Adjustment of status lets certain people who are already in the United States apply for a green card with USCIS instead of attending a visa interview abroad. The main application is Form I-485, usually filed with or after a family petition (Form I-130) or an employment petition (Form I-140). Whether you can use it depends on how you entered, your current status, your history, and whether a visa number is available in your category. A mistake can lead to denial and, in some cases, removal proceedings, so a lawyer's review before filing matters.
- Form I-485 lets eligible people seek permanent residence from inside the United States.
- It is usually paired with a family petition (I-130) or employment petition (I-140).
- Eligibility turns on manner of entry, current status, history, and visa availability.
- Errors on the application can lead to denial and sometimes removal proceedings.
Introduction
Adjustment of status is the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident from inside the United States, using Form I-485, instead of returning to your home country for a visa interview. This page explains how adjustment of status lawyers help family-based and employment-based applicants across Florida, what the process generally involves, and what to prepare before you file. If you want to discuss your own case, call 1-844-YO-PELEO or contact us.
Many people searching for an immigration lawyer for permanent residence are in a similar position: they are already in the country, perhaps married to a U.S. citizen, perhaps working for an employer who is willing to sponsor them, and they want to know whether they can stay and apply without leaving. The answer depends on how you entered, your current status, your history, and whether a visa number is available in your category.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules, forms and procedures change, so check current USCIS instructions or speak with a lawyer before you file anything. A mistake on an adjustment application can lead to a denial and, in some cases, to removal proceedings.
What Is Adjustment of Status and What Do Lawyers Do?
Adjustment of status lets certain people who are physically in the United States apply for a green card with USCIS rather than at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. The main application is Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. It is usually filed together with, or after, an underlying petition such as a family petition (Form I-130) or an employment petition (Form I-140).
People look for this help under many names: green card lawyers, permanent residency lawyers, employer-sponsored green card attorneys, or a lawyer who handles both a green card and a work visa. The work is similar in each case. A lawyer reviews your history to decide whether adjustment is available, prepares and organizes the filing, and stays involved through requests for evidence, biometrics, the interview and the decision.
What a permanent residency lawyer handles
- Screening entries, exits, status history, arrests and prior applications for anything that could bar adjustment
- Preparing the I-485 with related forms, such as the I-765 work permit and I-131 travel document requests
- Organizing civil documents, translations and the medical examination
- Responding to requests for evidence
- Preparing you for the interview and attending it with you
- Advising on travel while the case is pending, since leaving the U.S. without advance permission can abandon the application in many cases
A lawyer also flags issues that may require a waiver. If a waiver is needed, see our page on immigration waivers.
Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing?
There are two roads to a green card. Adjustment of status happens in the United States with USCIS. Consular processing happens at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, after the National Visa Center collects documents and the case is scheduled for an interview. The right road depends on how you entered, your current status and your history.
Adjustment generally lets you stay with your family and keep working while the case is pending, if you have or apply for work authorization. But not everyone can use it. As a general rule, the applicant must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, must have an immigrant visa number available, and must not be barred by certain status violations. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are excused from some of those status rules, and a limited group protected by section 245(i) can adjust despite an unlawful entry.
Consular processing can be the better or only choice for people who live abroad, who are not eligible to adjust, or who need a waiver after leaving the country. Because leaving the United States can trigger bars for some people, you should have your history reviewed before you travel or schedule an interview abroad.
How the Adjustment of Status Process Works in Florida
The steps differ by category, but most cases follow a similar path. USCIS makes the final decisions, and Florida applicants are generally assigned to the field office that serves their home address.
- Eligibility review. Your lawyer checks your entry, status, immigration history, criminal record and category, and decides whether adjustment, consular processing or another option fits.
- Underlying petition. A family petition or employment petition is filed, or is already approved, and a visa number must be available if your category requires one.
- I-485 filing. The application is filed with the supporting evidence, the medical examination form and, when required, the Affidavit of Support.
