Eligible foreign nationals in the United States on non-immigrants visas, are allowed to change their status and become lawful permanent residents of the United States. To do so, they must apply for adjustment of status by filing the USCIS Form I-485. However, all the non-immigrants may not become eligible to adjust status and they need to meet few prerequisites to apply for adjustment of status.
Foreign nationals in the United States, may file Form I-485, to adjust status and to become permanent residents and they need not get back to their home countries to file an application for adjustment of status. This process does not apply to foreign nationals who are outside the United States and people who are not within the United States, can become lawful permanent residents through consular processing.
You must be physically present in the country, to apply for adjustment of status and you must be admissible into the country. Before you file an application for adjustment of status, you must first make sure that you are eligible to adjust your status. Foreign nationals who hold non-immigrant visas are likely to become eligible for adjustment of status, if they are sponsored by their US citizen relatives or by US employers. In such cases, the US employer or the relative who is ready to sponsor you must file a petition for you. However, asylees and refugees can also file applications for adjustment of status and obtain Green Cards.
If you are in the United States on a non-immigrant visa and if your US citizen family member is willing to sponsor you for lawful status, the sponsor must file Form I-130, for you. If a US employer offers you a job and if the employer is willing to sponsor you for lawful status, Form I-140 must be filed by the US employer. In these cases, after the immigrant petition filed by your relative or the US employer, is approved, you may file Form I-485. You may not wait until the USCIS approves Form I-130, if you are a US citizen’s immediate relative and you may file Form I-485, while Form I-130 is filed and this process is called concurrent filing.
If you are not an immediate relative of a US citizen and if you belong to some other category, you must not file Form I-485 while the sponsor files an immigrant petition for you. You cannot go for concurrent filing, if you are not an immediate relative of a US citizen. You must carefully complete Form I-485 and you must not enter incorrect information. Moreover, you must not fail to include the required supporting documents along with the application package. USCIS will approve your application only after reviewing your supporting documents and making sure that you are eligible for lawful status.
After the approval of your application, you will be required to report for an immigration interview after appearing for biometrics collection. USCIS will decide on your case, after your interview and send you its decision by mail. Hence, this process will help non-immigrants in the United States to adjust status and to obtain US Green Cards.