When Can an Immigrant Apply for Adjustment of Status?

 Posted on September 14, 2026 in Immigration

In general, you can apply for adjustment of status once two things are true: You must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, and an immigrant visa must be immediately available in your category.

Some applicants may qualify under exceptions to the admission or parole requirement. For immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, meaning spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21, a visa is always available, so the application can often be filed right away. Everyone else waits for their place in line to be reached.

This path is how most people get a green card. The Department of Homeland Security recently reported that 54 percent of new lawful permanent residents adjusted status from inside the country, with adjustments reaching a record high near 800,000. In Illinois, 25,410 of the 44,650 people who became permanent residents that year did so through adjustment. As of 2026, the rules for filing have not changed, but how applications are reviewed has. An Illinois immigration lawyer can tell you whether you qualify now or need to wait.

What Are the Basic Requirements for Adjustment of Status?

The governing law is Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, found at 8 U.S.C. § 1255. Under subsection (a), you must show that:

• You were inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States.

• You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa.

• An immigrant visa is immediately available when you file.

• You are admissible, meaning no bar applies based on your history.

• You deserve a favorable exercise of discretion.

Meeting every requirement makes you eligible, but approval is still a decision the government makes rather than something automatic.

When Is an Immigrant Visa Considered Immediately Available?

Congress caps how many green cards are issued each year in most categories, and those caps are divided by country of birth. The State Department tracks the waiting line in a monthly Visa Bulletin.

Your place in that line is your priority date, which is based on when the qualifying petition was filed. In some employment-based cases that require labor certification, it is based on when the labor certification application was accepted for processing. The bulletin has two charts. The Final Action Dates chart shows when a case can be approved. The Dates for Filing chart shows when an application may be submitted, which is usually earlier. Each month, USCIS announces which chart applicants may use, so the answer to "can I file yet" can change from one month to the next.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are exempt from these numerical limits entirely. There is no line to wait in and no priority date to watch.

Who Cannot Adjust Status in the United States?

Section 1255(a) requires applicants seeking adjustment under that provision to have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, with an exception for certain VAWA self-petitioners. Section 1255(c) separately blocks adjustment for certain applicants who worked without authorization or failed to maintain lawful status. These bars affect employment-based and family preference applicants most heavily.

Several exceptions soften them. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are exempt from the bars tied to unauthorized work and failure to maintain status, which is why a person who overstayed a visitor visa and later married a U.S. citizen may still qualify.

Section 1255(k) forgives up to 180 days of status problems in most employment-based cases. Section 1255(i) offers a narrow path for people who had a qualifying petition or labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001, allowing adjustment with a $1,000 penalty fee even after an entry without inspection.

If none of these fit, consular processing abroad may be the only route. That decision carries real risk because leaving the country can trigger a multi-year bar on returning. It's worth getting an answer on this before making travel plans.

What Changed for Adjustment Applicants in 2026?

In May 2026, USCIS issued a policy memorandum instructing officers to treat adjustment as discretionary relief rather than a routine step, and to weigh the full picture of an applicant's circumstances. The agency later clarified that the memo applies case by case and does not require anyone to leave the country.

The statutory requirements are unchanged. The memorandum did not change the basic statutory requirements for adjustment of status. What has shifted is the level of scrutiny, which means applications now benefit from strong supporting evidence of ties, work history, tax compliance, and family relationships rather than just correctly completed forms.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Illinois Adjustment of Status Attorney

For more than 40 years, Attorney Steven H. Mevorah has served the needs of immigrants throughout Northern Illinois. He can review your entry record and category to confirm when you are actually eligible to file, identify whether a bar applies and whether an exception covers you, and assemble the documentation that carries weight under current review standards.

Call Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices at 630-932-9100 to discuss your situation with our DuPage County green card lawyer today.