- Receipt and biometrics. USCIS issues receipt notices and schedules a fingerprint and photo appointment.
- Requests for evidence. If USCIS needs more information, it sends a request with a deadline.
- Interview. Many family cases and some employment cases are scheduled for an interview at the field office.
- Decision. USCIS approves, denies, or in some cases refers the matter for further review.
Family-Based Adjustment
Spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of adult U.S. citizens are immediate relatives. They can often file the I-130 petition and the I-485 together. Other family categories, such as relatives of permanent residents and siblings of citizens, must wait until a visa number is available under the Visa Bulletin before filing the I-485.
Family cases also require an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) from the petitioner, a medical examination by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, and usually an interview at the USCIS field office for your address. Marriage cases receive close attention to whether the relationship is genuine, so evidence of a shared life matters: joint documents, photographs, and statements from people who know the couple. Read more about our green card services and marriage-based green cards.
Employment-Based Adjustment
An employment based green card attorney usually works in three stages: PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor (when required), the I-140 immigrant petition, and the I-485 when the worker's priority date is current. Some categories, such as certain extraordinary-ability or national interest cases, do not require a job offer or labor certification. The employer-sponsored route requires close coordination with HR on job requirements, wage and recruitment, while also keeping the worker's status on track.
Workers often look for an employment green card lawyer when they hold H-1B, L-1 or another temporary status and want to stay long-term. The temporary visa and the green card case must be planned together, because a lapse in status or a job change at the wrong moment can create problems. A lawyer also checks whether job portability rules may apply once the I-485 has been pending long enough, so that a worker may be able to change positions without restarting the process. Those rules have conditions, and you should confirm them before giving notice to an employer.
Document Checklist for an Adjustment of Status Case
- Passport and every prior passport you still have, plus any visas
- I-94 arrival record and any approval, receipt or denial notices from USCIS
- Birth certificates and, where relevant, marriage certificates for you and the petitioner
- Divorce decrees or death certificates for any prior marriages
- Official court dispositions for any arrest or charge, even if it was dismissed
- Tax records and income evidence from the sponsor, for family cases that require an Affidavit of Support
- For employment cases: resume, degree documents, recent pay records and the employer's job offer
- Complete English translations of any foreign-language document
If something is missing, bring what you have. Part of the lawyer's job is to identify what else is needed and how to replace records that are hard to obtain.
Timeline and Processing Expectations for adjustment of status cases
Processing times vary by form, category and field office, and they change often. We do not quote them here. USCIS publishes current processing times on its website, and we check that information for your case. Family categories that depend on the Visa Bulletin can also involve a waiting period before the I-485 may be filed or approved.
The table below shows the general stages of an adjustment case and who is responsible at each one. The details vary, and some cases skip a stage.
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|
| Underlying petition | A family or employment petition is filed and reviewed | Petitioner, employer and USCIS |
| I-485 filing | Application, evidence, medical form and related requests are submitted | Applicant and lawyer |
| Biometrics | Fingerprints and photo are collected | Applicant and USCIS |
| Request for evidence | USCIS asks for missing or additional documents | Applicant and lawyer respond by the deadline |
| Interview | An officer reviews the case under oath | Applicant, petitioner and USCIS |
| Decision | Approval, denial or further review | USCIS |
Preparing for the Interview and Responding to Requests for Evidence
A request for evidence is not a denial. It is a notice that USCIS needs something more, and it comes with a deadline that usually cannot be extended. Answer every item in the request, label your exhibits clearly and send the response by the method the notice describes. A lawyer can help decide whether the request signals a weakness in the file or only a missing document.
For the interview, bring the originals of the documents you submitted, your interview notice and a government photo ID. In marriage cases, officers may ask each spouse about daily life, and inconsistent answers can raise concerns. Preparation helps you remember details accurately and stay calm. If you have an arrest, a past overstay or a prior application, the officer may ask about it, so you should answer truthfully and consistently with your file.
