Updated November 4, 2026

Adjustment of status: how to get a green card without leaving the US

Adjustment of status lets eligible spouses, relatives and workers already in the US apply for a green card on Form I-485 without leaving for a consular interview. Under INA 245(a), you must generally have been inspected and admitted or paroled and have an immigrant visa immediately available when you file. Immediate relatives of US citizens are exempt from the status and unauthorized work bars, and eligible employment-based applicants get up to 180 days of forgiveness under INA 245(k).

Every rule below comes from USCIS's adjustment of status pages, Volume 7 of the USCIS Policy Manual and 8 CFR Part 245, checked on November 3, 2026.

What is adjustment of status vs. consular processing?

Adjustment of status is the process you use to apply for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, also called a green card, when you are physically present in the United States. USCIS handles the application on Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, so you can finish the process without returning to your home country.

Consular processing is the path for people who are outside the United States, or who are inside the US but ineligible to adjust status. Once USCIS approves the underlying immigrant petition, the Department of State processes the immigrant visa application and interviews you at a US embassy or consulate abroad. Because USCIS decides both the petition and Form I-485 in an adjustment case, eligible applicants inside the US can often file both forms at the same time (concurrent filing).

Who qualifies for adjustment of status under INA 245(a)?

Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual sets out seven core eligibility requirements under INA 245(a). You must be physically present in the United States, properly file Form I-485, and have been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the US before filing. You also need to qualify for an immigrant visa category, have a visa immediately available both when you file and when USCIS approves your case, be admissible to the US (or qualify for a waiver, see our I-601 waiver guide), and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

What counts as inspected and admitted. You meet this requirement when you present yourself as a noncitizen to an immigration officer at a port of entry and the officer authorizes you to enter. Common proof includes Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record), a passport admission stamp, or a valid Border Crossing Card (Form DSP-150 or Form I-586). Canadian citizens admitted as visitors for business or pleasure generally do not receive a Form I-94 and can use plane tickets or other corroborating evidence. Our I-94 travel history guide shows how to pull your record.

Waved through vs. false claims. If you physically presented yourself for questioning at a port of entry, made no knowing false claim to US citizenship, and the officer waved your car through without asking questions, you count as inspected and admitted if you prove the entry with credible evidence such as third-party affidavits. Entering by falsely claiming to be a US citizen or a returning lawful permanent resident is not an inspection or admission.

What counts as inspected and paroled. Parole is a temporary, discretionary permission to enter the US under INA 212(d)(5)(A) for urgent humanitarian reasons, significant public benefit, or deferred inspection. Parole is not a formal admission, but it satisfies INA 245(a) when shown by a parole stamp on Form I-94, in a passport, or on an Advance Parole Document (Form I-512 or Form I-512L). Conditional parole, which is a release from detention under INA 236(a)(2)(B), does not satisfy the inspected and paroled requirement.

• VAWA self-petitioners and INA 245(i) grandfathered applicants are exempt by statute from the inspected and admitted or paroled requirement.
• Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) with an approved Form I-360 and certain US armed forces special immigrants under INA 101(a)(27)(K) are legally considered paroled into the US for adjustment purposes, regardless of how they arrived.
• Parole in place may be granted sparingly by USCIS to people who entered without inspection. Being the spouse, child, or parent of an active-duty US service member, Selected Reserve member, or veteran weighs heavily in favor of parole in place, provided the parole is granted before Form I-485 is filed.
• A grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U nonimmigrant status, or asylum inside the US is not an admission by itself. However, TPS beneficiaries who travel abroad with prior DHS authorization under INA 244(f)(3) and return on or after July 1, 2022, are inspected and admitted into TPS, which satisfies INA 245(a).

What are the INA 245(c) bars to adjustment, and who is exempt?

Even if you were inspected and admitted or paroled, section 245(c) of the INA bars several groups from adjusting status inside the United States unless an exemption applies. Under INA 245(c)(2) and 245(c)(8), USCIS looks at your entire history in the United States, not just your latest trip. Leaving the US and returning lawfully does not erase a past status violation or past unauthorized work unless you qualify for an exemption.

