Adjustment of Status

The process called adjustment of status should be thought of in two ways. First, in literal terms, it means to go from having no immigration status in the United States, or having temporary status (such as a visa) to having the status of a U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder).

Adjustment of status also, however, means an application process by which a person who is in the United States can obtain a green card without leaving the United States. The person submits all their paperwork to, and attends their green card interview at, offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

This is important to understand because not everyone who is eligible for a green card is also eligible to adjust status. For many people, their only option is to use the application procedure called “consular processing,” in which they submit their paperwork to, and attend the immigrant visa interview at, a U.S. consulate or embassy in their home country. This is especially significant because of the complications that it raises for people who have been living unlawfully in the United States and then become green-card eligible. By leaving to attend their visa interview at a U.S. consulate, they expose themselves to certain grounds of inadmissibility referred to as the three- and ten-year bars, and may have to apply for a waiver to overcome this.