F3 Adjustment of Status

Who qualifies for F3 adjustment of status?

See Family Preference Adjustment of Status.

There is no age ceiling for the F3 principal beneficiary

F3 is based on the beneficiary being a married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen rather than a statutory child.

The principal beneficiary can therefore be well over age 21.

The core relationship requirements are:

• A qualifying parent-child relationship with the U.S. citizen petitioner; and
• A legally valid marriage placing the beneficiary in the married-son-or-daughter classification.

Age becomes particularly important for the principal beneficiary's derivative children rather than for the F3 principal.

The F3 priority date

The priority date is generally the date USCIS properly receives Form I-130.

Because F3 is numerically limited, approval of the petition does not make an immigrant visa immediately available.

The beneficiary should track:

• The original I-130 filing date;
• The F3 priority date;
• Country of chargeability;
• The current F3 Visa Bulletin cutoff;
• The USCIS family-sponsored adjustment filing chart; and
• Any conversion history from F1 or another family classification.

See Priority Dates for Form I-485.

F3 applicants must wait for visa availability

The F3 category can have a substantial backlog.

See Final Action Dates vs. Dates for Filing.

Marriage can convert an F1 petition to F3

A petition originally filed for an unmarried adult son or daughter of a U.S. citizen can convert from F1 to F3 if the beneficiary marries before obtaining permanent residence.

The petition generally keeps its underlying priority date while the classification changes, subject to the applicable immigration rules.

But the visa position must be recalculated under F3.

See F1 Adjustment of Status.

Divorce can convert an F3 petition back to F1

If the principal beneficiary's marriage legally terminates before immigration and the beneficiary again becomes an unmarried son or daughter of the U.S. citizen petitioner, the petition may convert from F3 to F1.

The effect can be significant because F1 and F3 have different Visa Bulletin cutoffs.

Important distinctions include:

• Legal divorce versus informal separation;
• Annulment and its legal effect;
• The effective date of the termination of marriage;
• Whether the petitioner remains a U.S. citizen; and
• The resulting priority-date position under F1.

F3 permits derivative spouses and children

One major feature of F3 is that qualifying family members of the principal beneficiary can derive under INA §203(d).

The derivatives generally use the same preference category and priority date as the F3 principal.

See Visa Availability for Derivative Applicants.

The derivative spouse depends on the principal's marriage

The principal beneficiary is in F3 because the principal is married.

If that marriage ends before immigration:

• The principal may convert to F1;
• The former spouse generally ceases to qualify as the principal's derivative spouse; and
• The visa strategy for the remaining family must be recalculated.

Derivative children can age out during the F3 backlog

F3 waiting periods can be long enough that a young child at the time of I-130 filing is over age 21 by the time a visa becomes available.

The Child Status Protection Act can preserve derivative eligibility in some cases.

The analysis can require:

• The child's biological age when visa availability occurs for CSPA purposes;
• The qualifying I-130 petition-pendency period;
• The child's continuing unmarried status;
• The one-year sought-to-acquire requirement; and
• Any qualifying extraordinary-circumstances exception.

See Child Status Protection Act and Form I-485.

A child born after Form I-130 filing can potentially become a derivative

Because derivative classification arises through the principal's family-preference status, a child born after the original petition was filed may potentially qualify as a derivative if the statutory relationship exists when the family immigrates and all requirements are satisfied.

The family should document:

• The child's birth;
• The relationship to the principal beneficiary;
• The child's age and marital status;
• CSPA eligibility where relevant; and
• The child's own adjustment or immigrant visa eligibility.

The applicant generally must have been admitted or paroled

F3 classification does not eliminate the threshold INA §245(a) requirement.

See Entry Without Inspection and Adjustment of Status.

F3 applicants generally remain subject to status bars

Being the son or daughter of a U.S. citizen does not make an F3 beneficiary an immediate relative.

F3 applicants generally remain subject to INA §245(c)(2).

Potential adjustment problems include:

• Overstay;
• Failure to maintain student status;
• Violation of dependent status;
• Other failures to maintain lawful immigration status; and
• Unlawful immigration status when Form I-485 is filed.

See Failure to Maintain Lawful Status and Adjustment of Status.

Unauthorized employment can bar F3 adjustment

F3 principal and derivative applicants generally remain subject to the applicable unauthorized-employment adjustment bars.

Potential issues include:

• Employment without authorization;
• Employment after an EAD expires;
• Freelance work;
• Independent contracting;
• Unauthorized self-employment; and
• Employment outside the terms of nonimmigrant status.

See Unauthorized Employment and Adjustment of Status.

Each derivative has a separate adjustment-bar analysis

The principal beneficiary's immigration history does not determine whether the derivative spouse or child qualifies under INA §245.

For example:

• The principal may have maintained lawful status while the spouse overstayed;
• The spouse may have unauthorized employment while the principal did not;
• A child may have entered without inspection;
• One family member may be grandfathered under INA §245(i) while another is not; or
• Different family members may have different admission, parole, or removal histories.

