USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Guide
Volume 7 of the USCIS Policy Manual is the agency's principal consolidated source for adjustment-of-status policy. It explains general Form I-485 procedure, INA §245(a), INA §245(i), family-based and employment-based adjustment, special immigrant adjustment, VAWA and crime-victim adjustment, other adjustment programs and post-adjustment rescission. USCIS states that Policy Manual guidance is controlling agency policy and supersedes related prior Adjudicator's Field Manual guidance and policy memoranda when incorporated into the Manual. Because Volume 7 changes through policy alerts, practitioners should use the live Manual and review the update history for time-sensitive issues.
What is USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7?
The Policy Manual must be read consistently with the INA, valid regulations and controlling judicial or administrative precedent.
Why Volume 7 matters
USCIS uses the Policy Manual to consolidate and replace older agency materials.
Volume 7 is particularly important because it addresses questions the statutory text alone does not resolve operationally, including:
- How USCIS determines a properly filed adjustment application;
- Initial evidence;
- Secondary evidence;
- Interview procedures;
- Visa availability;
- Child Status Protection Act calculations;
- Transfer of underlying basis;
- Adjudicative burden and standard of proof;
- Exercise of discretion;
- Employment portability;
- Category-specific evidence; and
- Post-adjustment issues.
Part A — Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures
Part A supplies the common adjudicative framework used across many adjustment categories.
Major subjects include:
- Purpose and background;
- Eligibility and immigrant visa availability concepts;
- Filing instructions;
- Documentation and evidence;
- Interview procedures;
- Adjudicative review;
- Child Status Protection Act;
- Transfer of underlying basis;
- Derivative applicant issues; and
- Adjustment discretion.
Even a category-specific adjustment case often depends on Part A for common procedural and evidentiary rules.
Part A and initial evidence
Volume 7 explains USCIS's evidentiary approach to adjustment.
The adjudicator examines:
- Identity;
- Birth and civil records;
- Underlying immigrant classification;
- Admission or parole where required;
- Visa availability;
- Admissibility;
- Form I-864 where required;
- Medical examination where required;
- Criminal records;
- Translations;
- Secondary evidence; and
- Other category-specific documentation.
Part A and adjudicative review
The adjudicative-review guidance explains how an officer moves from a filed I-485 to a decision.
The review includes:
- Underlying basis;
- Continuing eligibility;
- Visa availability;
- Admissibility;
- Waivers;
- Evidence sufficiency;
- Interview results;
- Background checks;
- Derivative eligibility; and
- Discretion.
Filing Form I-485 does not freeze every relevant fact. The immigrant basis, family relationship, employment basis and other continuing requirements can change before approval.
Part A, Chapter 7 — Child Status Protection Act
USCIS's CSPA guidance is especially time sensitive.
The Manual addresses:
- CSPA age calculations;
- Visa availability;
- Family-preference applicants;
- Employment-based derivatives;
- Diversity Visa applicants;
- Sought-to-acquire requirement;
- Extraordinary circumstances; and
- Effect of visa retrogression.
For requests filed on or after that effective date, USCIS uses Final Action Dates for the CSPA visa-availability age calculation under its revised policy. Older pending or previously filed cases can require effective-date analysis.
Part A, Chapter 8 — Transfer of underlying basis
The Policy Manual contains detailed rules for transferring a pending I-485 from one immigrant basis to another.
USCIS examines:
- Continuity of adjustment eligibility;
- Continuing pendency of Form I-485;
- Eligibility for the replacement category;
- Visa availability;
- Priority date;
- Adjustment bars under the new category;
- Discretion;
- Written transfer request; and
- Derivative consequences.
USCIS states that the replacement basis must be properly established before the original basis ceases to support the pending application, where continuity is required.
Part B — INA §245(a) Adjustment
Part B focuses on the ordinary INA §245(a) adjustment framework.
It addresses:
- Eligibility requirements;
- Inspection;
- Admission;
- Parole;
- Lawful status;
- Periods of authorized stay;
- INA §245(c) adjustment bars;
- Unauthorized employment;
- Failure to maintain status;
- Exemptions; and
- Employment-based INA §245(k) protection.
See Inspected and Admitted, Parole and Adjustment, and INA §245(k).
