U.S. Immigration Law Guide: How to Apply for a Green Card (Lawful Permanent Residency) Without Leaving the United States

By Richard Kaplan, @steemship

Many people come to the U.S. lawfully and want the chance to make it their permanent home. Engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, athletes, artists with amazing talent, brilliant graduate students: these people can earn their own way and are unlikely to ever require government assistance. Either we let them enrich this country or they will take their skills elsewhere. Whether someone is applying for permanent residency for employment, family, or asylum reasons, the process is similar.

From coast to coast and in between, just about every American knows someone from another country who works hard, treats others with respect, and deserves an opportunity to make a life in the U.S. This guide will be available for free on Steemit for anyone who can benefit from it. Yes, there are times when everyone needs a lawyer. But if this information can help you, a friend, or a family member save some money on attorney fees, then that is a good reason for me to share this information. The immigration process can often be done without a lawyer.

As a former attorney, I often handled some immigration law cases. The green card, as you probably know, is a nickname for U.S. Permanent Residency. This is a brief guide that I put together for the first part of the green card application process. It focuses on completing and filing the appropriate government form, which is the I-485 form: Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, though it describes the later steps in the green card process also. This guide applies to people who are already present in the United States, not those living abroad who must go through a somewhat different process (with which I do not have much experience).

This guide is based upon U.S. government forms and instructions. Where that language is important or particularly useful, I have not altered the wording. That said, this guide represents my own work in organizing, presenting, and explaining this information in my own words. I hope you find it useful. Please share it with others who are not able to afford attorneys.

Disclaimer: This guide and its contents do not constitute legal advice, nor is any attorney-client relationship formed between the author and readers. If you need legal assistance, please seek the services of a qualified attorney licensed to practice in your state or country. Immigration law is a fast-changing field and it is quite possible that parts of this guide will be out of date soon. Nevertheless, the basic process probably will not change that much. The reader is responsible for verifying that any information relied upon from this guide is still current by the time he/she needs to use it.

Contents of this guide are free for you to use, with attribution:
Please include a prominent link to this post on Steemit

All forms needed can be found at the USCIS Forms page here: https://www.uscis.gov/forms

What is Adjustment of Status?
Adjustment of status allows an eligible applicant who is in the United States to apply for permanent residency (green card). Generally, the applicant enters the United States on a temporary visa and then files for permanent status. Applicants outside the United States cannot use the I-485 form; they must follow a similar procedure through a U.S. consulate. The I-485 form can be used only by applicants who are inside the United States. It allows eligible applicants to obtain green cards without having to leave the United States.
Most people obtain green cards through a family member, through an employer, or through refugee or asylum status. In the majority of these situations, the family member or employer will file the petition.

Eligibility: Who Can File for Adjustment of Status?
You may be eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) through your family, a job offer or employment, refugee or asylum status, or a number of other special provisions. In some cases, you may even be able to self-petition or have a record created for permanent residence on your behalf. In general, to meet the requirements for permanent residence in the United States, you must:
• Be eligible for one of the immigrant categories established in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
• Have a qualifying immigrant petition filed and approved for you (with a few exceptions)
• Have an immigrant visa immediately available
• Be admissible to the United States

Each requirement is detailed below.

Eligibility for an Immigrant Category
People who want to become permanent residents (get green cards) through their qualified family member, a job offer or employment, or a special category will generally be classified in categories based on a preference system. Except for immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen who are given the highest immigration priority and a few other exceptions, Congress has set a finite number of visas that can be used each year for each category of immigrants. The general categories are listed below. For more specific information under each general category, see the links to the left.

Family Based
Some relatives of U.S. citizens, known as immediate relatives, do not have to wait for a visa to become available. There is no limit to the number of visas that can be utilized in this category in a particular year. Immediate relatives include:
• Parents of a U.S. citizen
• Spouses of a U.S. citizen
• Unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen
Note: U.S. citizens must be at least 21 years old to apply for their parents.
The qualified relatives of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in the remaining family-based categories may have to wait for a visa to become available before they can apply for permanent residency. These categories include:

• First Preference: Unmarried, adult (21 years of age or older) sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• Second Preference A: Spouses of permanent residents and the unmarried children (under the age of 21)) of permanent residents
• Second Preference B: Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or age or older) of permanent residents
• Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and their minor children
• Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, their spouses and their minor children

