F2B Adjustment of Status

Who qualifies for F2B adjustment of status?

See Family Preference Adjustment of Status.

What does “unmarried son or daughter” mean?

Immigration law generally uses the term “son or daughter” for a person who is age 21 or older or otherwise does not meet the statutory definition of “child.”

For F2B, the beneficiary must:

• Have a qualifying parent-child relationship with the lawful permanent resident petitioner;
• Be classified as the petitioner's son or daughter rather than a child in F2A; and
• Remain unmarried while relying on the LPR-sponsored F2B classification.

The parent-child relationship can arise through biological parentage, qualifying step-relationships, adoption, legitimation, or another relationship recognized by the INA.

How a case moves from F2A to F2B

An I-130 may originally be filed for an unmarried child under 21 in F2A and later convert to F2B when the beneficiary no longer qualifies as a child.

Before treating the beneficiary as aged out, however, the family should analyze the Child Status Protection Act.

See Child Status Protection Act and Form I-485.

The original priority date can generally remain with an automatic conversion

When a qualifying petition automatically converts from F2A to F2B because the beneficiary ages out, the original petition and priority date can generally continue under the applicable statutory and regulatory conversion framework.

This is important because the petition may already have been pending or approved for years.

The beneficiary should confirm:

• The original I-130 filing date;
• The petition's classification history;
• The CSPA calculation;
• The current F2B priority date; and
• Any subsequent naturalization of the petitioner.

The F2B category is numerically limited

F2B beneficiaries must wait for immigrant visa availability under the family-sponsored preference system.

The priority date is compared with the F2B line in the Department of State Visa Bulletin.

Visa availability can differ according to:

• The beneficiary's priority date;
• Country of chargeability;
• Worldwide versus oversubscribed-country cutoffs;
• The applicable Visa Bulletin chart; and
• USCIS's monthly determination concerning family-sponsored adjustment filings.

See Priority Dates for Form I-485.

Dates for Filing vs. Final Action Dates

An F2B applicant should distinguish the chart that may permit filing from the chart that permits final approval.

See Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing.

An approved F2B I-130 does not create lawful status

Because F2B waiting periods can be lengthy, beneficiaries in the United States must understand what the family petition does not provide.

Filing or approval of Form I-130 does not itself:

• Extend nonimmigrant status;
• Prevent an I-94 from expiring;
• Authorize employment;
• Create a period of lawful nonimmigrant status;
• Prevent removal proceedings; or
• Guarantee future adjustment eligibility.

Failure to maintain lawful status can bar F2B adjustment

F2B applicants generally remain subject to INA §245(c)(2).

A beneficiary can therefore become ineligible for ordinary adjustment because of:

• Visa overstay;
• Failure to maintain student status;
• Failure to maintain dependent status;
• Violation of nonimmigrant status;
• Remaining after an I-94 expires; or
• Other covered status violations.

See Failure to Maintain Lawful Status and Adjustment of Status.

Unauthorized employment can also bar F2B adjustment

Unlike qualifying immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, F2B beneficiaries generally do not receive the broad unauthorized-employment adjustment exemption.

Potential issues include:

• Working without an EAD;
• Working after employment authorization expires;
• Unauthorized freelance work;
• Independent contracting;
• Self-employment without authorization; and
• Employment outside the restrictions of a nonimmigrant classification.

See Unauthorized Employment and Adjustment of Status.

INA §245(k) does not ordinarily apply to F2B

INA §245(k) is an employment-based adjustment provision.

An applicant adjusting solely through an F2B petition generally cannot invoke §245(k) to cure family-based status or employment bars.

If the beneficiary independently obtains a qualifying employment-based petition, the applicant may have a different adjustment basis that requires separate analysis.

INA §245(i) can be especially valuable in an F2B case

Grandfathering under INA §245(i) can allow some family-preference applicants to adjust despite entry without inspection, status violations, or unauthorized employment.

An older petition or labor certification can create grandfathering even when the immigrant visa currently used for adjustment comes from a later F2B petition.

See INA §245(i).

Marriage while the petitioner remains an LPR can terminate F2B eligibility

This is one of the most important F2B rules.

A lawful permanent resident can petition for an unmarried adult son or daughter, but there is no LPR-sponsored preference category for a married son or daughter.

If an F2B beneficiary marries while the petitioner remains a permanent resident:

• The beneficiary ceases to satisfy the F2B classification;
• The petition may be subject to automatic revocation under the applicable regulations; and
• The beneficiary cannot simply move into F3 because F3 requires a U.S. citizen petitioner.

What happens when the LPR petitioner naturalizes?

When the lawful permanent resident parent becomes a U.S. citizen, an F2B petition generally converts automatically to the F1 category for an unmarried adult son or daughter of a U.S. citizen.

That conversion does not always improve the beneficiary's wait.

Because F1 and F2B have separate Visa Bulletin lines, the F2B category can sometimes have the more favorable cutoff.

F2B beneficiaries can sometimes opt out of conversion to F1

INA §204(k), enacted as part of the Child Status Protection Act, permits qualifying beneficiaries to request that automatic conversion from F2B to F1 not apply after the petitioning parent naturalizes.