Immediate relative exceptions. Under INA 201(b), immediate relatives are the spouse of a US citizen, the unmarried child under age 21 of a US citizen, and the parent of a US citizen who is at least 21 years old (plus qualifying widow(er)s and K-1 fiancés who marry their petitioner within 90 days of entry). If you apply as an immediate relative of a US citizen and were inspected and admitted or paroled, you are exempt from INA 245(c)(2), 245(c)(4), and 245(c)(8). You can still adjust status even if you overstayed your visa, fell out of lawful status, worked without authorization before or after filing, violated nonimmigrant terms, or last entered under the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA).

Other exempt categories. Approved VAWA self-petitioners are exempt from all INA 245(c) bars. Special Immigrant Juveniles are exempt from every 245(c) bar except the terrorism bar at INA 245(c)(6). Certain special immigrant Afghan and Iraqi nationals, religious workers, and G-4 international organization employees also receive specific statutory exemptions from the status and work bars.

How the INA 245(k) 180-day exemption and INA 245(i) work

Section 245(k) of the INA gives eligible employment-based applicants (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-5 investors, special immigrant religious workers, and their eligible dependents) a 180-day safety net. If you are present in the US pursuant to a lawful admission, USCIS excuses the 245(c)(2), 245(c)(7), and 245(c)(8) bars as long as your total days of failing to maintain lawful status, working without authorization, or violating nonimmigrant terms do not exceed 180 days in the aggregate since your most recent lawful admission. Violations from earlier stays before your last lawful admission are ignored, and no separate form or fee is required.

Three counting rules from Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 8 of the USCIS Policy Manual matter most:

1. Entry or reentry based on parole does not restart the clock for calculating status or work violations, because parole is not a lawful admission.
2. Filing Form I-485 stops the count of days out of status, but does not authorize employment or stop the count of unauthorized work days (which include weekends and holidays).
3. Overlapping violations on the same calendar day count as 1 day, not multiple days.

A worked example of the 245(k) count (our own breakdown of the USCIS Policy Manual example). Suppose a visitor is lawfully admitted in B-2 status on January 1, works without authorization on a 1-month contract from June 1 to July 1, and files Form I-485 with an EB-3 petition on September 1. Her June work creates 3 overlapping violations (unauthorized work, violating nonimmigrant terms, and failing to maintain status), which count once as 30 days for June 1 through June 30. After stopping work on July 1, her status remains violated until she files Form I-485 on September 1, adding 62 days for July and August. Her combined total is 92 days (30 + 62), leaving 88 days to spare under the 180-day limit, so she qualifies under INA 245(k).

INA 245(i) grandfathering for older petitions. If you entered without inspection or fall outside 245(k) and immediate-relative exemptions, you may qualify under INA 245(i) if you are the beneficiary (or qualifying derivative spouse or child) of an immigrant petition or labor certification properly filed on or before April 30, 2001, that was approvable when filed. Under 8 CFR 245.10, if the petition or labor certification was filed after January 14, 1998, the principal grandfathered applicant must also prove physical presence in the US on December 21, 2000. Applicants must file Form I-485 Supplement A and pay an additional $1,000 statutory sum unless unmarried and under 17, or an eligible Family Unity (Form I-817) spouse or unmarried child under 21.

Concurrent filing and what goes in the Form I-485 package

Concurrent filing means submitting Form I-485 together with your underlying immigrant petition in the same package, or filing Form I-485 while the immigrant petition is still pending (with a copy of the Form I-797 receipt notice). USCIS decides eligibility for the immigrant petition first and sends separate decision notices for both forms.

Concurrent filing is always allowed for immediate relatives of US citizens, widow(er)s of US citizens, and VAWA self-petitioners abused by a US citizen spouse or parent. Family-preference applicants, most employment-based applicants (Form I-140 for EB-1, EB-2, EB-3), Special Immigrant Juveniles (EB-4), certain armed forces members under INA 101(a)(27)(K), and G-4 international organization employees can file concurrently when a visa number is immediately available under the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts and Visa Bulletin.