Admission and wave-through cases
Part B incorporates the distinction between substantive immigration eligibility at the border and procedural regularity of admission.
This is important in cases involving:
- Wave-through entry;
- Entry without a recorded I-94;
- Admission without detailed questioning;
- Procedural inspection;
- Old border-crossing records; and
- Claims under Matter of Areguillin and Matter of Quilantan.
Part C — INA §245(i) Adjustment
Part C consolidates USCIS policy for grandfathered INA §245(i) adjustment.
Major issues include:
- Grandfathered alien;
- Qualifying petition or labor certification;
- Approvable when filed;
- April 30, 2001 cutoff;
- December 21, 2000 physical presence;
- Derivative grandfathering;
- Changes in petitioner, employer or relationship;
- Supplement A;
- Additional $1,000 payment; and
- Documentary proof.
USCIS moved its former Adjudicator's Field Manual §245(i) guidance into Volume 7 in 2020.
See INA §245(i).
Part D — Family-Based Adjustment
Part D contains category-specific family-based adjustment guidance.
It works together with:
- Form I-130 approval;
- Immediate-relative classification;
- Family-preference classification;
- Marriage validity;
- Derivative eligibility;
- Form I-864;
- Conditional residence;
- Widow and survivor provisions; and
- General Part A and Part B rules.
Part E — Employment-Based Adjustment
Part E consolidates employment-based adjustment policy.
Important topics include:
- Underlying Form I-140;
- Continuing job offer;
- Form I-485 Supplement J;
- INA §204(j) portability;
- Same or similar occupation;
- I-140 withdrawal;
- Employer termination;
- Self-employment where permitted;
- Derivative applicants;
- INA §245(k); and
- Visa availability.
USCIS incorporated substantial AC21 portability guidance into Volume 7 Part E in 2020.
Part F — Special Immigrant-Based Adjustment
Part F contains adjustment guidance for special immigrant classifications.
It includes specialized treatment for categories such as:
- Special Immigrant Juveniles;
- Religious workers;
- Special immigrant broadcasters and other designated EB-4 categories;
- Special immigrant petition requirements; and
- Category-specific adjustment eligibility and evidence.
USCIS specifically places SIJ adjustment guidance in Volume 7, Part F.
VAWA adjustment guidance
Volume 7 contains dedicated VAWA adjustment guidance addressing the special statutory treatment of approved VAWA self-petitioners.
Relevant issues include:
- INA §245(a) eligibility;
- Exemption from ordinary §245(c) bars;
- VAWA-specific admissibility rules;
- Waivers;
- Confidentiality;
- Evidence; and
- Discretion.
Crime-victim-based adjustment guidance
Volume 7 also contains dedicated guidance for crime-victim adjustment programs, including T and U adjustment.
These provisions address:
- Continuous physical presence;
- Law-enforcement assistance;
- Good moral character where applicable;
- Humanitarian standards;
- Special inadmissibility treatment;
- Derivatives and family members;
- Required evidence; and
- Category-specific USCIS procedures.
See U Visa Adjustment and T Visa Adjustment.
Other adjustment programs
Volume 7 has expanded over time to incorporate additional adjustment programs formerly found in the Adjudicator's Field Manual or separate policy memoranda.
These materials can include guidance concerning:
- Diversity Visa adjustment;
- Cuban Adjustment Act;
- Special statutory adjustment programs;
- Legacy legalization programs;
- Humanitarian categories; and
- Other congressionally created adjustment routes.
The volume serves as USCIS's broader adjustment-of-status manual and includes programs whose authority comes from statutes outside ordinary INA §245(a).
Rescission guidance
USCIS Volume 7 also contains post-adjustment guidance concerning rescission of lawful permanent residence.
Current USCIS policy addresses:
- INA §246 jurisdiction;
- Notice of Intent to Rescind;
- Rescission procedure;
- Field-office authority;
- Interaction with removal proceedings;
- Five-year timing; and
- Special program considerations.
USCIS updated its Volume 7 rescission guidance in December 2024 to clarify post-adjustment jurisdiction.
Policy alerts and effective dates
USCIS changes the Policy Manual through policy alerts.
