Adjustment of Status
In the News: The Daily News, a major New York newspaper with 2.5 million daily readers, profiled Anna Valentini, Esq. and Susan Calvaruso of Valentini Law Offices, PLLC among immigration law experts who participated in the Daily News Citizenship Now! event from April 28, 2008 to May 2, 2008.
How Valentini Law Offices Can Benefit You: With an impressive number of approved adjustment of status cases under our belt, we have them down to an art. In our experience with numerous scenarios for adjustment of status, some being more complicated than others, the beneficiaries of our adjustment of status petitions receive their green cards within a few months.
Adjustment of status is available to aliens who are already in the United States and are eligible to change their status without leaving the country. All petitions for adjustment of status should be filed while the alien is maintaining a lawful presence in the US. There are limited exceptions to this rule that our attorney would be happy to discuss.
Valentini Law Offices, PLLC
(212) 213-8275
There are usually two parties in any adjustment of status application: the petitioner and the beneficiary. The petitioner can be an individual (U.S. citizen relative or lawful permanent resident relative) or a company (in cases of employment based petitions).
While numerous combinations exist, possible adjustment of status scenarios are as follows:
- H-1B to Employment Based Lawful Permanent Resident Status (green card)
- H-1B to Family Based Permanent Lawful Resident Status (green card)
- F-1 to Family Based Permanent Lawful Resident Status (green card)
- B-2 to Family Based Lawful Permanent Resident Status (green card)
- J-1 (not subject to two year residency requirement) to Family Based Lawful Permanent Resident Status (green card)
There are a number of factors which can work to significantly delay an adjustment of status case or even result in a denial of an otherwise approvable petition. Many of these are minor details which can be easily anticipated and avoided. This is why it is best to choose an immigration attorney who has experience with adjustment of status applications and is aware of all necessary requirements.
Through our experiences working with clients, we have been told numerous stories regarding the ways their particular cases have gone wrong. These details can be as minor as method of payment to something more substantial such as failing to provide adequate evidence to support the petition. It is unfortunate that in many of these cases, even where an error was committed through no fault of the applicants, it is necessary to pay additional government and/or attorney fees to rectify the situation. Deciding to retain a responsible immigration attorney to work on your case the first time minimizes the chances of your application being delayed by many years or denied altogether.
Aliens and their petitioners should be aware that preparation of an adjustment of status petition is a procedure that takes time and significant effort. For this reason, as soon as an alien decides to adjust his status, an alien should retain an immigration attorney.