Conditional Permanent Residents can adjust their status under a new basis

Conditional Permanent Residents can adjust their status under a new basis

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If you previously applied for a lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis (I-751) and your status ended, you can now re-apply for an adjustment of status through a new marriage to a US citizen or a petition by one of your children, for example.

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, in their Policy Manual regarding the adjustment of status, an alien that was granted lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis (CPR) was ineligible to adjust their status on a new basis under the provisions of INA 245(a). However, this has now changed.

“The Board of Immigration Appeals adopted a narrow interpretation of the regulation implementing this adjustment bar, stating that the bar no longer applies if USCIS terminates the alien’s CPR status”, you can read on the USCIS website.

This means that an alien whose CPR was previously terminated can adjust their status if they have a new basis for adjustment, if they are eligible to adjust, or if USCIS has jurisdiction over the adjustment application.

Since Green Cards issued to alien spouses are normally conditional, they are valid for only two years and after that, they could obtain a lawful permanent status if they proved that their marriage was bona fide. If the immigrants did not apply to a petition to “Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage” because they divorced or forgot they had to wait until an immigration judge affirmed the termination of the CPR before reapplying, but this has changed since now, if they have a new basis, they can adjust their status based on that. 

Adjusting status for a conditional permanent resident

When the conditional permanent resident wants to adjust their status again, they cannot reuse the immigration petition that is associated with the previous CPR adjustment or admission, they must have a new basis to adjust, which can be a marriage to a US citizen or another type of petition.

In addition, you should know that those aliens who were admitted with the K1 visa (fiancé(e)) may only readjust their status based on approval for Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) filed by the same US citizen who filed the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e).

If your adjustment of status on a new basis is accepted, the time you spent in your prior CPR status will not count toward the residency requirement for naturalization purposes.

If you are seeking to adjust your status in San Diego, California, it is best if you seek guidance from an experienced immigration attorney. There are many benefits from hiring an immigration lawyer, such as knowing what all of your available options are and what paperwork you will need, as well as evaluate if there is something important you need to know about or do before filing anything. Contact Kannan Law Firm today!