This allows a beneficiary to remain in F2B when that category provides a more favorable visa position.

The process generally involves a written request to USCIS asking to opt out of the F1 conversion.

The opt-out can apply to petitions that originally began in F2A

USCIS guidance recognizes that the opt-out provision can apply where:

• The petition was originally filed in F2A;
• The beneficiary later aged into F2B;
• The LPR parent subsequently naturalized;
• The petition automatically converted to F1; and
• The beneficiary seeks to remain in F2B.

The petition history should be documented carefully when submitting an opt-out request.

F2B beneficiaries can have derivative children

F2B is a preference classification, so a qualifying child of the principal F2B beneficiary may potentially receive derivative classification under INA §203(d).

The F2B principal cannot have a derivative spouse because the principal must remain unmarried to qualify for F2B.

See Visa Availability for Derivative Applicants.

CSPA can protect an F2B beneficiary's derivative child

Because F2B cases can remain backlogged for years, the principal beneficiary's child can approach or exceed biological age 21 before a visa is available.

CSPA analysis can involve:

• The derivative child's biological age;
• The applicable visa-availability date;
• The petition's qualifying pendency period;
• The child's continuing unmarried status;
• The one-year sought-to-acquire requirement; and
• Any recognized extraordinary-circumstances exception.

See Child Status Protection Act and Form I-485.

Cross-chargeability may improve visa availability

Where derivative family members are involved, the statutory chargeability rules can sometimes allow use of another qualifying country of birth.

Cross-chargeability is fact-specific and depends on the family relationship and visa allocation rules.

See Cross-Chargeability for Form I-485.

Entry without inspection remains a separate problem

An approved F2B petition and current priority date do not satisfy INA §245(a).

A beneficiary who entered without inspection ordinarily needs another qualifying adjustment mechanism.

Possible issues to investigate include:

• INA §245(i) grandfathering;
• A later qualifying parole event;
• A special adjustment statute;
• Prior admission evidence; or
• Consular processing after a full inadmissibility review.

See Entry Without Inspection and Adjustment of Status.

The applicant must independently be admissible

Family classification and visa availability do not eliminate the INA §212 analysis.

Potential issues include:

• Criminal inadmissibility;
• Controlled substance issues;
• Fraud or willful misrepresentation;
• False claims to U.S. citizenship;
• Prior removal or deportation;
• Unlawful presence after departure;
• Illegal reentry;
• Alien smuggling;
• Health-related grounds;
• Security-related grounds; and
• Public charge.

An approved I-130 does not decide these issues.

Form I-864 is generally required

The LPR parent generally must execute Form I-864 for the F2B beneficiary unless an exemption applies.

USCIS can review:

• Petitioner's household size;
• Federal tax filings;
• Current income;
• Employment;
• Assets;
• Joint sponsor eligibility;
• Household-member income; and
• U.S. domicile.

Visa retrogression after filing Form I-485

An F2B applicant may properly file Form I-485 and later face retrogression.

If the Final Action Date moves backward:

• The properly filed adjustment application can generally remain pending;
• USCIS ordinarily cannot approve it until an immigrant visa becomes available again;
• The beneficiary must remain eligible under the underlying family classification; and
• Derivative and CSPA issues may continue to require monitoring.

See What Happens When a Priority Date Retrogresses?.

Changing to another immigrant basis

An F2B beneficiary may acquire another immigrant basis during the long visa wait.

Examples include:

• Marriage to a U.S. citizen;
• An employment-based I-140;
• An EB-1A self-petition;
• An EB-2 National Interest Waiver;
• Another family petition; or
• A special immigrant classification.

If Form I-485 is already pending, the applicant may consider whether a transfer of underlying basis is available and strategically preferable.

See Transfer of Underlying Basis / Interfiling.

Removal proceedings and F2B adjustment

An approved F2B petition does not automatically determine adjustment jurisdiction.

A beneficiary with immigration-court history should examine:

• Pending removal proceedings;
• Prior in absentia proceedings;
• Final removal orders;
• Reopening or reconsideration;
• Whether proceedings were terminated or dismissed;
• Arriving-alien issues; and
• Whether USCIS or the immigration court has jurisdiction over Form I-485.

Example: petitioner naturalizes and F2B remains faster

Example: beneficiary marries before petitioner naturalizes

Evidence checklist

• Petitioner's lawful permanent resident evidence.
• Form I-130 receipt and approval notices.
• Birth, adoption, stepchild, legitimation, or other parent-child documentation.
• Evidence the beneficiary remains unmarried.
• Original priority-date evidence.
• Complete petition classification history.
• Petitioner's naturalization certificate if naturalization occurred.
• F1/F2B opt-out request and decision when applicable.
• Visa Bulletin evidence.
• Passport and identity documents.
• I-94 or other admission or parole evidence.
• Complete immigration-status history.
• Employment history and work authorization evidence.
• INA §245(i) grandfathering evidence where applicable.
• Derivative children's relationship and CSPA evidence.
• Form I-864 and financial evidence.
• Medical examination documentation.
• Evidence addressing any inadmissibility ground.

Common F2B adjustment problems

Primary authorities

Related INA245.com guides

Frequently asked questions