Adjustment of Status

Generally, if a foreign citizen intends to become an immigrant of the US, he has to apply for an immigrant visa at a US consular post abroad. There is another way, however, of attaining US immigrant status without departing from American soil, and this is through an Adjustment of Status (AOS).

Under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, ‘the status of an alien who was inspected and admitted… into the United States…may be adjusted by the Attorney-General, in his discretion.”

Thus, in the case of an alien visitor, as long as he entered the country legally and possesses none of the disqualification, there is a chance that his temporary status may ripen into a permanent one, upon the discretion of the Attorney-General.

Requirements

According to the law, as long as the alien is: 1. eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the US for permanent residence; 2. that he makes an application for such an adjustment; 3. and that an immigrant visa is immediately available to him at the time his application is filed, then he will he will be admitted for permanent residence.

Disqualifications

The adjustment of status may not be available to the following individuals:
1.Foreign national crewmen
2.Transit without visa
3.Aliens who entered under visa waivers
4.Aliens who have conditional residence, such as spouses married for less than two years
5.K-1 Fiancée
6.Aliens engaged in unauthorized employment, unlawful status, or failure to maintain status
7.Aliens who entered into marriages during pendency of Administrative or Judicial Proceedings

Applicant allowed to work

Once the application for the adjustment of Status has been filed with the proper government agency, the alien is allowed by law to work for a maximum period of one (1) year, in increments.

This is, if the applicant applies for an employment authorization permitting him to work for an employee within the period allowed by law.

Applicant generally not allowed to leave country while AOS pending
Generally, an applicant is not allowed to depart from the US while his application for an AOS is pending. However, if there is an immediate legitimate, personal, or business cause that needs to be addressed by the applicant during the pendency of his application, he may ask for an advance parole, which will allow him to leave the country without being considered as abandoning his application.