245(a) Adjustment
The first basic requirement for 245(a) eligibility to adjust status related to form of entry into the U.S.
What is inspected and admitted or paroled?
What is April 30, 2001?
The penalty fee that must be paid by most people in order to adjust under 245(i).
What is $1000?
The CSPA acronym stands for this law.
What is the Child Status Protection Act?
The two possible immigration statuses an abuser must have for the abuse survivor to be eligible for VAWA.
What is US citizen or permanent resident (LPR)?
The two 245(c) bars to adjustment of status under 245(a) that do NOT apply to immediate relatives.
What are falling out of status and working without authorization?
If the 245(i) qualifying petition was filed AFTER 1/14/98 but on or before 4/30/01, the principal beneficiary must have complied with this additional requirement on 12/21/2000.
What is the principal beneficiary was physically present in the U.S. on that date?
The filing of an I-130 family petition OR one of these other documents on or before 4/30/01 will allow a person to qualify for 245(i).
What is an I-140 employer petition (or an I-526 investor petition or an employer labor certification?)
This is what happens to the immigration age of an immediate relative child whose parent files a petition for them and becomes a US citizen before they turn 21.
What is their immigration age is "frozen" under 21?
The family relationship the noncitizen must have with the abuser to qualify for a VAWA self-petition.
What is a spouse, parent or child of a US citizen or the spouse or child of an LPR?
These people can usually file adjustment applications at the same time as their visa petitions are filed because they are not subject to priority dates in the visa bulletin.
What are immediate relatives?
These people are automatically included in visa petitions in the preference categories, and can qualify for 245(i), even if not actually named in the petition.
What are derivative spouses and children of the principal preference beneficiary?
An old petition or labor cert that is ultimately abandoned or denied because of no response to an RFE still can be useful for 245(i) purposes if this 245(i) requirement was met at the time of original filing.
What is "approvable when filed."
This time is subtracted from a petition beneficiary child's biological age in order to determine their CSPA age, if they are a preference beneficiary.
What is the time the petition was pending?
A VAWA applicant who married a US citizen or LPR abuser and did not realize their spouse was still validly married to someone else may still qualify for VAWA as this type of spouse.
What is an "intended spouse?"
A visa being "immediately available" for a preference beneficiary to be able to adjust status, means that the visa petition has been approved, and one other thing has happened.
What is the priority date is current?
Derivative beneficiaries of a visa petition or labor cert are also considered "independently grandfathered" and can use 245(i) with any new petition if their relationship with the principal beneficiary came into existence as of this date, according to the BIA and ILRC.
What is April 30, 2001?
An after-acquired derivative cannot adjust status together with the principal beneficiary using 245(i) eligibility if the principal beneficiary is presently adjusting through this category of visa petition.
What is an "immediate relative" petition?
This must be done during a particular time period to preserve present and future CSPA eligibility when an immigrant visa "becomes available" to a preference beneficiary child.
What is "seek to acquire" within one year?
The actions of a third party may be sufficient to fulfill this requirement, if the abuser spouse, parent or adult child acquiesed, condoned or participated in the abuse.
Even if otherwise eligible to adjust status, a person could still be denied permanent residency if one of these grounds apply to them and no waiver is available or approved.
What are grounds of inadmissibility?
The term used for a spouse or child acquired after 4/30/01 who can adjust status as a dependent derivative with their spouse or parent who has 245(i) eligibility and is a preference beneficiary.
What is an "after-acquired" spouse or child?
USCIS claims that for independent grandfathering benefits for 245(i), the derivative beneficiary had to be in existence at this point in time.
What is the date of filing of the petition or labor cert?
Filing for adjustment of status, filing the DS-260, paying consular IV fees and filing an affidavit of support for a visa petition beneficiary -- are all forms of compliance with this rule.
What is "seek to acquire" within one year?
The mere availability of a waiver of inadmissibility for an act or conviction that had a "causal or logical relationship" to the battery or extreme cruelty can be sufficient to overcome a bar to this VAWA requirement.