Adjustment of Status in Immigration Court

General Qualifications for Adjustment in Immigration Court

Adjustment of status lets an eligible person in the United States become a lawful permanent resident without leaving. For most people in removal proceedings, including administratively closed cases, the Immigration Judge has jurisdiction over the adjustment application. USCIS keeps jurisdiction over most people placed in proceedings as arriving aliens.

The Form I-485 is filed with the Immigration Court, not the USCIS Lockbox, and fees go through the EOIR Payment Portal. The applicant follows DHS biometrics instructions, and the judge decides eligibility and discretion at the individual hearing.

Clients This Case Type Helps

• Spouses, parents and children of U.S. citizens who are in removal proceedings
• Respondents with an approved family or employment petition and a current priority date
• Respondents whose administratively closed case can move forward on an approved petition
• Arriving aliens renewing an I-485 denied after travel on advance parole

General Qualifications

• Inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States, unless an exception applies.
• Physically present in the United States and eligible to receive an immigrant visa, often through an approved I-130 or I-140.
• An immigrant visa is immediately available when the application is filed.
• Admissible for lawful permanent residence, or eligible for a waiver, and not subject to an adjustment bar.
• Merits the favorable exercise of discretion.
• The Immigration Judge has jurisdiction: the person is in proceedings and is not an arriving alien, or meets all five arriving alien criteria.

Consultation Screening Questions

1. How did you last enter the United States: with a visa, on parole or without inspection?
2. Has anyone filed a petition for you, and was it approved? Do you have the receipt and approval notices?
3. Were you placed in proceedings as an arriving alien, and did you ever travel on advance parole?
4. Did you file an I-485 with USCIS before, and what happened to it?
5. Have you ever worked without authorization or fallen out of status?
6. Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted, or made a false claim to citizenship?
7. Who will sign the Affidavit of Support, and do they meet the income requirement?

General information based on USCIS and other government guidance. Eligibility depends on each client’s facts; this is not legal advice.