USCIS Updated Policy Guidance on I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications

22 May 2026

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Issued a policy memo restricting the approvals of I-485 applications for U.S. permanent resident status. The I-485 application can be filed by a person currently inside the U.S. who is applying for a U.S. “green card”. If approved, this application allows the person to receive the green card without leaving the U.S. This new policy instructs USCIS officers to review these applications very carefully, and reminds them that the adjustment application approval is an exercise of “extraordinary discretionary relief”. The implication is that most people applying for a green card may need to leave the U.S. and apply at the U.S. Consulate, instead of from within the U.S.

The guidance does remind officers that applying for a green card while holding a status with “dual intent”, such as an H-1B visa status, would not be a violation of that status.

You can read the policy here.