Entered Without Inspection? Learn How Section 245(i) Could Shape Your Green Card Path

If you entered the United States without inspection, you may be asking whether a green card is still possible. The short answer is sometimes. INA 245(i) can let certain people adjust status inside the United States, even after entering without inspection, but only if they meet its strict grandfathering rules.

This page explains those rules in plain words. It is general information, not legal advice, written for people trying to understand a situation they didn’t plan for.

Can Someone Who Entered Without Inspection Get a Green Card Under 245(i)?

Usually not under the regular rule, but INA 245(i) can make it possible for some people who qualify.

Adjustment of status is how many people get a green card without going abroad. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, the regular path requires that you were inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States. Someone who entered without inspection doesn’t meet that first condition.

Section 245(i) is the exception. It can reach certain people who have a qualifying petition filed inside a specific window, which is why dates matter so much. Even then, you must still be eligible for an immigrant visa and admissible, or qualify for a waiver.

Other problems can also block the case. Unauthorized work and certain status violations are two common ones, but immediate relatives (as defined in section 1151(b) of this title) and certain special immigrants described in section 1101(a)(27)(H), (I), (J), or (K) of this title are treated differently under the unauthorized-work rule. Those rules are separate from the inspection question, and each one needs its own review.

What Does Section 245(i) Do and Why Was It Written?

Section 245(i) can let eligible applicants adjust status in the United States even if they entered without inspection.

The USCIS Policy Manual explains that the provision applies only to adjustment applications filed on or after October 1, 1994. To use it, the applicant must pay the additional $1,000 statutory sum (unless exempt). That requirement is covered in the filing section below.

The benefit is tied to a qualifying petition. The petition is the first thing to check in any grandfathered case, because its filing date and its named beneficiary often shape the answer.

For a broader view of how green cards are issued, the Migration Policy Institute explainer describes the main federal pathways. Those include adjustment from another status and sponsorship by a family member or employer.

Did Section 245(i) Expire on April 30, 2001?

Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.10, a qualifying immigrant visa petition must have been physically received by the Service on or before April 30, 2001, or, if mailed, postmarked on or before that date, and accepted for filing as provided in § 103.2(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this chapter. For a principal grandfathered alien whose petition or labor certification application was filed after January 14, 1998, the section also requires evidence of physical presence in the United States on December 21, 2000.

Under 8 CFR 245.10, a visa petition counts only if it was properly filed on or before April 30, 2001, and was approvable when filed. If it was filed after January 14, 1998, the alien must also have been physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000. That presence requirement does not apply to a spouse or child accompanying or following to join a grandfathered principal. Approvable means the petition was properly filed, meritorious in fact, and non-frivolous on the filing date.

A later petition doesn’t create eligibility on its own.

Dates matter for physical presence, too. Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.10, unless the qualifying immigrant visa petition or application for labor certification was filed on or before January 14, 1998, a principal grandfathered alien must establish that he or she was physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000, to be eligible to apply to adjust status under section 245(i) of the Act, although this requirement does not apply to a spouse or child accompanying or following to join a principal alien who is a grandfathered alien.

Proof is rarely one paper. Under 8 CFR 245.22, several documents showing presence before and after the date can work together.

A spouse or child who married the grandfathered principal after the petition was filed may still adjust as an accompanying or following-to-join relative. The USCIS Policy Manual says so.

What Filing Does 245(i) Require: Form I-485, Supplement A, and $1,000?

An officer must first determine whether an applicant qualifies as a grandfathered alien or as the current spouse or child of a grandfathered alien at the time of adjustment. The spouse and child(ren) who are the current spouse or child as of the date of adjustment and who accompany or follow to join a principal INA 245(i) applicant who is a grandfathered alien are eligible to seek adjustment under 245(i) even though they are not grandfathered aliens in their own right (USCIS Policy Manual on INA 245(i) grandfathering). If such a spouse or child was properly inspected and admitted or paroled and is not subject to the INA 245(c) bars, they do not need to file a Supplement A.

The USCIS Policy Manual says each applicant using 245(i) files a separate Form I-485 and Supplement A. That applies even to a grandfathered beneficiary’s spouse or child. Supplement A can’t be filed after USCIS has already decided the Form I-485.

The Policy Manual calls it an absolute statutory eligibility requirement that may not be waived. Other government filing fees are separate from that sum and change over time, so check current amounts before you file.

An accompanying (or following-to-join) spouse or child who was properly inspected and admitted or paroled and is not subject to the 245(c) bars may skip Supplement A and adjust under 245(a) by filing only Form I-485.

Filing errors are easy to make when dates and relationships are complicated. Each form should be checked against the rules before it goes in.

Does Section 245(i) Clear Every Barrier to a Green Card?

No. It addresses the inspection problem, but you still must be eligible to receive an immigrant visa and admissible to the United States for permanent residence.

The Policy Manual lists the requirements that remain. The Policy Manual says the applicant must be eligible for an immigrant visa as the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition or by qualifying under certain other immigrant categories, and must have a visa immediately available when filing and when USCIS approves the application. Those are separate questions, and each one is checked in every case.

Unlawful presence is another area of federal law. It has its own rules and its own consequences, so it needs a separate review before anyone files.

A waiver request is a different filing with its own standards. Waivers are one of the areas our office handles. Whether one is needed is a question to discuss with a lawyer.

Do Unauthorized Work and Status Violations Still Block Adjustment?

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, certain unauthorized work or unlawful status can bar adjustment unless an exception applies.

The statute bars many applicants who continue in or accept unauthorized employment before filing. It also bars many who are in unlawful status on the filing date. It covers people who have not kept lawful status since entry, unless that failure was through no fault of their own or for technical reasons.

A trip abroad does not reset the clock. The USCIS Policy Manual says departure and reentry do not erase the bar for unauthorized work done before filing.

The unauthorized-employment rule also reaches work done at any time while physically present. The same Policy Manual section says that bar applies whether the work happened before or after the application was filed.

Frequently Asked Questions About Entering Without Inspection and Green Cards

Here are short answers to common questions on this topic.

Who Can Help You Decide What to Do Next?

Adriana Gomez is the responsible lawyer for this page. 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.

If a spouse, parent, or child entered without inspection, you may be carrying a pending petition, a recent notice, or a removal case that has already started. Those facts make it hard to know which date matters most. You don’t have to sort them out alone.

Consultations with the office are paid. To reach the office, use the contact form, call, or message on WhatsApp, and bring the dates and notices you already have.