Each significant update should be checked for:
- Publication date;
- Effective date;
- Whether it applies to pending applications;
- Whether it applies only to filings on or after a certain date;
- Which chapters were replaced;
- Whether prior policy was superseded; and
- Any transition rule.
CSPA is a good example: USCIS's August 2025 policy uses an effective-date rule that can produce different treatment for applications filed before and after the policy change.
Policy Manual versus Adjudicator's Field Manual
USCIS has progressively migrated adjustment guidance from the former Adjudicator's Field Manual into the Policy Manual.
When guidance has been superseded:
- Use the Policy Manual as current USCIS policy;
- Do not rely on the superseded AFM text as current agency policy;
- Use old AFM language only when relevant to historical adjudication or litigation; and
- Check USCIS's AFM-to-Policy-Manual crosswalk when necessary.
Policy Manual hierarchy
| Authority | Relative Role |
|---|---|
| INA / U.S. Code | Statute enacted by Congress. |
| Controlling court precedent | Binding judicial interpretation within its jurisdiction. |
| CFR | Binding agency regulations if valid and applicable. |
| BIA / AG precedent | Binding administrative precedent within the immigration system, subject to judicial review. |
| USCIS Policy Manual | Controlling USCIS policy guidance for agency adjudicators, but subordinate to statute, regulation and controlling precedent. |
| Webpages / FAQs | Helpful operational guidance but generally lower in the hierarchy. |
How to cite the Policy Manual
USCIS uses a structured citation format.
Examples:
- 7 USCIS-PM A.6 — Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 6;
- 7 USCIS-PM A.7 — Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7;
- 7 USCIS-PM A.8 — Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 8;
- 7 USCIS-PM B.2 — Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 2; and
- 7 USCIS-PM E.5 — Volume 7, Part E, Chapter 5.
A precise citation should identify the part, chapter, section and subsection when the proposition is narrow.
Policy Manual research checklist
- Start with the live USCIS Policy Manual.
- Identify correct Volume 7 part.
- Identify chapter and section.
- Check footnotes and cited statutes.
- Check cited regulations.
- Review updates tab.
- Identify effective date of recent policy alerts.
- Determine whether update applies to pending cases.
- Compare with controlling BIA precedent.
- Compare with current federal circuit law.
- Do not rely on superseded AFM guidance as current policy.
- Archive relevant policy version when litigating a historical adjudication.
Common Policy Manual mistakes
Treating Policy as Statute
The Manual is cited without checking whether the governing INA provision says something different.
Using an Old Policy Version
A policy alert changed the chapter, but the case analysis relies on an archived rule.
Ignoring Effective Dates
A new policy is applied to a filing that falls under the prior transition rule.
Using the AFM After Supersession
Legacy agency guidance is treated as current despite USCIS formally replacing it in Volume 7.
Ignoring Footnotes
A broad policy statement is cited without reading the statutory, regulatory or precedent authority USCIS identifies in the footnotes.
Ignoring Circuit Law
USCIS policy is treated as dispositive even where controlling federal precedent requires a different result.
Primary authorities
Related INA245.com guides
Frequently asked questions
Is the USCIS Policy Manual legally binding like a statute?
No. It is controlling USCIS policy for agency adjudication, but it remains subordinate to statutes, valid regulations and controlling precedent.
Which Policy Manual volume covers Form I-485?
Volume 7 is the principal USCIS volume for adjustment of status.
What does Part A cover?
It contains general adjustment policies and procedures, including filing, evidence, adjudication, CSPA, transfer of basis and discretion.
What does Part B cover?
It focuses on INA §245(a), including inspection, admission, parole, lawful status and adjustment bars.
Where is employment-based adjustment policy?
USCIS places major employment-based adjustment guidance in Volume 7, Part E.
Can USCIS change the Manual?
Yes. USCIS issues policy alerts and updates individual chapters, often with specific effective and applicability dates.
The Policy Manual is the best source for understanding how USCIS says it will adjudicate Form I-485—but every policy proposition should still be tested against the statute, regulations and controlling precedent.
The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A. represents adjustment applicants in matters involving disputed USCIS policy, INA §245, employment and family adjustment, CSPA, transfer of basis, special adjustment programs, RFEs, NOIDs and denials.
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