AOS Adjustment of status
Adjustment of status is the mechanism, not a category. It lets someone already inside the United States become a permanent resident without leaving, by filing Form I-485 instead of going to a consulate abroad. Nearly every immigrant category can be completed this way if the person is eligible. As of May 2026 USCIS treats it as extraordinary relief from the ordinary consular process, which changes how every one of those cases is decided.
- Срок
- Not applicable to the mechanism. The result is lawful permanent residence, which is unconditional unless the underlying category makes it conditional, as with a marriage under two years old or an EB-5 investment.
- Продление
- Not applicable. What can be extended, while the I-485 is pending, are the interim benefits: a work permit and advance parole. Both must be renewed if the case takes longer than their validity.
- Работа
- Not by the I-485 itself. An applicant may file Form I-765 in category (c)(9) concurrently with, or during the pendency of, the I-485. Where the I-485 was filed on or after 1 April 2024 the work permit costs $260; where it was filed between 30 July 2007 and 31 March 2024 with the fee, there is no separate charge. Travel requires advance parole on Form I-131 - leaving without it abandons the application, unless the applicant holds valid H or L status.
- Члены семьи
- Determined by the underlying category, not by the mechanism. Derivative spouses and children file their own Forms I-485, usually together with the principal's.
- Путь к грин-карте
- This is the path. Approval of the I-485 grants lawful permanent residence with no need to leave the country, no consular interview and no immigrant visa. The alternative is consular processing on the DS-260, which for someone who accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence means triggering a three or ten year bar on departure and needing a provisional waiver on Form I-601A first.
- Срок рассмотрения
- USCIS publishes current I-485 times by category and office at egov.uscis.gov/processing-times and they change monthly; specific figures are unverified. Two published historical medians give a sense of scale: adjustment based on the Cuban Adjustment Act ran to a national median of 11.0 months for FY2026 through 30 June 2026, up from 7.0 in FY2025. Times have lengthened across the board since interviews were expanded and the May 2026 discretion memorandum took effect.
- Годовая квота и очереди
- The mechanism has no cap of its own; the underlying category's cap governs. What is capped is visa availability - the September 2026 Visa Bulletin determines whether a number exists for the applicant's category and chargeability on the filing date and the decision date. USCIS announces each month at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo whether the final action dates chart or the dates for filing chart may be used for adjustment filings. Asylee, refugee, Cuban Adjustment Act, registry and immediate relative adjustments are not numerically limited.
Кто подходит
- Someone who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, under INA 245(a), who has an immigrant visa immediately available and is admissible
- Someone in a category with its own adjustment provision that overrides the ordinary rules - asylees and refugees after a year, Cuban Adjustment Act applicants, Special Immigrant Juveniles who are deemed paroled, VAWA self-petitioners, registry applicants, and others
- Someone grandfathered under INA 245(i) by a labour certification or petition filed on or before 30 April 2001, who may adjust despite an unlawful entry on payment of the supplement fee
- Employment-based applicants protected by INA 245(k), which forgives up to 180 days of status violations or unauthorised employment
- Not: someone who entered without inspection and has no 245(i) grandfather or category-specific exemption. That person must consular process, and faces the unlawful presence bars if they leave
Требования
- A qualifying immigrant category - a family petition, an employment petition, a diversity visa selection, asylee or refugee status, or a special provision
- An immigrant visa immediately available on the date of filing and on the date of decision, determined by the Visa Bulletin chart USCIS designates each month at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo
- Inspection and admission or parole under INA 245(a), unless the category exempts it
- None of the bars in INA 245(c) applying, unless the applicant is an immediate relative or otherwise exempt. Note that a grant of U nonimmigrant status inside the United States is not an admission for INA 245(a) purposes, following Sanchez v. Mayorkas
- Admissibility under INA 212(a) or an available waiver
- A medical examination on Form I-693 by a designated civil surgeon
- An Affidavit of Support on Form I-864 in family and some employment cases
- A favourable exercise of discretion - which since 21 May 2026 is the hardest part
Как подать
- 1
Confirm you have an approved or concurrently filable petition, and that a visa number is available under the chart USCIS has designated for the month.
- 2
Confirm you were inspected and admitted or paroled, or that your category exempts you from that requirement.
- 3
File Form I-485 with the medical examination on Form I-693, the Affidavit of Support on Form I-864 where required, and evidence of the qualifying relationship or employment.
- 4
File Form I-765 and Form I-131 at the same time if you need to work or travel. Do not leave the country without advance parole.
- 5
Attend biometrics.
- 6
Attend the interview where one is scheduled. Prepare for a discretionary examination, not just an eligibility check - since 21 May 2026 officers are directed to weigh whether you failed to depart as expected and whether your conduct was consistent with the purpose of your admission or parole.
- 7
Be ready to show unusual or even outstanding equities if there are adverse factors. USCIS states that the absence of adverse factors, by itself, does not demonstrate them.
