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Consular Processing / Adjustment of Status

Consular Processing and Adjustment of Status

An individual may apply for an immigrant visa or green card at the U.S. embassy in his or her home country. We are able to arrange all paperwork and applications from our office to facilitate an approval in another country. If you have an approved family or employment based petition, as well as a current visa number from your country of origin, you can obtain immigrant visas through one of two processes: 1) consular processing or 2) adjustment of status.

Consular Processing

Consular Processing is used when a person wishes to complete the process in his or her home country or another country other than the U.S. This process can be used in both employment- based and family-based immigration cases and is similar to Adjustment of Status. Once an immigration petition (e.g. I-140 or I-130) has been approved and a visa number is assigned, the required in-person interview at the Consulate will be scheduled.

If you are eligible for both Consular Processing and Adjustment of Status, please speak to Alan Heckler to decide which would be the better choice for your case.

Consular Processing:

• Takes less time to complete than adjustment of status
• Must take place at a US consulate located at the applicant's country of birth or last foreign residence
• Doesn't come with the benefit of EAD and AP
• Doesn't allow 245i, mandatory for persons who have been out of status or otherwise are subject to reentry bar
• May be more expensive due to travel and time needed for medical exam and immigration interview in another country
• When denied, cannot be appealed and will only be reviewed by a higher ranking USCIS officer under limited conditions.

Adjustment of Status

"Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status" (Form I-485), is the final step of the green card process and is used by a person in the U.S. This process is used when individuals are currently in the U.S. and saves them the inconvenience of returning to their home country for Consular Processing.

Generally no interview will be required in an employment-based case only. For marriage-based adjustment of status applications, there is always an interview. If your case has complications such as criminal history, you may be asked to be interviewed before your I-485 can be approved. If this happens, USCIS will forward your case to a local office for scheduling.

Who is eligible to File I-485?

• A person with an approved immigrant petition, or who will file along with an immigrant petition concurrently, and a visa number is available.
• A principal I-485 applicant's child or spouse
• A K-1 fiance´ of a U.S. citizen or a K-2 dependent,
• A person with asylum or refugee status
• A native or citizen of Cuba
• A person who has qualified for "Registry" provision (living in U.S. since before 1/1/1972)

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