Adjustment of Status Under INA §245
INA245.com is a legal reference devoted to adjustment of status in the United States. Research INA §245 eligibility, inspection and admission or parole, statutory adjustment bars, §245(i), §245(k), immigrant visa availability, Form I-485 procedure, current USCIS discretionary policy, pending applications, jurisdiction, RFEs, NOIDs, and denials.
What is adjustment of status?
Adjustment of status is the process through which an eligible person who is physically present in the United States obtains lawful permanent resident status without completing the ordinary immigrant visa process at a U.S. consulate abroad.
INA §245 contains the principal adjustment rules, but a Form I-485 case can also require analysis of immigrant classification, visa-number law, INA §212 inadmissibility, jurisdiction, federal regulations, USCIS policy, and binding administrative or federal court decisions.
The correct question is therefore not simply whether someone has an approved immigrant petition. The complete question is whether that person may lawfully adjust status under the provision governing the case and whether every requirement for approval has been satisfied.
Three questions quickly identify many adjustment problems.
These questions do not replace a complete statutory analysis, but they usually reveal where the difficult legal issue is located.
How did you enter the United States?
Admission, parole, entry without inspection, Visa Waiver admission, wave-through entry, parole in place, advance parole, and missing entry records can produce very different §245 results.
What is the basis for permanent residence?
Family, employment, VAWA, SIJ, T or U status, EB-5, a special adjustment statute, or another immigrant classification determines which eligibility rules apply.
What could prevent approval?
Adjustment bars, inadmissibility, visa unavailability, prior removal proceedings, jurisdiction, insufficient evidence, loss of the immigrant basis, or unfavorable discretion may affect approval.
Research the adjustment rule that controls the case
INA §245(a)
Inspection, admission, parole, immigrant visa eligibility, admissibility, visa availability, evidence, and discretionary approval.
INA §245(c) Bars
Unauthorized employment, unlawful status, status violations, crewmen, Visa Waiver cases, exemptions, and other statutory bars.
INA §245(i)
Old petitions and labor certifications, April 30, 2001 grandfathering, approvable-when-filed rules, physical presence, and derivatives.
INA §245(k)
The 180-day employment-based exception for specified status violations and unauthorized employment.
Visa Availability
Final Action Dates, Dates for Filing, USCIS chart selection, chargeability, retrogression, CSPA, and transfer of basis.
Form I-485 Process
Filing, evidence, Form I-693, Form I-864, biometrics, interviews, RFEs, NOIDs, USCIS discretion, and decisions.
Pending Form I-485
Employment authorization, advance parole, travel, job changes, retrogression, address changes, and continuing eligibility.
Problems & Denials
RFEs, NOIDs, I-485 denials, I-290B motions, removal proceedings, jurisdiction, mandamus, federal review, and rescission.
Adjustment should be analyzed in layers
Separating the legal questions prevents one immigration concept from being mistaken for another.
Immigrant Classification
Determine the substantive basis for lawful permanent residence: family, employment, special immigrant, humanitarian, or another statutory category.
Adjustment Eligibility
Determine whether INA §245(a) or another adjustment statute permits the applicant to obtain permanent residence from inside the United States.
Adjustment Bars & Exceptions
Identify statutory restrictions and determine whether immediate-relative rules, VAWA, §245(i), §245(k), or another exception changes the result.
Admissibility
Analyze INA §212 separately. A person can satisfy §245 yet still be inadmissible, or be admissible yet prohibited from adjustment by a §245 bar.
Visa Availability
Determine whether the immigrant visa allocation rules permit filing and whether a visa is available when USCIS reaches final adjudication.
Jurisdiction & Procedure
Determine whether USCIS or an immigration judge has jurisdiction and satisfy the correct filing, evidence, medical, interview, and procedural requirements.
Discretion
Where the governing adjustment provision is discretionary, evaluate the favorable and unfavorable circumstances separately from threshold statutory eligibility.
USCIS has renewed its emphasis on the discretionary nature of adjustment.
On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 concerning the exercise of discretion in adjustment-of-status adjudications.
For adjustment provisions that grant USCIS discretion, the agency directs officers to consider relevant favorable and unfavorable facts under the totality of the circumstances. The memorandum emphasizes that adjustment was not designed to supersede the ordinary consular immigrant visa process.
Relevant circumstances can include immigration compliance and history, the circumstances surrounding admission or parole, prior representations to government officials, conduct after entry, family ties, humanitarian equities, moral character, criminal or other adverse conduct, and additional facts relevant to the case.
Different immigrant categories create different adjustment rules
Family-Based Adjustment
Immediate relatives, family-preference applicants, concurrent I-130/I-485 filing, adjustment-bar exemptions, marriage cases, Form I-864, and derivative beneficiaries.
Family-Based Adjustment →Employment-Based Adjustment
EB-1, EB-2, NIW, EB-3, EB-4, EB-5, §245(k), visa availability, Supplement J, AC21 portability, job changes, and transfer of basis.
Employment-Based Adjustment →Special Adjustment Categories
VAWA, SIJ, T and U status, K nonimmigrants, Cuban adjustment, refugees, asylees, S nonimmigrants, and other specialized adjustment pathways.
Special Adjustment Categories →Common problems require issue-specific analysis
Entry Without Inspection
Determine whether ordinary §245(a) is unavailable and whether §245(i), a later admission or parole, VAWA, SIJ, or another provision changes the result.
Unauthorized Employment
Identify the applicable §245(c) bar, immediate-relative or VAWA exemption, possible §245(k) protection, or qualifying §245(i) grandfathering.
Prior Removal Proceedings
Determine whether proceedings remain pending, were terminated or dismissed, whether a prior removal order exists, and which agency has adjustment jurisdiction.
Inadmissibility
Fraud, criminal history, prior removal, unlawful presence, alien smuggling, false claims, and other INA §212 grounds require separate analysis from §245 eligibility.
RFE or NOID
Determine precisely what USCIS proposes to find and answer the legal and evidentiary issue rather than merely supplying a larger volume of documents.
I-485 Denial
Analyze the actual basis for denial before choosing among an I-290B motion, refiling, renewed adjustment in proceedings, or another available remedy.
Research adjustment through current authority
8 U.S.C. §1255
Codified federal statute corresponding to INA §245.
8 C.F.R. Part 245
DHS regulations governing adjustment eligibility, filing, jurisdiction, travel, and decisions.
Policy Manual Volume 7
USCIS's primary current policy resource for adjustment of status.
PM-602-0199
USCIS's May 21, 2026 policy memorandum addressing adjustment of status and the exercise of discretion.
The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.
INA245.com is published by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A. as a focused legal reference for adjustment of status. The firm handles complex U.S. immigration matters involving INA §245 eligibility, inadmissibility, old immigration histories, immigration court proceedings, agency findings, RFEs, NOIDs, and denials.