Сборы и формы
| Form I-485, applicant 14 or older, paper | $1,440, with biometrics included - there is no separate biometrics fee |
| Form I-485, applicant 14 or older, online | $1,390 |
| Form I-485, applicant under 14 filing with a parent's I-485, paper | $950 |
| Form I-485, applicant under 14 filing with a parent's I-485, online | $900 |
| Form I-485 for fee-exempt classes | $0 - VAWA self-petitioners, Special Immigrant Juveniles, T and U nonimmigrants, refugees, asylees, Afghan and Iraqi special immigrant visa holders, Cuban Adjustment Act and HRIFA abused spouses, and certain military applicants |
| Form I-485 filed in immigration court | $2,980 |
| Form I-485A, Supplement A for INA 245(i) adjustment | $1,000, paper and online alike |
| Form I-765 work permit filed with an I-485 submitted on or after 1 April 2024 | $260 |
| Form I-131 advance parole with a pending I-485, paper | $630 |
| Form I-131 advance parole with a pending I-485, online | $580 |
| Form I-693 medical examination | set by the civil surgeon, not by USCIS |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- 21 May 2026 - USCIS policy memorandum PM-602-0199, released 22 May 2026, recast adjustment of status as an extraordinary discretionary relief. Where consular processing is available, officers must weigh that adjustment is extraordinary relief from the regular immigrant visa process. Failure to depart as expected and conduct inconsistent with the purpose of admission or parole are highly relevant, particularly where tied to an intent to reside permanently. Applicants may need to offset adverse factors by a showing of unusual or even outstanding equities, and the absence of adverse factors by itself does not demonstrate them. Dual-intent categories and categories where only adjustment provides a path are carved out, though maintaining dual-intent status is not sufficient on its own to warrant a favourable exercise of discretion. Discretionary denials must contain a written analysis of positive and negative factors. It is a policy memorandum rather than a Policy Manual update.
- USCIS framed the memorandum publicly as meaning that a person in the United States temporarily who wants a green card must return home to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.
- 19 August 2025 - policy update on clarifying discretionary factors in certain immigration benefit requests, addressing an applicant's past requests for parole and any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organisations.
- 3 November 2025 - policy update on admission for adjustment under INA 245(a), reflecting the Supreme Court's conclusion in Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 141 S. Ct. 1809 (2021), that a grant of U nonimmigrant status to someone inside the United States is not an admission for adjustment purposes.
- 27 November 2025 - policy guidance on the impact of INA 212(f) on the adjudication of discretionary benefits, issued alongside memoranda PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194. All three, with policy alert PA 2025-26, were vacated by the District of Rhode Island on 5 June 2026 in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, 26-cv-00132-JJM-PAS, with final judgment on 11 June 2026. The vacatur is agency-wide and effective immediately, and USCIS states they should be treated as if they are not in effect. USCIS strongly disagrees but will follow the order pending further judicial review.
- 8 May 2026 - policy update PA-2026-01 reaffirmed deferred action as an extraordinary use of prosecutorial discretion, never granted to categories or groups.
- 11 May 2026 - a DHS final rule on signatures on immigration benefit requests.
- 5 August 2026 - policy update PA-2026-05 permits denial for failure to establish eligibility on missing initial evidence without an RFE or a notice of intent to deny, removes the extra 14 days for responding from abroad, and treats a partial response as a request for a decision.
- 20 July 2026 - the public charge final rule (91 FR 45324) rescinds the 2022 regulations effective 18 September 2026, removing 8 CFR 212.20 through 212.23 and restoring broad officer discretion. It applies to adjustment applications postmarked or electronically submitted on or after 18 September 2026, and to admissions on or after that date. Receipt of means-tested benefits before that date is considered under the 2022 rule. It also amends 8 CFR 103.6(c) so that receipt of any means-tested public benefit breaches a public charge bond. USCIS issued accompanying Policy Manual guidance on 18 August 2026, effective 18 September 2026, listing the exempt classes: Special Immigrant Juveniles, asylees and refugees, Afghan and Iraqi interpreters, T and U nonimmigrants, VAWA self-petitioners and TPS applicants. Diversity visa immigrants and all employment-based categories are subject to the ground.
- 21 January to 21 August 2026 - the Department of State paused immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries pending a public benefits vetting review. That pause ended under the court's order in CLINIC v. Rubio, and the September 2026 Visa Bulletin cites it, along with Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, as the reason final action dates were advanced across categories, with an explicit warning of possible retrogression.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- Entering without inspection. INA 245(a) requires an inspection and admission or parole, and no amount of equity cures its absence outside a 245(i) grandfather or a category-specific exemption.
- Travelling without advance parole. It abandons the application, and holders of H or L status are the main exception.
- Filing on the dates for filing chart in a month USCIS has not authorised it. Check uscis.gov/visabulletininfo before filing, every month.
- Treating the interview as a document check. Since 21 May 2026 officers weigh whether you overstayed, whether your conduct matched the purpose of your admission or parole, and whether your equities are unusual or outstanding.
- Assuming a clean record is enough. USCIS states expressly that the absence of adverse factors does not by itself demonstrate the unusual or outstanding equities the memorandum calls for.
- Filing an I-485 on or after 18 September 2026 without accounting for the public charge rescission. Receipt of any means-tested public benefit from that date is weighed under restored, broader officer discretion.
- Filing incomplete and expecting an RFE. Since 5 August 2026 USCIS may deny for missing initial evidence without issuing one.
- Relying on a U nonimmigrant grant as an admission. Following Sanchez v. Mayorkas it is not one for INA 245(a) purposes.
- Forgetting that a visa number must be available both when you file and when the case is decided. Retrogression after filing does not undo the filing but does stop the approval.
Также в категории Mechanism
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