U Visa Family Members and Derivative Adjustment

How do family members of a U-1 principal obtain permanent residence?

See U Visa Adjustment Under INA §245(m).

Route 1: adjustment by U-2 through U-5 nonimmigrants

A family member who actually received derivative U nonimmigrant status can seek adjustment under 8 C.F.R. §245.24(b).

The recognized U nonimmigrant classifications include:

Each derivative files an individual Form I-485 and proves the derivative's own eligibility.

Each U derivative needs a separate three-year physical-presence analysis

The U-1 principal's three-year clock does not automatically control the derivative's filing date.

A derivative U nonimmigrant must independently establish at least three years of continuous physical presence since the qualifying U admission or status grant and continue that presence through adjudication.

Family members may have different eligibility dates because:

• U status was granted on different dates;
• A derivative entered the United States after the principal;
• Different family members traveled at different times;
• One family member experienced a lengthy absence; or
• A derivative required an extension to complete the three-year period.

See U Visa Continuous Physical Presence.

A derivative must generally continue to hold U status when filing

Under 8 C.F.R. §245.24(b), a U-2 through U-5 adjustment applicant generally must continue to hold qualifying U nonimmigrant status when Form I-485 is filed, subject to the limited historical U-interim-relief provision.

Before filing, confirm:

• The derivative's own U approval notice;
• The derivative's U-status expiration date;
• Any approved extension;
• The derivative's physical-presence anniversary; and
• Whether U status has ever been revoked.

Derivative U status may need to be extended before adjustment filing

A derivative sometimes approaches the expiration of U status before completing three years of continuous physical presence.

USCIS permits U derivatives to seek extensions in qualifying circumstances, including circumstances connected with completing the required physical-presence period.

An extension request should be addressed before status expires whenever possible.

The record should include:

• Current derivative U approval;
• Form I-94;
• Relationship evidence;
• Reason the extension is required;
• Relevant travel history; and
• Any connection to the principal's U status or extension.

A derivative who never entered in U status cannot simply use the three-year adjustment route

A family member may have received an approval associated with the U case but remained outside the United States and never entered or resided here as a U-2, U-3, U-4, or U-5 nonimmigrant.

That relative ordinarily cannot simply claim three years of U physical presence that never occurred.

If the U-1 principal later becomes eligible to adjust, the family should examine:

• Whether consular processing in derivative U status remains possible;
• Whether a U-status extension or amended approval is available;
• Whether the principal has already adjusted; and
• Whether the relative instead qualifies for the Form I-929 process under INA §245(m)(3).

Route 2: Form I-929 for certain family members who never held U status

INA §245(m)(3) creates a separate immigrant process for certain family members of a principal U-1.

The U-1 principal files Form I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant.

This route is designed for a qualifying family member who:

• Never held U nonimmigrant status;
• Has the qualifying relationship to the principal U-1;
• Satisfies the extreme-hardship requirement;
• Merits favorable discretion; and
• Meets the remaining statutory and regulatory requirements.

Who is a qualifying Form I-929 family member?

8 C.F.R. §245.24 defines the qualifying family member for this post-U adjustment procedure more narrowly than the full list of possible U derivative classifications.

The qualifying relatives generally are:

• The U-1 principal's spouse;
• The U-1 principal's child; or
• If the U-1 principal is a child, the principal's parent.

The relative must never have been admitted to the United States in U nonimmigrant status for the Form I-929 route governed by INA §245(m)(3).

When can the U-1 principal file Form I-929?

The principal U-1 may file Form I-929 when the principal:

• Has already adjusted to lawful permanent resident status;
• Has a pending U-based Form I-485; or
• Is concurrently filing the principal's U-based Form I-485.

The Form I-929 may therefore be filed concurrently with or after the principal's adjustment application.

The qualifying relationship must continue

The relationship supporting Form I-929 must exist at the time of the principal U-1's adjustment and continue through the relevant adjudication.

Depending on the family member's location, the relationship generally must continue through:

• USCIS adjudication of the qualifying family member's Form I-485; or
• Issuance of the immigrant visa to a qualifying family member processing abroad.

