Frequently Asked Questions of I-485 Adjustment of Status

Form I-485 is the application used to adjust immigration status. Foreign nationals in the U.S. on certain temporary visas who wish to move to a different classification may file an I-485.

An I-485 is filed when the I-140 is concurrently filed, pending, or approved, and before Form I-94 expires.

The I-485 filing fee is $1,440. Children under 14 who file with a parent pay $950.

At the required medical examination, the alien must present vaccination proof for: mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis, influenza type B, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), hemophilic influenza type B, rotavirus, meningococcal, and pneumococcal vaccines. If the records show an incomplete series and no other evidence of immunity exists, the civil surgeon will give one dose of each missing vaccine at the examination and certify eligibility for a “not medically appropriate“ waiver when the dose given at the examination does not complete the vaccine series.

A completed Form I-693 submitted to USCIS on or after November 1, 2018 keeps its evidentiary value for a finding that the applicant is not inadmissible on health-related grounds if either scenario applies:

• The civil surgeon signs Form I-693 no more than 60 days before the applicant files the benefit application, and USCIS decides it no more than 2 years after the civil surgeon’s signature.
• The civil surgeon signs Form I-693 and the applicant submits it after filing the benefit application, and USCIS decides it no more than 2 years after the civil surgeon’s signature.

A Form I-693 signed more than 60 days before the applicant files the benefit application lacks evidentiary value when submitted to USCIS. The table below illustrates these scenarios.

Legislation enacted in 1997 requires that USCIS, or a designated state or local law enforcement agency (LEA), take all fingerprints for adjustment purposes.

Fingerprinting usually takes place at Application Support Centers (ASCs). The applicant should bring the appointment notice and valid identification (an alien registration receipt card or other photo identification, such as a state-issued driver's license). USCIS then sends the fingerprint card to the FBI for a background check and must receive an affirmative response before adjudicating the adjustment application.

After fingerprints are taken, the FBI clearances generally appear in the USCIS system within thirty days.

Once a fingerprint and clearance are in the system, the clearances remain valid for fifteen months from that date. Applicants must be fingerprinted again after the clearances expire.

If the applicant needs employment authorization or advance parole, those applications may be filed with the same service center as part of the adjustment package. Employment authorization is requested on Form I-765 and advance parole on Form I-131. If you file the I-765 and/or I-131 separately after July 30, 2007, you must also submit a copy of your I-797C, Notice of Action, receipt showing that the I-485 was filed.

If you file Form I-485 to adjust status as a permanent resident, you pay no additional fee to file an application for employment authorization on Form I-765 and/or advance parole on Form I-131.

Initial processing takes place at a USCIS Lockbox Facility or a service center. The applicant's next contact from USCIS is usually a notice either scheduling fingerprinting at a local application support center (ASC) or directing the applicant to schedule an interview there. The fingerprints go to the FBI for checks through law enforcement databases. USCIS may also ask for documents that are missing or unclear, such as documents establishing the relationship, by issuing a request for further evidence (RFE). RFEs must be answered within twelve weeks. No RFE issues for medical exam results, which may be submitted at the adjustment interview.

USCIS runs several checks on an I-485 application:

1. A filed petition is checked against a USCIS fraudulent petition index, which records prior petitions that involved some element of fraud.
2. Background (name) checks run against a multi-agency database of lookout information on persons with past immigration problems or possible security concerns.
3. Concurrently filed petitions may also be checked against existing files for the petitioner and/or beneficiary to see whether the petition's information matches earlier statements either party made in papers already on file.
4. USCIS may also verify the authenticity of supporting documents against DOS descriptions in that agency's Foreign Affairs Manual. If doubts remain about those documents, USCIS may request the originals.
5. For ancillary benefits, USCIS conducts a prima facie review of all I-140s filed concurrently with I-485s before adjudicating employment authorization applications (Form I-765's) or advance parole applications (filed on Form I-131).

Since March 6, 2017, every adjustment applicant must be interviewed unless USCIS waives the interview on a case-by-case basis. The interview lets USCIS verify key information and determine eligibility for adjustment.

Once the papers are filed and fingerprinting is complete, applicants who need an interview receive an appointment notice by mail giving the time, place, and documents to bring.

If an interview is scheduled, the applicant should be ready to bring the following:

1. Results of the required medical examination on Form I-693 (if they were not submitted with the original adjustment application);
2. His or her passport;
3. His or her Form I-94;
4. All original documents;
5. A current employment letter from the alien's employer confirming continued employment at a specified salary; and
6. All documents pertaining to the petition where the petition was filed together with the adjustment application.
7. The appointment notice

After placing the applicant under oath, the USCIS examiner reviews the biographical information on Form I-485 for accuracy and corrects any mistakes.

A USCIS examiner may ask questions such as:

1. The examiner asks the alien the questions on the form about the bases for inadmissibility.
2. The examiner may ask about the basis for permanent residence, particularly the job offer if the case rests on one.
3. If the alien has not worked but has been in the United States for a long time, the examiner will look closely at how the alien supports himself or herself to confirm there was no unauthorized employment.

If the application cannot be approved at the interview because the alien must supply more information or the required clearances have not arrived, the alien must wait for those issues to be resolved before the approval notice is sent.

The foreign national receives an approval notice, Form I-797, once DOS assigns the visa number, and USCIS also processes the applicant for a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551. The Form I-797 notice is not adequate proof of permanent residence for travel abroad and readmission as a resident, nor for showing employment authorization. The alien must return to the USCIS office for temporary evidence of permanent residence, usually a stamp in the passport, which permits travel abroad, readmission as a resident, and employment authorization.

Yes. Once you have adjusted status, your spouse or unmarried children under 21 obtain immigrant visas at a U.S. consulate in your home country. The procedure is called “following to join“ the principal alien. You must ask that the U.S. consulate handling the visas be notified of your adjustment to permanent residence.

That is fine. New law lets certain aliens keep their classification as children when they “age out“ while awaiting immigration processing.

The new law allows individuals whose adjustment cases have been pending more than 180 days to change jobs or employers without affecting the validity of the underlying I-140 or labor certification, provided the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification.

Yes. If you decide after filing the adjustment application that you would rather process your visa abroad, you must take further steps. Specifically, file Form I-824 with the USCIS office that approved the initial petition to request that the consulate be notified of the approval.

When USCIS denies an adjustment application, the applicant must receive a written decision stating the reasons. If your nonimmigrant visa remains valid, you may stay in the U.S. on it; otherwise you may face deportation. No appeal lies from a USCIS denial, but you may file a Motion to Reopen and Reconsider based on a legal argument or on supplementary factual information that was unavailable when the decision was made and that bears on the reasons for the denial.