What to do if Adjustment of Status (to Permanent Resident) Is Denied
Try to Avoid a Denial in the First Place
USCIS rarely issues a flat denial without giving you some warning beforehand, usually at the end of your green card interview.
For example, if you appear to have a medical condition that would make you inadmissible, USCIS may send you to a doctor for another examination. If you haven’t proven to USCIS’s satisfaction that your marriage to your U.S. citizen petitioner is valid, USCIS may ask you to provide further documents showing that you and your spouse live together and share financial assets and so forth.
What Happens When Your Application Is Denied
If USCIS rejects your application for adjustment of status, it will send you a written notification informing you the reason for the denial. There is no procedure for appealing this decision. But you may be able to request that USCIS review its decision, or simply reapply, as described below.
Unfortunately, you may also have the “opportunity” to have an immigration judge hear your case, that’s because, if you don’t have a valid, unexpired right to be in the United States, most likely under a visa, USCIS will send you into immigration court.
Requesting USCIS Review
In certain situations, you can ask USCIS’s Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) to review the decision. This is done on Form I-290B. However, you’ll need an attorney’s help with this. The idea is to prove that the USCIS personnel who reviewed your case made a mistake, and USCIS rarely likes to admit to mistakes.
You must pay an application fee for this review, which is currently $630.
It is important to file a request for review quickly. You have 30 calendar days from the date of service of the decision to submit the request. If the decision was mailed to you, you must submit the request within 33 calendar days. Weekends and public holidays are counted while determining the number of days. Once USCIS receives your request to review, it will process your request and inform you of its decision in writing.
Other Options
This can actually be easier than filing a request for review, because you’re not asking USCIS to admit a mistake.
However, if you don’t have a lawful right to remain in the United States, you may have to leave in order to succeed at this. Meanwhile, if you’ve already spent time in the U.S. unlawfully, you may not be allowed back for several years. Don’t make a decision about what to do without consulting an attorney first.
Of course, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve cleared up whatever underlying problem caused your adjustment of status application to be denied. Unfortunately, not all problems can be cleared up. For example, if you’re clearly inadmissible because of a criminal record, or USCIS has obtained convincing evidence that your marriage is fraudulent (and it really is), neither appeals nor further applications are likely to help much.
You May Need to Hire a Lawyer
Adjustment of status is granted at the discretion of the USCIS. If your application for adjustment of status has been denied, you can be subject to deportation (removal) proceedings. Seek the assistance of an experienced U.S. immigration attorney. The attorney can help you decide what to do next.
