CASE: Adjustment of Status / 245(i)
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: North Carolina
Our Filipino client came to the U.S. on a B-2 visa in March 2015. Later, his authorized status expired and he overstayed his status. In September 2015, his wife came to the United States on a valid B-2 visa and at the time of her adjustment of status filing, she was still in status.
Our client contacted us around September of 2015 for consultation and sought legal assistance for their adjustment of status. After consultation, we determined that he is eligible for adjustment of status under INA 245(i) and the priority date for his case was current in September 2015.
His brother filed an I-130 petition for him back in 1992. As some of you know, priority dates for Philippine nationals under the family-based immigration category F4 are more retrogressed than other countries. The I-130 petition was approved by the INS in 1992. However, he could not apply for his green card until his priority date became current. Therefore, he had to wait for more than 20 years in order to even apply for his green card.
Section 245(i) of the INA allows certain foreign nationals to become permanent residents of the United States despite entering without inspection (EWI) or overstaying (if beneficiary of petitions filed not by an immediate relative). Immigrants are barred from adjusting their status if they entered the United States without first being inspected and admitted by a Customs and Border Patrol officer and if they have either failed to maintain lawful status or been unlawfully employed in the country, with certain exceptions. Section 245(i) was first added to law in 1994 to allow certain people who otherwise would not be eligible to adjust their status to be able to do so upon payment of a $1,000 fine.
Four years later, on January 14, 1998, Congress phased Section 245(i) out of law. Immigrants and their families who had already begun the process of changing their status under Section 245(i) by January 14, 1998 were grandfathered into the section’s benefits. However, this left thousands of otherwise qualified persons who had not begun the process unable to adjust status in the United States. They could not return to their countries to begin the legal process of obtaining their permanent residency in the United States also without being subject to either a three- or a 10-year bar upon returning to the United States.
On December 21, 2000, Congress extended the qualifying date for Section 245(i) benefits to April 30, 2001. This law allowed immigrants who had labor certifications or visa petitions filed on their behalf between 1998 and April 30, 2001, to qualify for adjustment of status. Those who were beneficiaries of petitions filed prior to January 14, 1998 could still adjust despite an EWI record, and those people do not have to meet the December 2000 physical presence requirement.
On September 30, 2015, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application under 245(i) for our client and his wife. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.
Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On April 18, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Charlotte, North Carolina USCIS office. After the interview, our client and his wife’s green card applications were approved.