Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing

An I-130 petition approval alone is not enough to obtain your immigration visa. The second step (taken concurrently with the filing if the visa is available, or otherwise done later on once the visa is available) is to apply for residency. Think of the I-130 as a petition to show your eligibility for an immigrant visa and the residency application as an application for the actual residency itself.

There are two pathways to residency with an approved (or in some cases filed) I-130: adjustment of status and consular processing.

Adjustment of status is an option for those who have already been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, is not otherwise inadmissible, and want to apply for their residency from within the United States.

Consular processing is available for those who are outside the United States or those who are in the U.S. but do not qualify for adjustment of status. Consular processing is essentially the process and interviewing at a U.S. embassy or consulate and then obtaining the visa to present oneself at a U.S. port of entry to be admitted. Residency is technically not obtained until an officer admits the applicant at the U.S. port of entry.

If you are in the United States either without status or have an been removed from the United States previously, it is important that you discuss your case with an immigration attorney before leaving the United States to consular process because you may be subject to a bar(s) of admissibility due to unlawful presence in the United States or a previous deportation(s). Waivers may be available to overcome these bars.

We would be happy to discuss the specifics of your case to determine which one of these options would be viable or preferrable in your circumstances.