Family-Based Adjustment of Status Options

Noncitizens who are seeking to obtain Lawful Permanent Residence via family members can do so using two processes—consular processing at a United States consulate or embassy in the person’s home country, or through adjustment of status at a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) office in the United States. For those already in the United States, adjustment of status is preferable because they do not have to worry about traveling abroad, triggering the unlawful presence inadmissibility grounds that are triggered by a departure, separating from their family, and are able to benefit from an appeal or review process not available to consular processing cases. Often individuals present in the United States who have a family member who can submit a family-based petition for them, are prevented from adjusting status because of the manner they entered. This practice advisory will focus on the various ways someone can meet the threshold requirement of having been “inspected and admitted or paroled” under Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 245(a).