Articles of Interest

I am often asked by my clients what triggers additional scrutiny by the USCIS when an application for lawful permanent residence based on marriage is made.As many of you may know, for a marriage to be a basis for U.S. immigrant benefits, it must be legally valid, not against public policy, and have been entered into out of a bona fide desire to join two lives together.The marriage cannot have been entered into for the sole motive of obtaining immigration benefits.

You must undergo a medical examination when applying for lawful permanent residence through adjustment of status. This is to because the Immigration & Nationality Act states that a non-citizen may be found inadmissible to the United States due to having certain health conditions, including HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, and other “communicable diseases of public health significance,” as well as having certain physical or mental illnesses which pose a “threat to the property, safety, or welfare” of the non-citizen himself, or to others.

You may apply for employment authorization from the USCIS while awaiting adjudication of your application for lawful permanent residence through Adjustment of Status. While it is not an automatic right, it is routinely granted by USCIS offices throughout the country.

After you file your adjustment of status application, you MAY NOTleave the United States without first obtaining permission from the Department of Homeland Security to re-enter the country. The DHS will consider anyone who departs from the United States without permission to have abandoned his application for lawful permanent residence

It is important to realize that an adjustment of status is discretionary. It is possible for a person who is technically eligible for an adjustment of status to still be denied based upon the exercise of discretion by the USCIS. The most common reason why an adjustment of status is denied is where the alien abused the non-immigrant process.

There is a limited method by which aliens that who were NOT inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States (e.g. those who entered the country illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border) can become eligible for an adjustment of status.

Adjustment of Status is a process which permits certain people already physically present in the United States to apply for lawful permanent residence (green card) without having to go abroad. Foreign spouses of U.S. citizens qualify for this process as long as they meet certain basic eligibility requirements.

USCIS Memorandum from Michael Aytes explaining implementation of the new I-864 Affidavit of Support regulations - Part I

USCIS Memorandum from Michael Aytes explaining implementation of the new I-864 Affidavit of Support regulations - Part II