Under current Immigration Law, a foreign national who has entered the United States illegally is not eligible to file for Adjustment of Status (Permanent Residence/Green Card) in the United States, and instead must depart the United States and process through the United States Consulate in their country of citizenship.

Immigration & Nationality Act § 245(i) granted foreign nationals who had entered the United States illegally the opportunity to file for Adjustment of Status if they had a qualifying Family Based (I-130; Petition for Alien Relative) or Employment Based (Labor Certification or I-140; Petition for Immigrant Worker) Immigrant Visa petition filed on their behalf on or before January 14, 1998. Or, in the alternative, a petition filed on their behalf on or before April 30, 2001, if the foreign national could prove by documentary evidence that they were physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000.

245(i) is a provision of law that will forgive a foreign national for entering the United States illegally, however it does not forgive other immigration violations, and foreign nationals should be aware that they may be subject to other grounds of inadmissibility, or be required to file waivers for other grounds of inadmissibility if they are eligible.

Even if a foreign national qualifies under Immigration & Nationality Act § 245(i), it is strongly advised that they contact one of our immigration attorneys in order to determine if extenuating circumstances such as waivers for grounds of inadmissibility need to be taken into consideration before a petition is filed.