Adjustment of status in the

Immigration and Nationality Act The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act may refer to one of several acts including: * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 * Immigration Act of 1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into la ...

(INA) of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

refers to the legal process of conferring

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

upon any alien who is a

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, asylee, nonpermanent resident, conditional entrant,

parolee Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole of ...

, and others physically present in the United States. (titled "

Cancellation of removal Cancellation of removal is a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States that allows some aliens who are in removal proceedings, who have lived in the United States for a long period of time and meet certain other ...

and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents"). ("Adjustment of status of nonimmigrant to that of person admitted for permanent residence").

Filing and Approval Process

In order to apply for permanent residency, the applicant must not be "removable" from the United States. ("The term 'removable' means—(A) in the case of an alien not admitted to the United States, that the alien is inadmissible under section 1182 of this title, or (B) in the case of an alien admitted to the United States, that the alien is deportable under section 1227 of this title."); see also ''Tima v. Attorney General of the United States'', 903 F.3dbr>272
277 ( 3d Cir. 2018) ("Section 1227 defines ' portable aliens,' a synonym for removable aliens.... So § 1227(a)(1) piggybacks on § 1182(a) by treating grounds of inadmissibility as grounds for removal as well."); If he or she is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition (

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

or employment-based), the

priority date Priority date is a United States immigration concept – it is the date when a principal applicant first reveals his or her intent of immigration to the US government. For family-sponsored applicants, the priority date is the date an immigration ...

must be current (if applicable). Once the application package (I-485, I-693, and the filing fees) are received, the applicant will receive the receipt number. This receipt number can be used to track the case online. In most employment-based applications, the petition will be approved within four months and a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

will automatically be mailed. In some cases, a face to face interview is required. This is often done in marriage-based applications to ensure that the marriage is ''

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

'', meaning genuine and not a

sham marriage A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage. Definitions of sham marriage vary b ...

Former Public Charge Rule

Based on a rule promulgated by the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

(DHS) in August 2019, from February 24, 2020 to March 8, 2021, every applicant for adjustment of status in the United States, except for those who fall under exceptions, had to submit form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency. The form called for information related, among other things, to the applicant's assets and liabilities, health insurance, bankruptcy filings, past Immigration Fee waiver requests, applicant's education and occupational skills and more. The form was based on th
Public Charge Rule
adopted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Nov. 2, 2020, the

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

for the Northern District of Illinois vacated the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule, 84 Fed. Reg. 41,292 (Aug. 14, 2019), as amended by Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds; Correction, 84 Fed. Reg. 52,357 (Oct. 2, 2019) (Public Charge Final Rule) nationwide. That decision was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On March 9, 2021, the Seventh Circuit lifted its stay and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ order vacating the Public Charge Final Rule went into effect. On March 9, 2021, DHS moved to dismiss its appeal before the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, and the Seventh Circuit dismissed the appeal the same day. DHS immediately implemented the judgment, i.e., the vacatur of the August 2019 rule. This rule was discontinued by DHS on March 9, 2021 and Form I-944 has been discontinued and should not be filed.

References and authorities

External links

USCIS: Case Status Check
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adjustment Of Status History of immigration to the United States Immigration to the United States Residency United States immigration law

Filing and Approval Process

Former Public Charge Rule

See also

References and authorities

External links