Common Problems That Delay or Derail Cases
Most denials and long delays come from a short list of problems, and many can be found before filing. Filing when no visa number is available can lead to rejection or denial. Missing or untranslated civil documents slow the case. Old arrests or charges, even dismissed ones, can cause trouble if they are not disclosed. Prior visa overstays or entries that were not lawful may bar adjustment. Traveling abroad before a travel document is approved may be treated as abandoning the application.
When a problem like these appears, the answer is not always a denial. Some issues can be addressed with a waiver, with a different filing category, or with a different timing. That is why a review before you file is useful.
How to Compare Green Card Lawyers
People often search for the most highly recommended immigration lawyer for a green card case. A more useful approach is to ask each lawyer specific questions. How many adjustment cases like mine do you handle? Who will prepare my file? How will you prepare me for the interview? What risks do you see in my history? Adjustment of status law firms vary in how they communicate, so ask how quickly you can expect replies and in what language.
Florida Bar rules prevent lawyers from making comparative claims, so judge by the answers you get. Be cautious about any lawyer who guarantees an outcome, and be wary of anyone who suggests leaving out an arrest or a prior application.
Cost Factors and Fee Breakdown for adjustment of status cases
The total cost of an adjustment case has several parts, and each one changes over time or depends on your facts.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|
| Form I-485 filing fee | Check USCIS for the current fee | Fee amounts and exemptions depend on the category and age |
| I-130 or I-140 petition fee | Check USCIS for the current fee | Paid by the petitioner or employer, depending on the case |
| Work permit and travel document | Check USCIS for the current fee | Filing instructions change, so confirm before you file |
| Medical examination | Varies by case | Performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon |
| Translations and records | Varies by case | Depends on the number of documents |
| Attorney fees | Varies by case | Discussed at the consultation |
USCIS sets and updates its government fees, and the amounts can differ for family, employment and humanitarian categories. Always check the current fee schedule and form instructions before you pay, because the wrong fee can cause a rejection.
Attorney fees depend on the complexity of the case, such as whether a waiver, an arrest record or a prior removal order is involved. Ask for a written explanation of what is included, and what happens if an extra filing is needed later.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for adjustment of status cases
- Filing the I-485 before a visa number is available in your category
- Leaving the United States while the case is pending without confirming you have permission to return
- Failing to disclose an arrest, even one that was dismissed or sealed
- Submitting birth or marriage certificates without complete English translations
- Working or changing jobs without first checking your status and any portability rules
- Giving inconsistent answers at a marriage interview
- Missing a request-for-evidence deadline or an interview date
When to Call a Lawyer for adjustment of status cases
Call a lawyer before you file if you entered without inspection, overstayed, have any arrest history, have a prior removal order, or plan to travel while a case is pending. You should also speak with one if USCIS has sent a request for evidence, a notice of intent to deny, or a Notice to Appear. If your case looks straightforward, a review can still confirm that you chose the right category and the right sequence of filings.
Related guides for a different focus: Adjustment of Status Florida Guide: Your I-485 Green Card Path; permanent residency attorney.
About Vasquez Law Firm
Vasquez Law Firm practices immigration law only. Our only office is at 1111 E Amelia Street in Orlando, Florida. We serve clients throughout Florida by phone and secure video, and we meet in person at the Orlando office. William J. Vásquez is the founding attorney, and consultations are offered in English and Spanish. We handle family and employment adjustment cases and can attend USCIS interviews with you. To talk about your situation, call 1-844-YO-PELEO or visit our contact page.
Sources and References
Related services: green card services, immigration lawyers in Florida
Other ways people search for this
People look for this help under different names. Related searches include orlando family immigration law firm; best immigration lawyer for green card; green card & work visa lawyer; greencard lawyers; immigration lawyer adjustment of status; immigration lawyer for employment based green card; employer-sponsored green card attorney.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different; speak with an immigration lawyer about your situation.
