Adjustment of Status refers only to the process
of acquiring lawful permanent residency (green
cards) from within the U.S. by filing an application
with USCIS.
Between October 1st, 1994
and January 14th, 1998 Section
245(i) of the Immigration
Act allowed certain aliens
who overstayed their Visas
or entered the U.S. illegally
to adjust their status to
that of a Lawful Permanent
Resident (green card holder)
without having to leave the
U.S. upon paying USCIS a $1000.00
penalty.
Section 245(i) was allowed to expire
by Congress in 1998. This forced many
aliens for whom petitions were filed to
return to their home country when their
Visa date became current, and await an
appointment with the U.S. Consulate to
obtain a valid reentry Visa. For many
aliens who originally entered the U.S.
illegally or overstayed their Visas, leaving
the U.S. meant they would be denied permission
to reenter the U.S. for three to ten years.
On December 15th 2000 Congress passed
the Republican sponsored “Legal
Immigration & Fairness Equity Act” (LIFE).
The LIFE Act provided that 245(i) was
extended from January 14th, 1998 to April
30th, 2001. As a result, the beneficiary
of a Immigration Petition or a Labor Certification
Application filed before April 30th, 2001
will be able to apply for Adjustment of
Status under Section 245(i) here in the
U.S. and the three and ten year bars will
not apply. However, for any applications
filed after January 14th, 1998 the alien
must prove that they were physically present
in the U.S. on the date LIFE becomes law.
Only certain aliens for whom a family
based or employment based petition was
filed and becomes current can therefore
adjust their status and become permanent
resident “ green card” holders
without leaving the
U.S.. Those that can adjust here in the
U.S. are as follows:
- you were inspected
upon entry with a valid visa
by USCIS, were never out of status,
and
never worked without permission.
- you are
an immediate relative
of a U.S. citizen who entered with
a visa and was inspected by USCIS.
- you are
an immediate
relative of a U.S. citizen
and were properly admitted but violated
your visas
conditions.
A
$1000.00
penalty applies
and you can adjust
here in
the
U.S. if you had
any
visa petition or
labor certification pending
and filed
as of April 30th,
2001,
and were
present in
the U.S. in December
2000, if:
- you entered
the U.S. illegally.
- you had
a transit visa or crewmembers
visa
that
was
violated.
- your sponsoring
relative
is
a permanent resident
and you entered
the
U.S. legally but
violated your
visa.
Certain
individuals cannot adjust their
status in the U.S. even though they had
a pending visa petition
or labor
certification
filed before April 30th,
2001. This
includes
among others, K-1 visa holders, stowaways,
J-1 visa
holders without
waivers of the home residency requirement,
those
who failed to appear at
deportation and asylum hearings and those
who failed
to depart
pursuant
to an USCIS agreement. However, there
may be another
form of relief available.
Once an application for adjustment has
been filed then the applicant should not
leave the U.S. even if they receive permission
from the USCIS. The three and ten year
bars may apply even though USCIS gave permission
to leave the U.S.
Please contact us for more information.
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