This makes marriage, divorce, age, death, and other family-status changes potentially significant.

Form I-929 requires extreme hardship

The Form I-929 route has a hardship requirement that does not apply in the same way to a U-2 through U-5 nonimmigrant adjusting after three years.

The petitioner must establish that either:

• The qualifying family member would suffer extreme hardship if not permitted to remain in or enter the United States; or
• The principal U-1 would suffer extreme hardship if the qualifying family member is not permitted to remain in or enter the United States.

Extreme-hardship factors in a Form I-929 case

8 C.F.R. §245.24 identifies factors USCIS may consider when evaluating extreme hardship.

Evidence can address:

• The nature and extent of physical or mental abuse connected with the qualifying criminal activity;
• Loss of access to U.S. courts and the criminal justice system;
• Ongoing criminal, family-law, custody, or related proceedings;
• Risk of harm from the perpetrator or persons acting for the perpetrator;
• Availability of social, medical, or mental health services;
• Domestic-violence laws and social practices in the home country;
• Ability of home-country authorities to provide protection;
• The applicant's age;
• Separation from close family;
• Caregiving needs;
• Medical conditions;
• Psychological conditions; and
• Other case-specific hardship factors.

No single factor automatically controls the determination.

Evidence of the qualifying relationship

Form I-929 must establish the statutory relationship between the U-1 principal and the family member.

Evidence can include:

• Marriage certificates;
• Divorce decrees terminating prior marriages;
• Birth certificates;
• Adoption documentation;
• Legal name-change records;
• Paternity and parent-child evidence;
• Secondary civil evidence where primary documents are unavailable; and
• Affidavits where permitted by the evidence rules.

The family relationship should be documented independently of the hardship evidence.

Form I-929 is not approved before the principal's green card

The principal may file Form I-929 while the U-1 Form I-485 is pending, but USCIS cannot approve the petition until the principal has become a lawful permanent resident through the U adjustment process.

If USCIS denies the principal U-1's adjustment application:

• The qualifying family member's Form I-929 is automatically denied; and
• The automatic denial based on the principal's adjustment denial is not independently appealable under the regulation.

What happens after Form I-929 approval?

The procedure depends on where the qualifying family member is located.

The I-929 family member does not need to accumulate three years in U status because the person is not adjusting as a U-2 through U-5 nonimmigrant.

An I-929 family member in the United States files Form I-485 after approval

8 C.F.R. §245.24 provides a specific adjustment procedure for a qualifying I-929 family member who is physically present in the United States.

The filing generally includes:

• Form I-485;
• Approved Form I-929;
• Identity and relationship evidence;
• Medical documentation required by current Form I-485 instructions;
• Evidence addressing discretion; and
• Other evidence required by the specialized U-family adjustment rules.

This adjustment application is distinct from the principal's Form I-485.

I-929 family members are not required to prove ordinary admissibility except INA §212(a)(3)(E)

The specialized regulation provides favorable treatment of inadmissibility for qualifying family members adjusting after Form I-929 approval.

The family member generally is not required to prove admissibility under the ordinary INA §212(a) grounds other than INA §212(a)(3)(E).

However, USCIS may consider conduct that would otherwise create inadmissibility when deciding whether the applicant merits favorable discretion.

Discretion applies to both routes

USCIS has significant discretionary authority in U-related adjustment cases.

Whether the person is:

• A U-1 principal;
• A U-2 through U-5 derivative; or
• A qualifying family member adjusting after Form I-929 approval,

the applicant should develop the favorable equities supporting permanent residence.

Relevant factors can include:

• Family unity;
• Victimization and humanitarian circumstances;
• Length of residence;
• Employment;
• Education;
• Caregiving;
• Medical needs;
• Community ties;
• Rehabilitation;
• Law-enforcement cooperation where applicable; and
• Other public-interest considerations.

Serious adverse conduct can outweigh family unity

USCIS may consider all relevant adverse factors when deciding discretion.

Particularly serious concerns can include:

• Serious violent crime;
• Sexual abuse of a child;
• Multiple drug-related crimes;
• Security concerns;
• Terrorism-related concerns;
• Recent repeated criminal conduct;
• Immigration fraud; and
• Other substantial adverse history.