If you entered on a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, 8 CFR 245.1(c)(6) allows you and any K-2 child to adjust status only if you married the specific US citizen who filed your Form I-129F petition within 90 days of entry. See our K-1 visa processing time guide for how the 90-day marriage window fits the fiancé visa timeline.

USCIS rejects any Form I-485 filed at the wrong location, without a proper signature, without the exact fee (Form G-1055) or Form I-912 fee waiver, or when a visa is unavailable. A complete adjustment package under 8 CFR Part 245 holds:

• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, properly signed by each principal or derivative applicant.
• Underlying immigrant petition or Form I-797 receipt/approval notice: Form I-130 (family), Form I-140 (worker), Form I-360 (widow(er), VAWA, or special immigrant), Form I-526 or I-526E (investor), Form I-129F approval notice plus marriage certificate (K-1 fiancé(e)), Form I-730, Form I-589, or Form I-918/I-929.
• Proof of inspection and admission or parole, such as Form I-94, passport pages with nonimmigrant visas and entry or parole stamps, or a Border Crossing Card.
• Report of a medical examination conducted by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon under 8 CFR 245.5 (K-1, K-2, K-3, and K-4 nonimmigrants examined for their visa within 1 year before filing I-485 are exempt).
• Affidavit of Support, when required by your category.
• Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and Form I-131 (Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records), if you want an EAD work permit or Advance Parole while Form I-485 is pending.
• Form I-485 Supplement A and the $1,000 additional sum if adjusting under INA 245(i) (can be filed online standalone if your pending I-485 receipt starts with IOE), plus Form G-28 if represented by an attorney.

Step-by-step adjustment process, interview and pending rules

After you file Form I-485, your case moves through five stages at USCIS.

1. Receipt notice and tracking. USCIS mails a receipt notice with your tracking number. You can check status online or call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
2. Biometrics appointment. USCIS schedules you at a local Application Support Center (ASC) for fingerprints, photograph, and signature, and requires you to sign an acknowledgment certifying that your application was complete, true, and correct when filed. Missing the ASC appointment without rescheduling or refusing to sign can result in denial.
3. Request for Evidence (RFE), if needed. If required evidence is missing or no longer valid, USCIS sends an RFE with a strict response deadline.
4. The USCIS adjustment interview. Under 8 CFR 245.6 and Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 5 of the USCIS Policy Manual, applicants must be interviewed at a field office unless USCIS waives the interview on a case-by-case basis (such as for certain unmarried children under 21 or parents of US citizens, unmarried children under 14 of LPRs, or clearly ineligible applicants).
5. Written decision. If approved, your permanent residence is recorded as of the approval date, and you receive an approval notice followed by your green card. If denied, you generally cannot appeal under 8 CFR 245.2(a)(5)(ii), but you may file a motion to reopen or reconsider on Form I-290B or renew the application in removal proceedings under 8 CFR part 240.

Who comes to the interview, and what to bring

For family cases, the Form I-130 petitioner and all derivatives must generally appear alongside the principal applicant, though USCIS can waive the appearance of a deployed military petitioner, an incarcerated petitioner, or an ill or incapacitated person. If you are not fluent in English, you may bring an interpreter with a valid government ID who completes Form G-1256 to translate word for word.

You must bring the originals of all documents submitted with Form I-485, including your Form I-94, all passports and travel documents (even if expired), all Form I-797 approval notices, and supporting petition records. For a marriage case, our spouse visa requirements guide lists the I-130 evidence of a real marriage.

Rules while your case is pending

You must report any address change to USCIS within 10 days of moving (online or via Form AR-11). Under 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii), departing the US while Form I-485 is pending abandons and terminates your application unless you obtained an Advance Parole Document before leaving and are paroled back in, or you maintain lawful H-1, H-4, L-1, L-2, K-3, K-4, or V status and return with a valid visa in that status.

Advance Parole and the unlawful presence bars (Matter of Delcarmen-Lara). As of Aug. 13, 2026, under the Board of Immigration Appeals precedent decision Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), which overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012), departing the US after obtaining an Advance Parole Document (Form I-512L) is a departure for purposes of inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i). If you accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence before leaving, traveling abroad even with approved Advance Parole can trigger the 3-year or 10-year inadmissibility bar upon return.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.