Job or Employment Based
People who want to become immigrants based on employment or a job offer may apply for permanent residence or an immigrant visa abroad, when an immigrant visa number becomes available according to the following employment based preferences:
• First Preference: Priority Workers, including aliens with extraordinary abilities, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers
• Second Preference: Members of professions holding an advanced degree or persons of exceptional ability (including individuals seeking a National Interest Waiver)
• Third Preference: Skilled Workers, professionals and other qualified workers
• Fourth Preference: Certain special immigrants including those in religious vocations
• Fifth Preference: Employment creation immigrants (investors or entrepreneurs)

Based on Refugee or Asylum Status
If you were admitted to the United States as a refugee or the qualifying spouse or child of a refugee, you are required to apply for permanent residence (a green card) 1 year after your entry into the United States in this status. If you were granted asylum in the United States or are a qualifying spouse or child of an asylee, you may apply for permanent residence 1 year after the grant of your asylum status.

If you are a refugee, you are required by law to apply for a green card 1 year after being admitted to the United States in refugee status.

If you are an asylee or asylee derivative spouse or child, you are not required to apply for a green card 1 year after being granted asylum or 1 year after being admitted to the United States in asylum status, although it may be in your best interest to do so.

Other Ways
There are a number of other special categories and programs that allow people to get green cards. These tend to be more obscure. Please visit the USCIS website for more information on these.

Immigrant Petition
Immigrants in most categories will need an immigrant petition (Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, or another petition) filed on their behalf.

A petition establishes the underlying basis for your ability to immigrate and determines your immigrant classification or category. Some categories of immigrants may be able to self-petition. Most people immigrating based on humanitarian programs are exempt from the petition requirement.

Visa Availability
A visa is always available for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. If you are in a family or employment based preference category, visa availability is determined by:
• Your priority date
• The preference category you are immigrating under
• The country the visa will be charged to (usually your country of citizenship)

The Department of State is the government agency that controls visa numbers. The annual limits for visa numbers are established by Congress and can be referenced in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

First, a priority date will be assigned to you based on your immigrant petition filing date (the date that the petition is properly filed with USCIS) or, in certain employment-based cases, the date the application for a labor certification was accepted by the Department of Labor. Your priority date holds your place in line for an immigrant visa.

This date, along with your country of nationality and preference category, determines if or how long a person will have to wait for a visa to be immediately available. When USCIS officials are ready to approve an applicant for permanent residency in a visa category that has limited numbers, we must first request a visa number from the Department of State.

When a visa is available, you may file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (if you are in the United States) or apply for an immigrant visa abroad (consular processing). If you are consular processing, USCIS will forward your approved petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center who will contact you when your priority date is about to become current as to what your next steps are and when you may apply for an immigrant visa abroad.

Admissibility to the United States
All persons applying for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status must prove to the satisfaction of immigration or consular officials that they are admissible (eligible for admission) to the United States.

There are many grounds of inadmissibility that could potentially cause someone to be ineligible to become a permanent resident. For instance, there are health-related, criminal, security-related, and other grounds USCIS must consider.

In some cases and in certain situations, if you are found inadmissible to the United States you may be eligible to file a waiver on Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility, (the form required for most immigrants) or I-602, Application By Refugee For Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (the form required for refugees and asylees) to excuse your inadmissibility.

The grounds of inadmissibility are determined by the particular category under which you are immigrating. If you are ultimately found inadmissible to the United States, your adjustment of status application (Form I-485) or immigrant visa application will be denied. Congress has set the grounds of inadmissibility and they may be referenced in Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

After all paperwork has been received, interviews conducted (if necessary), security checks completed, and other eligibility requirements reviewed, your case will be ready for a decision by USCIS.

Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A.) (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B.) (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

To find out the application timeline for each of these priority groups, please see the Department of State’s most recent Visa Bulletin. It is published every month, so last month’s version is out of date already. To get the most recent copy, conduct an online Google search for “Visa Bulletin”. Click on it and scroll down to the table showing “Application Final Action Dates.” Please note that there are separate columns for the countries with most immigrants (usually China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines). Applicants from these countries must wait longer before applying for permanent residency.

