income of at least 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the relevant household size.¹⁹ The sponsor supplies recent federal tax returns and proof of current income or assets.²⁰ A joint sponsor can co-sign a separate I-864 if the petitioner’s income falls short. The obligation lasts until the sponsored immigrant becomes a citizen, works 40 qualifying quarters of Social Security coverage, permanently departs the United States, or dies.

Filing fees changed effective January 1, 2026, under inflation-adjusted rules. Check the current Form G-1055 fee schedule before you send anything, since the wrong fee amount causes rejection.²¹ Fee waivers are available for applicants who can show inability to pay.

Rules That Govern You While the Case Is Pending

A pending I-485 does not by itself authorize you to work. To work, file Form I-765 under category (c)(9), the category for adjustment applicants; it can be filed together with the I-485 or afterward.²² Approval produces an Employment Authorization Document usable with any employer.

Travel is where costly mistakes happen. Leaving the United States while your I-485 is pending without first obtaining an Advance Parole document on Form I-131 generally causes the adjustment application to be treated as abandoned.²³ A limited exception covers certain dual-intent categories: H-1B and H-4, L-1 and L-2, and K-3/K-4 and V holders can travel on their valid nonimmigrant visas without abandoning the pending I-485.²⁴ Anyone outside those categories should have the Advance Parole document approved and in hand before booking international travel.

One boundary worth naming: adjustment of status under Section 245 is the process for people already inside the United States. If you are abroad, this is not the path — you would go through consular processing for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate, under a different set of rules.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Grandfathering Requirements
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card Through INA 245(i) Adjustment
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
7
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 503.1 Numerical Limitations Overview
8
U.S. Department of State. The Visa Bulletin
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Unauthorized Employment (INA 245(c)(2) and INA 245(c)(8))
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1255(k) – Inapplicability of Certain Provisions for Certain Employment-Based Immigrants
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Applicability of Section 245(k) to Certain Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-485
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements
19
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1183a – Requirements for Sponsors Affidavit of Support
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Travel Document
24
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status