INA 245(i) Lawyer — Grandfathered Adjustment of Status

INA 245(i) is a limited adjustment provision for certain people grandfathered by qualifying historical filings. It may permit adjustment despite entry without inspection and particular status or employment bars, if the applicant independently qualifies for permanent residence, is admissible or eligible for relief, and meets every other applicable requirement.

A person may be grandfathered through a qualifying immigrant petition or labor certification properly filed by April 30, 2001, that was approvable when filed. Some eligible spouses and children can also be grandfathered. Grandfathering may survive changes in the original petition, but it does not itself provide status or a green card.

The historical immigrant petition or qualifying labor certification must have been properly filed by April 30, 2001, and have been approvable when filed. That deadline is not a deadline for every later Form I-485: a grandfathered individual may seek adjustment today using a current qualifying immigrant basis.

Where the qualifying filing was made after January 14, 1998, the original grandfathered principal beneficiary must establish physical presence in the United States on December 21, 2000. A derivative need not prove personal presence on that date, but must establish the qualifying principal presence where required.

Under 8 CFR 245.10, the historical filing must have been properly filed, meritorious in fact, and nonfrivolous as of its filing date. It is not enough to find a receipt if the original qualifying relationship or job offer was fictitious, or the case otherwise lacked a valid basis when submitted.

Potentially. INA 245(i) can overcome the normal INA 245(a) inspection and admission or parole prerequisite for an eligible grandfathered adjustment applicant. Other grounds of inadmissibility, prior removal issues, visa availability and discretion still require independent analysis.

Potentially. INA 245(i) can exempt eligible applicants from certain adjustment restrictions arising from unlawful status and unauthorized employment. It does not erase unlawful presence, automatically waive inadmissibility, or confer lawful nonimmigrant status.

The applicant ordinarily submits Form I-485 together with Form I-485 Supplement A and supporting evidence of grandfathering, as well as the underlying immigrant classification, required medical and other adjustment evidence. Exact forms, tribunal jurisdiction and concurrent filing rules depend on the case.

An additional $1,000 sum normally applies to each INA 245(i) adjustment application in addition to the regular I-485 fee. Statutory and regulatory exemptions exist, including qualifying unmarried applicants under age 17 and certain Family Unity Program beneficiaries. Verify the current payment procedure before filing.

Start with a dated copy of the historical I-130, I-140 or labor certification, agency receipt or labor certification filing evidence, and proof the case was meritorious in fact when filed. Depending on the filing date and claimed family relationship, add December 21, 2000 physical presence records, marriage or birth records, and the current immigrant basis.

Identify the precise historical qualifying petition or labor certification and its original beneficiary, filing date, bona fide basis and disposition. Reconstruct the family and travel timeline, test any physical presence requirement, then independently evaluate the current green card route, inadmissibility and jurisdiction.

Sometimes. A petition that was properly filed and approvable when filed can preserve grandfathering despite a later denial, withdrawal or revocation caused by circumstances arising after filing. A filing that was defective or unmeritorious from the beginning does not qualify merely because it was submitted by the deadline.

Yes, in appropriate cases. A person can be grandfathered by one historical qualifying petition or labor certification and seek adjustment based on a different, currently valid family, employment or other qualifying immigrant category. The current basis must independently support an available immigrant visa and adjustment eligibility.

A spouse or child who satisfied the relevant derivative relationship and eligibility rules connected to the historical filing may be independently grandfathered. A person who becomes the spouse or child later may have only an accompanying or following to join avenue in some situations and may not retain independent grandfathering. Dates and relationship history are critical.

No. Where the original qualifying filing occurred after January 14, 1998, the relevant physical presence evidence concerns the original principal beneficiary. Derivative cases still require proof of the qualifying relationship and the principal’s required presence.

No. Section 245(i) addresses specified adjustment restrictions, not every inadmissibility ground. Unlawful presence can continue to accrue before a qualifying filing, and departure, removal, unlawful reentry or misrepresentation can trigger separate INA 212 grounds requiring careful analysis.

No. Grandfathering alone does not provide status, deferred action, employment authorization or permission to return after travel. An adjustment-based EAD or advance parole, where available, requires a separate eligible application and adjudication; departure may have consequences.

Generally not through that substitution. Under 8 CFR 245.10(j), only the person who was the beneficiary by the statutory deadline may be grandfathered through that labor certification; a substitution after the deadline does not create new grandfathering.

A qualifying historical filing could have occurred decades ago, but a grandfathered applicant who presently qualifies for adjustment may submit a new Form I-485 and Supplement A under current rules. INA 245(i) is not a new amnesty program or a reopened filing window for a qualifying historical petition.

8 CFR 245.10(n) permits a combination of reliable records from before and after the date when no single document establishes presence. Examples include official immigration records, school or medical records, leases, pay stubs, bank transactions, utility bills and other dated records, assessed as a whole.