Adjustment of Status & Consular Processing

What This Involves

Adjustment of status is the process some green card applicants use to complete their case without leaving the United States, most often through Form I-485. If your case instead calls for finishing the process at a U.S. consulate abroad, that’s called consular processing. We handle both, and as part of your case we help you understand which path applies to your situation and what it involves.

This is one of the case types we handle most often, whether the underlying petition is based on a family relationship, a marriage, or an employer’s sponsorship — and we’ve built our process around moving these cases forward carefully and keeping you informed the whole way.

How We Help

Green card cases move through several stages, and we’re with you at each one:

• Consultation and engagement. We start by talking through your situation. Once you decide to move forward, we send an engagement agreement and open your case.
• Intake and document collection. We send you a questionnaire and a checklist of the supporting documents your case needs, and we explain why each document matters — not just that it’s required.
• Preparing and filing. We prepare your I-485 petition (or your consular-processing paperwork) and every supporting form, review the full package before it goes out, and file your case with the correct government office.
• Tracking your case while it’s pending. We watch for your receipt notice, your biometrics appointment, and any correspondence from the government, and we pass along what we receive as soon as we receive it.
• Responding to government requests. If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or a consulate asks for more evidence or documentation, we review the request with you, explain what’s being asked for, and prepare the response together.
• Getting ready for your interview. If your case includes an interview — at a USCIS office or a U.S. consulate — we help you prepare for it.
• Staying in touch. We keep you updated at each stage of the process, so you’re never left wondering what’s happening with your case.

What to Expect Working With Us

Family-based and employment-based green card cases both come with paperwork, waiting, and — understandably — worry. We try to make the process as clear as possible: explaining each step before we ask you to do something, flagging what’s coming next, and being upfront if something in your case needs extra attention.

Consultations and case communication are available in English and Spanish — our office is glad to work with you in either language throughout your case.