Can You Still Apply for Adjustment of Status?

If your visa has expired or your status has changed, you may still be able to apply for a green card from inside the United States. That route is called adjustment of status. Some people can use it, but only if they meet every legal requirement.

Four checks decide the question: how you entered, your status today, whether an immigrant visa is available, and whether any bar applies to you. This page explains each one in plain terms.

Short Answer: Whether You Can Still Adjust Status Depends on Your Facts

Some people can still adjust status, but only if they meet every requirement. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, the applicant must file an application, be eligible for an immigrant visa and admissible to the United States, and have a visa immediately available when filing.

Adjustment lets an eligible person finish the green card process in the U.S. instead of attending a visa interview abroad. This route matters most to people who already live here. It does not make the case automatic.

Here are the four checks covered below. First, how you entered the country. Second, whether you are physically present and in lawful status. Third, whether an immigrant visa number is available. Fourth, whether an inadmissibility ground applies. For the full overview, read our adjustment of status guide.

Inspection, Admission or Parole: The Threshold Requirement

The first requirement is that you were inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, and certain special immigrant juveniles will be deemed to have been paroled into the United States for this purpose. The status rule in 8 U.S.C. § 1255 covers people who entered that way, along with certain approved VAWA self-petitioners.

Inspection and admission usually means you presented yourself to an officer at a port of entry and were admitted, often on a visa. Parole is a separate route into the country. The way you came in shapes how the rest of the case is analyzed.

Entry without inspection is where many people get stuck. If you crossed the border without an inspection, this first requirement may not be met under the main status rule, but certain people who entered without inspection may still apply under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i) by remitting a $1,000 sum with the application, although that sum is not required from a child under the age of seventeen and certain other listed relatives. That needs a careful review before anything is filed.

Physical presence matters too. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.1, a person who is physically in the United States may apply, unless a specific paragraph of that rule makes them ineligible.

Your entry record is your proof. Keep your I-94 record and any document that shows when and how you arrived.

Visa Number Availability and the Petition Behind It

An immigrant visa must be immediately available when you file. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.1, a preference applicant meets this test if their priority date is earlier than the date in the Department of State Visa Bulletin, or if the Bulletin shows their category as current.

For family cases, the usual starting point is a Form I-130 petition filed by a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative.

Other categories follow a different order. Ask which category and priority date apply to you before you assume the timing.

Timing differs from case to case, so one person’s timeline does not predict yours. Keep your petition receipts and dates together so the category question is easy to answer.

Admissibility Under Section 212(a) and Common Obstacles

Even when the first two checks are met, you must show you are admissible. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1182, the law lists classes of people ineligible for visas or admission. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1361, you carry the burden to show you are not inadmissible under any provision.

Work and status problems are common obstacles. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(c), other than an alien with an approved VAWA self-petition, the status rule does not apply to someone who takes unauthorized work before filing, who is in unlawful status on the filing date, or who has not kept lawful status since entry. It also excuses a failure that happened through no fault of the applicant or for technical reasons.

A prior removal order or a pending court case changes the path. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.2, there is no appeal from a director’s denial. A non-arriving applicant can renew the application in removal proceedings. The ICE guide to adjustment of status notes that an application can also be made before an immigration judge. 8 C.F.R. § 245.2 reads: “USCIS has jurisdiction to adjudicate an application for adjustment of status filed by any alien, unless the immigration judge has jurisdiction to adjudicate the application under 8 CFR 1245.2(a)(1).”

Some grounds can be waived. Whether a waiver is available turns on the ground involved and your facts, so review it before filing.

Forms, Medical Exam, and the Adjustment Process

The core filing is Form I-485, sent with supporting documents and any required fee. For filings with an immigration court, 8 U.S.C. § 1812 requires the fee at filing or before the court decides the application.

In many family cases, applicants file the I-130 and I-485 together. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.2, a visa petition and an adjustment application are concurrently filed only if they meet the listed conditions (filed together in one packet on the same day at the same office, or as the other listed options provide), and this applies only to certain classifications where approval would make a visa immediately available at filing. The order and timing turn on your category and your case, so don’t assume a fixed sequence.

Most applicants need a medical exam by a designated civil surgeon. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.5, the report becomes part of the record. Certain K-visa holders who were medically examined before their visa was issued, as a condition of that issuance, may not need a new exam, provided the examination occurred not more than 1 year before the date of the adjustment application. For how long a medical exam stays valid, see our medical exam validity guide.

Many cases also include a biometrics appointment and an interview. For the step-by-step filing order, read how to apply for a green card.

Checking Your Current Status and Documents

Gather your records before you ask whether you qualify. Passports, I-94 records, prior USCIS notices, and any court or removal papers help show your history.

The burden to prove eligibility falls on you, under 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Third-party affidavits are one kind of supporting evidence that may be submitted with a petition.

Track an existing card or pending case through our guide to current green card status. Missed deadlines, old notices, and status changes can each affect eligibility, so review these papers together.

Talk With Our Team About Your Situation

If you’re researching this for yourself or a family member, you may be dealing with an expired visa, a pending removal case, or a petition already filed for you. Those facts can change the answer. You don’t have to sort them out alone.

AG Immigration Law P.A. focuses on removal defense, adjustment of status, family petitions, naturalization, removal of conditions on green cards, waivers, and BIA appeals for immigrants across the U.S. Adriana Gomez is the lawyer responsible for this page. A paid consultation is available for a detailed review of your case.

Reach out through our contact form, call the office, or message us on WhatsApp to talk about your facts. Each case turns on its own history, so we’ll look at yours.