Frequently Asked Questions about Adjustment of Status (AOS) and Family Members
Adjustment for Family Basics
Adjustment for Spouses
Marriage After Filing Adjustment
Adjustment and Divorce or Separation
Yes, immediate family members (spouses and children under
21 years old) may apply for permanent residency as derivative beneficiaries.
Derivative beneficiaries may apply for an immigrant visa or adjust their status
to permanent resident if the principal beneficiary is eligible to apply or
adjust. For example, if a woman is eligible to adjust her status based on an
approved immigration petition filed by her U.S. citizen mother, the woman's
husband and children under 21 years old may also adjust their status in the
United States. The husband and the minor children are derivative beneficiaries.
Yes, your immediate family members may apply to adjust
status if they are now in the United States.
No, only immediate family members are eligible to apply as
derivative beneficiaries. Only U.S. citizens can file petitions for parents,
brothers and sisters to become permanent residents. Therefore, you would have
to become a permanent resident, naturalize to become a U.S. citizen once you are
eligible, and then file an I-130 petition for your parents and siblings.
No, only individuals who are currently in the United States
may apply to adjust their status. You can file an I-130 petition for your wife,
and she may apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate in her
home country once it is approved.
No. Because you are an immediate relative of a U.S.
citizen, you may file the I-130 petition and the I-485 application at the same
time.
Yes, you may apply for adjustment of status if an immigrant
visa is immediately available. If your visa number is not yet current, then you
must wait until a visa becomes available. The State Department’s Visa
Bulletin shows the dates when an immigrant petition must have been filed for
an immigrant visa to be available.
No. You have to leave the United States and apply for an
immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad.
It will be faster to get permanent residency for your
husband as a citizen than as a permanent resident. You may also file the
immigrant petition now as a permanent resident. Once you become a citizen, you
may request that your case be upgraded, because your husband would then qualify
as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen.
No. Once you become a permanent resident, you may file an
I-130 petition for your wife, wait until a visa becomes available, and have her
apply for an immigrant petition in her home country.
Yes, she would be eligible to apply for adjustment of
status and obtain her green card once she is in the United States.
You may apply to adjust your status, but the USCIS might
not grant it. B visas are only for temporary stays in the United States. If you
did not disclose that your husband had filed an immigrant petition for you when
you applied for the visa, the USCIS might conclude that you fraudulently
obtained that B visa because you intended to remain in the United States. If
your application is denied, you would have to leave the United States and apply
for an immigrant petition through consular processing.
If your application for permanent residency has not yet
been approved, your divorce will result in the denial of your application for
permanent residency.
Yes, so long as you are able to show that you married in
good faith, not for immigration benefits.