Only when the person is inside the U.S.
Only applicants inside the U.S. can use the I-485. Applicants outside the U.S., unless they come here on a temporary visa (or entered on a waiver or are paroled here), must filed for adjustments through consular processing.

The law allows persons temporarily inside of the United States to "adjust status" to permanent resident without departing but only if they were admitted or parolled into the United States. Until recently "admission" appeared to require a formal interaction between a US border official and the applicant usually resulting in the issuance of an admission document. A case called Matter of Quilantan changed that by requiring only that the applicant's entry occurred with "procedural regularity" including a "wave through."

In the case, the alien (Graciela Quilantan) was a passenger in a car at the border checkpoint between Mexico and the U.S. The border agent asked the driver whether he was a U.S. citizen (and he was), then waiving them through the border without checking the passenger Quilantan. Now, if this happens, even if the person has not been inspected formally, the “wave through” is considered part of standard procedure.

So someone in the U.S. who was “waived through” can still apply for adjustment of status. But be prepared to answer some difficult questions at the interview. These could cover which gas station you stopped at near the border, what time of day it was, what the border agent looked like, which kind of car was in front of you in line, etc. They may check with security camera footage and with witnesses. Do not use the Quilantan case unless you have a good faith story for how the applicant came through the border. For example, being smuggled through the border does not qualify.

What Other Documents Need to be Filed?

I-485 is the centerpiece of your adjustment of status packet, but an applicant will need to file other documents also. These vary depending on the applicant’s circumstances. Here are the documents that are most commonly required:

• proof of eligibility for a green card (for example, your notice of approval as an asylee; a Form I-130 and marriage certificate if you married a U.S. citizen; your visa petition approval notice and marriage certificate if you entered as a fiance; and so forth)

• Form G-325A Biographic Data Sheet

• Form I-693 Medical Examination Sheet (filled out by a designated Civil Surgeon, and in a sealed, unopened envelope

• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, with supporting financial and tax documents (if your basis for applying is through a U.S. family member

• Form I-765, in order to request permission to work (even if you don't plan to work, it gets you a handy photo identity card, and you won't have to pay a separate fee for it if you include this application with your adjustment of status packet)

• Form I-131, to receive what's called "advance parole" in case you need to travel out of the U.S. while the adjustment process is still underway (if you leave without obtaining advance parole, your green card application will be canceled; and as with the I-765, it's a good idea to file this form now, because if you wait until later, you'll have to pay a separate fee)

• evidence of any criminal convictions

• two color photos, taken within the last 30 days, passport style

• photocopy of the nonimmigrant visa page of your passport (if any)

• your birth certificate, with an English translation if it's not already in English, and

• required fee for the application and for biometrics (fingerprinting).

Carefully read the instructions that come with Form I-485 to find out what else you need to include. You will submit the Adjustment of Status packet by mail to USCIS. (You cannot submit it in person.) Some months after submitting it, you will be called in for fingerprinting. A few weeks or months after that, you will be called in for a personal interview at a USCIS office, where your permanent residence will be granted or denied.

Tips on Filling Out the Form
The I-485 form is fairly self-explanatory and the instructions it includes are helpful. Much of the information relates to the applicant’s identity and background information. Here are some tips to make your job even easier.

Part I requests both a social security number and an alien number (A#). If the applicant does not have these, then just leave these parts blank.

Also in Part I, the question on "Date of Last Arrival" really means your most recent entry to the United States. This part confuses a lot of people, who often enter the date when they first came, but if you have since made even a short trip outside the U.S., you need to enter that date here. Remember: most recent date. From your I-94 entry card or passport, copy the exact date of last arrival, expiration date, and current USCIS status. Providing your I-94 number is important because it helps prove that you entered with a visa or on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) -- which is, for some applicants, crucial to proving their eligibility to adjust status instead of going through consular processing.

For "current USCIS status," write down the name of your current visa or other status (such as "B-1 visitor," "F-1 student," "K-1 fiance," or "asylee"); "OOS" for "out of status" if your permitted stay under your visa has expired; or "EWI" for "entered without inspection" if you never had a visa or permitted entry.

In Part II, you will need to choose the basis of your eligibility for a U.S. green card. For most family and employment-based candidates, the answer is "a." But consult an immigration attorney if you're not sure.