Each Form I-485 requires an individual eligibility analysis.

INA §245(k) generally does not apply to F3 adjustment

INA §245(k) is tied to specified employment-based immigrant categories.

An F3 principal or derivative adjusting solely through the family petition generally cannot use §245(k) to excuse unlawful status or unauthorized employment.

If a family member separately has an employment-based immigrant basis, that case may require a different analysis.

INA §245(i) can be critical after a long F3 wait

F3 petitions can remain pending or backlogged for many years. A beneficiary who cannot maintain ordinary adjustment eligibility throughout that period may still have a potential route through INA §245(i) if grandfathered.

Section 245(i) can potentially address:

• Entry without inspection;
• Unlawful immigration status;
• Unauthorized employment; and
• Certain other adjustment obstacles covered by the statute.

See INA §245(i).

Cross-chargeability can sometimes improve visa availability

Because F3 includes a principal beneficiary and derivative spouse, cross-chargeability may sometimes allow the family to use the spouse's country of chargeability where the statutory rules are satisfied.

This can matter where one spouse was born in a country with a different family-sponsored cutoff.

See Cross-Chargeability for Form I-485.

Visa retrogression after filing

An F3 principal and derivatives may properly file Form I-485 when eligible and later experience retrogression.

If the Final Action Date moves backward:

• The properly filed adjustment applications can generally remain pending;
• USCIS ordinarily cannot approve them until visas again become available;
• The qualifying family relationships must continue where required;
• CSPA issues may remain important for derivative children; and
• Each applicant must continue satisfying the other adjustment requirements.

See What Happens When a Priority Date Retrogresses?.

The principal and derivatives must independently be admissible

Every family member seeking Form I-485 approval undergoes a separate INA §212 admissibility review.

Potential grounds can include:

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

Form I-864 for the principal and derivatives

Family-sponsored preference immigrants are generally subject to INA §213A affidavit-of-support requirements unless an exemption applies.

The U.S. citizen petitioner ordinarily files Form I-864.

Household-size calculations should properly account for:

• The petitioner;
• The principal beneficiary;
• Derivative beneficiaries immigrating with or following the principal;
• Other sponsored immigrants where obligations remain in force;
• Tax dependents; and
• Any other persons required by the Form I-864 rules.

Joint sponsorship may be available when the petitioner's income is insufficient.

Death of the U.S. citizen petitioner

The death of the petitioning parent can affect the F3 petition, but some cases may qualify for statutory or discretionary relief.

Potential avenues include:

• INA §204(l) for qualifying surviving relatives who meet the residence requirements;
• Humanitarian reinstatement of an approved petition; and
• Another independent immigrant basis.

The principal and derivative family members should be evaluated together because preserving the principal petition can preserve derivative classification as well.

Death or divorce of the principal's spouse

Because the principal's marriage creates F3 classification, termination of that marriage before immigration can change the petition category.

A legal divorce generally makes the principal unmarried and may convert the petition to F1.

The death of the principal's spouse likewise can change the principal's marital status and therefore the proper family classification.

Any former or deceased spouse no longer immigrates as a derivative, while qualifying children may continue to require separate CSPA and derivative analysis.

Changing to another immigrant basis

During a long F3 wait, the principal or a derivative may acquire another immigrant basis.

Examples include:

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

If Form I-485 is already pending, an applicant may consider whether USCIS can transfer the application to another underlying basis.

See Transfer of Underlying Basis / Interfiling.

Removal proceedings and jurisdiction

An approved F3 petition and current priority date do not automatically give USCIS jurisdiction over every adjustment application.

For any family member with immigration-court history, examine:

• Pending removal proceedings;
• Final removal orders;
• In absentia orders;
• Reopening or reconsideration;
• Termination or dismissal of proceedings;
• Arriving-alien issues; and
• Whether USCIS or EOIR has adjustment jurisdiction.

Example: F1 beneficiary marries

Example: F3 beneficiary divorces

Evidence checklist

• Proof of petitioner's U.S. citizenship.
• Form I-130 receipt and approval notice.
• Evidence establishing the parent-child relationship.
• Principal beneficiary's marriage certificate.
• Evidence terminating prior marriages where applicable.
• Priority-date documentation.
• F1-to-F3 or F3-to-F1 conversion evidence where applicable.
• Derivative spouse marriage evidence.
• Derivative children's birth or relationship documents.
• CSPA calculations and sought-to-acquire evidence.
• Visa Bulletin evidence.
• Passport and identity records for each applicant.
• I-94 or admission or parole evidence for each applicant.
• Complete immigration-status history for each applicant.
• Employment authorization history.
• INA §245(i) evidence where applicable.
• Form I-864 and financial evidence.
• Medical examination documentation.
• Evidence addressing individual inadmissibility issues.

Common F3 adjustment problems

Primary authorities

Related INA245.com guides

Frequently asked questions