Depending on the gravity of the negative factors, USCIS may require exceptionally strong hardship or mitigating equities and still retain discretion to deny.

Relationship changes can affect the two routes differently

Changes in family relationships should be analyzed under the specific route being used.

Marriage, divorce, age changes, adoption, or death can therefore require prompt review.

A derivative child's age should be reviewed before U status expires

Children can spend years waiting during the U process.

The record should distinguish:

• The age and relationship requirements used when derivative U status was originally granted;
• The derivative's current U classification;
• The validity period of the derivative status;
• Whether an extension is needed;
• The derivative's independent three-year physical-presence period; and
• The timing of Form I-485.

Do not assume that the principal's permanent residence automatically resolves every age or status issue belonging to the derivative.

U family members do not wait for the Visa Bulletin

Neither ordinary U-2 through U-5 adjustment nor the INA §245(m)(3) Form I-929 family-member process operates through the numerically backlogged family-preference Visa Bulletin.

Instead, timing depends on the special statutory requirements.

For a U derivative, that generally includes:

• Valid U status;
• Three years of continuous physical presence;
• No disqualifying revocation;
• The applicable cooperation requirement; and
• Favorable discretion.

For an I-929 family member, timing centers on:

• The principal U-1's adjustment process;
• The qualifying family relationship;
• Extreme hardship;
• Form I-929 approval; and
• Adjustment or immigrant visa processing after approval.

USCIS has exclusive jurisdiction

USCIS has exclusive jurisdiction over Form I-485 applications filed under INA §245(m).

This matters when a U principal, derivative, or qualifying family member has:

• Pending removal proceedings;
• A prior final removal order;
• An in absentia order;
• Prior immigration-court proceedings; or
• Another procedural history that ordinarily raises adjustment-jurisdiction questions.

The removal history may still create other legal consequences, but the specialized U-adjustment application is adjudicated by USCIS.

Post-filing travel can abandon adjustment

The specialized U-adjustment regulation contains its own abandonment rule.

A derivative U applicant or I-929 family member with a pending Form I-485 should not depart the United States without analyzing:

• Advance parole;
• Whether exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings are pending;
• The applicant's prior removal history;
• Continuous physical presence where applicable;
• Potential inadmissibility or discretionary consequences; and
• Whether departure will cause USCIS to deem Form I-485 abandoned.

For an applicant in exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings, the regulation treats departure while the U-based adjustment application is pending as abandonment.

Example: U-3 child adjusts independently

Example: spouse never entered in U-2 status

Example: I-929 filed while principal's I-485 is pending

Evidence checklist for a U derivative filing Form I-485

• Form I-797 granting U-2, U-3, U-4, or U-5 status.
• Form I-94.
• Evidence of current U status.
• Three years of continuous physical-presence evidence.
• Complete passport history.
• Travel chronology.
• Law-enforcement certification for qualifying lengthy absences where required.
• Evidence concerning any applicable post-U-status law-enforcement requests.
• Evidence supporting humanitarian grounds, family unity, or public interest.
• Evidence supporting favorable discretion.
• Certified criminal records where applicable.
• Prior immigration waiver records.
• Medical examination documentation.

Evidence checklist for Form I-929

• Evidence the petitioner is the principal U-1.
• Evidence the principal has filed Form I-485, is concurrently filing, or is already an LPR through U adjustment.
• Evidence the family member never held U nonimmigrant status.
• Marriage, birth, adoption, or other qualifying relationship evidence.
• Evidence the relationship existed at the required time.
• Extreme-hardship evidence.
• Applicant and principal declarations.
• Medical and psychological evidence where relevant.
• Crime-victim and law-enforcement records where relevant to hardship.
• Country-condition evidence where relevant.
• Evidence of family unity.
• Evidence supporting favorable discretion.
• Certified criminal records where applicable.
• Evidence explaining adverse immigration history.

Common U-family adjustment mistakes

Primary authorities

Related INA245.com guides

Frequently asked questions