Part III asks for more personal and immigration-related information. If you entered without being inspected by a U.S. government officer, it will be more difficult to adjust your status, but the Quilantan case may be helpful, as mentioned earlier. On Question C, list any community or other groups of which you are a member. Listing any group with terrorist affiliations will harm your application.

In Part III, there are a list of questions. Please read them and answer truthfully. Answering “no” on these questions is expected; if you answer “yes” or “maybe” it may be best to consult with an immigration lawyer before filing.

Part IV gives you a chance to ask for the assistance you might need if you are disabled -- for example, to have a medical caregiver accompany you into the interview. Do not hesitate to use this if you need it.

Part V requires you to sign the form. Parents can sign on behalf of children; just write their name, and then write "by [your name], parent." Notice that by signing, young men are agreeing to have their name put into the "Selective Service" list, which will be used to call upon them if the U.S. ever reinstates a military draft.

Steps for Adjustment of Status

1.) Determine Your Basis to Immigrate
The first step in the adjustment of status process is to determine if you fit into a specific immigrant category. Most immigrants become eligible for a green card (permanent residence) through a petition filed on your behalf by a family member or employer. Others become permanent residents through first obtaining refugee or asylum status, or through a number of other special provisions. To see the many different ways to get a green card, see the links to the left.

2.) File the Immigrant Petition
When you know what category you believe best fits your situation, in most cases, you will need to have an immigrant petition filed on your behalf (for family- and employment- based applications). Refugee and asylum seekers may be able to self-file petitions, as mentioned earlier.

3.) Check Visa Availability
Immediate family members can file. Applicants in other categories may not file a Form I-485 until a visa is available in the applicant’s category. Please see the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin; run a Google search for “Visa Bulletin” to find the bulletin for the most recent month.

4.) File Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residency or Adjust Status
Regardless of whether a petition must be filed and approved prior to your filing Form I-485 or whether it may be filed concurrently, you will need to apply for permanent residence on Form I-485 at the appropriate time.

When filing Form I-485, you must read the form instructions carefully and submit all required documentation and evidence required for your particular category. Failure to do so may result in your application being delayed or possibly denied for failure to establish that you are eligible to adjust status.

5.) Go to your Application Support Center appointment (fingerprints)
After you file your application, you will be notified to appear at an Application Support Center for biometrics collection, which usually involves having your picture and signature taken and being fingerprinted. This information will be used to conduct your required security checks and for eventual creation of a green card, employment authorization (work permit) or advance parole document.

6.) Go to your interview (if applicable)
You may be notified of the date, time, and location for an interview at a USCIS office to answer questions under oath or affirmation regarding your application. You must attend all interviews when you receive a notice.

When you come to your interview, you (and the family member that filed the Form I-130 petition on your behalf, if applicable) must bring originals of all documentation submitted with this application including passports, official travel documents, and Form I-94 regardless if they are expired.

Not all applications require an interview. USCIS officials will review your case to determine if it meets one of the exceptions.

7.) Get your final decision in the mail
After all paperwork has been received, interviews conducted (if necessary), security checks completed, and other eligibility requirements reviewed, your case will be ready for a decision by USCIS. In all cases, you will be notified of the decision in writing.

Change of Address
You must advise USCIS of a change of address. You can do this online via the “Change of Address” link on the USCIS website.

Check My Status
If you have immigration-related questions, you may call the USCIS National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. You should be prepared to provide the USCIS representative with specific information about your application, such as your receipt number, Alien Registration Number, name and date of birth. Or, you may check the status of your application online. Look for the “Check My Online Case Status” link on the USCIS website.

Appeal a Denial
If your application for adjustment of status is denied, your decision notice will let you know your appeal rights. Not every decision can be appealed. Generally, if your decision can be appealed, you must file the appeal within 30 days of the service of the decision. You may also be able to file a Motion to Reopen or Reconsider. Both appeals and motions are filed on Form I-290B.

Conclusion: I hope you have found this guide a useful overview of the green card process, particularly the application stage. If you know others who can use this information, please share this free guide with them.

Peace, Richard, @steemship

#law
#immigration

Addendum: The ID card pictured below is from Singapore, but I just have to include it here. This gentleman has such an amazing name!