What Does Adjustment of Status Mean: Eligibility, Filing, Approval

Adjustment of status is the process of applying for a green card while you are already inside the United States, instead of going back to your home country for consular processing. You file Form I-485 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and if approved, you become a lawful permanent resident without leaving the country.¹ The process is governed by Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it requires that you were lawfully admitted or paroled into the country and that an immigrant visa is available in your category.²

The short version: adjustment is the domestic path to a green card. Consular processing is the version done abroad. Which one applies to you depends on where you are and how you entered.

Who Qualifies

Three core requirements run through every adjustment case. You must have been inspected and either admitted or paroled into the United States, meaning you came through an authorized port of entry with a record of arrival.² You must be eligible for an immigrant visa and admissible for permanent residence. And a visa must be immediately available in your category when you file.

The people who usually meet those requirements fall into a few groups:

Family members of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents with an approved or pending immigrant petition.
Employment-based applicants with a qualifying job offer, along with certain investors.
Asylees and refugees, one year after being granted asylum or admitted as refugees.
Diversity visa lottery winners who are physically present in the United States and meet the program’s requirements.

Eligibility is not a one-day test. You must remain eligible throughout the time your application is being processed, not just on the day you file.

When a Visa Is “Available”

The “visa available” requirement is where many cases stall, and it turns on whether you qualify as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. Federal law defines immediate relatives as the spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents (if the citizen is at least 21) of U.S. citizens.³ Visas for this group are unlimited, so a visa is always available and there is no waiting line.⁴ Immediate relatives can also file the immigrant petition (Form I-130) and the adjustment application (Form I-485) at the same time, a shortcut called concurrent filing.⁵

Everyone else is in a preference category, family-sponsored or employment-based, each with annual numerical limits. The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin lists the priority dates currently being processed by category and country of birth.⁶ The bulletin has two charts: Final Action Dates, which show when USCIS can approve a case, and Dates for Filing, which show when the application can be submitted. USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment applicants should use.⁷ Depending on your category and country of birth, the wait can run from months to over a decade.

What Can Disqualify You

Being physically in the United States is not enough. Federal law bars some applicants from adjusting, and the bars differ by category.

For preference-category applicants, the most common bars are working in the United States without authorization before filing, not being in a valid immigration status on the day you submit Form I-485, and letting your nonimmigrant status lapse at any point since you entered, unless the lapse was through no fault of your own or was technical.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are largely exempt from these bars.² A spouse of a U.S. citizen who worked without authorization or fell out of status can generally still adjust, as long as they were lawfully admitted or paroled. That exemption is one of the most meaningful practical benefits of the immediate relative classification.

Fraud and willful misrepresentation are a separate matter, and they apply to everyone, including immediate relatives. A false statement on an immigration application to obtain a benefit triggers a permanent bar from admission unless you qualify for a waiver, and the statement does not have to have worked; attempting is enough.⁸

One more consequence sits in the background of every case. If you have accumulated more than 180 days of unlawful presence and then leave the country, a reentry bar is triggered: three years if the unlawful presence was between 180 days and a year, ten years if it was a year or more. The bar is triggered by departure, not by the unlawful presence itself, which is why travel planning matters so much during the adjustment process.

What You File

The core form is Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.⁹ It asks for detailed biographical information, your full immigration history, and your residence and employment history. Along with the form, you generally submit:

A copy of your passport biographical page.
Your birth certificate, with a certified English translation if it is in another language.
Your Form I-94 arrival/departure record, downloadable from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Two passport-style photos meeting USCIS specifications.
Category-specific evidence: marriage certificates for family-based cases, employer letters and labor certifications for employment-based cases, or proof of asylee or refugee status.

The filing fee for Form I-485 is $1,440 for applicants age 14 and older, and $950 for children under 14 filing concurrently with a parent.¹⁰ Some applicants may qualify for a fee waiver based on financial hardship. Completed packages go to a specific USCIS Lockbox address based on your category and state, so check the current I-485 instructions before mailing. When USCIS accepts the package, they send Form I-797C, a receipt notice with a case number you can use to track status online.¹¹

Affidavit of Support

Most family-based applicants and some employment-based applicants must include Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, signed by a financial sponsor.¹² The affidavit is a legally binding contract between the sponsor and the federal government to financially support the applicant. The sponsor must show household income of at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size; active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces sponsoring a spouse or minor child only need to meet 100 percent. The sponsor provides recent federal tax return transcripts and proof of current income. If the primary sponsor falls short, a joint sponsor can file a separate I-864 accepting the same obligation.

Medical Examination

Every applicant must submit Form I-693, the Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon.¹³ Only a currently designated civil surgeon can perform the exam; results from any other physician will be rejected. The exam screens for certain communicable diseases and verifies vaccinations, and the surgeon returns the completed form in a sealed envelope you submit to USCIS unopened.

Under a policy change that took effect in June 2025, your I-693 is generally valid only for the specific application it is submitted with.¹⁴ If your case is denied or withdrawn, the results are no longer valid for any future filing. Exams typically cost between $100 and $650 depending on location and vaccinations needed, so it is worth making sure the rest of your application is ready before scheduling.

What Happens After You File

Once USCIS accepts the application, you will get a notice scheduling a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center, where a technician collects fingerprints, a photo, and a digital signature for FBI and other background checks.¹⁵ Missing the appointment without asking to reschedule can cause USCIS to treat the application as abandoned.

An in-person interview with an immigration officer is usually the final step. The officer verifies the information in your application, asks about your background and travel history, and, in family-based cases, probes the legitimacy of the relationship. Bring originals of everything you submitted as a copy: birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, passport, and any divorce or death certificates from prior marriages. If the officer is satisfied, they may approve the application on the spot or send the decision shortly afterward. The green card arrives by mail.

Working and Traveling While You Wait

A pending I-485 by itself does not let you work or travel. To work, file Form I-765 for an Employment Authorization Document, which lets you work for any U.S. employer.¹⁶ To leave the country and return without abandoning the application, file Form I-131 for an Advance Parole document before you go.¹⁷

Leaving without approved Advance Parole generally terminates the pending adjustment.¹⁸ There is an important exception for people in valid H-1B or L status: because these are dual-intent visas, holders can generally travel on the valid H or L visa stamp and reenter to resume employment with the same employer, without needing Advance Parole and without abandoning the application.¹⁹

Even with Advance Parole, reentry is not guaranteed; you remain subject to inspection and can be found inadmissible at the border.²⁰ And if you have accrued unlawful presence, departing on Advance Parole can still trigger the three- or ten-year reentry bars. Talk to an immigration attorney before any international travel while adjustment is pending.

One address rule catches many applicants off guard: if you move while your case is pending, you must report the new address to USCIS within 10 days.²¹ Miss a notice because it went to your old address and you can miss an interview, a request for evidence, or a deadline that leads to denial.

After Approval, and If You’re Denied

If your adjustment is approved, you are a lawful permanent resident and the green card arrives by mail. Two versions exist. If your green card is based on marriage and you had been married less than two years on the day you became a permanent resident, your status is conditional and the card is valid for two years; you must file Form I-751 to remove the conditions before it expires.²² If you were married two years or more at approval, or your green card is based on a different category, you get a ten-year card.

If USCIS denies the application, the denial notice explains the reasons and whether an appeal or motion is available. You may be able to file a motion to reopen (new facts or evidence) or a motion to reconsider (incorrect application of the law) with the office that denied the case, and some denials can be appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office or the Board of Immigration Appeals.²³ A denial ends the authorized stay based on the pending application, and USCIS can refer the case to immigration court, where a judge may begin removal proceedings. If you receive a denial, or think one is coming, get an attorney involved before any deadline passes.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1255 – Adjustment of Status of Nonimmigrant to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1151 – Worldwide Level of Immigration
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
6
U.S. Department of State. The Visa Bulletin
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part J, Chapter 2 – Overview of Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule, Edition 03/01/26
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-693, Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Validity of Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Form I-693)
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Advance Parole, Reentry Permit, and Refugee Travel Documentation for Returning Aliens Residing in the U.S.
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
20
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Advance Parole
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Chapter 10 – Changes of Address
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers – Appeals and Motions