Agency Memos & Announcements, Federal Agencies

INS to Require New Form I-485 After 9/30/00

7/26/00 AILA Doc. No. 00082301. Adjustment of Status

July 26, 2000

Memorandum For:

All Regional Directors, District Directors,
Service Center Directors, Forms Center Directors,
Telephone Center Directors and
National Customer Service Center Director

From:

William R. Yates
Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner
Immigration Service Division
Office of Field Operations

Subject:

Prior Versions of Form I-485, Revised Recently with an “N” Designation, Shall Be Accepted Until End of Fiscal Year 2000

Field offices, service centers and other offices that receive filed applications and petitions from the public are instructed to accept prior versions of the recently revised Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, through September 30, 2000.

Form I-485 contains several revisions, including registration of male applicants with the Selective Service System, a warning that travel outside the United States may trigger the 3- or 10-year bar to admission for some applicants due to their unlawful presence in the U.S., and information on when adjustment of status applicants should submit their required medical examinations when filing at a service center or field office. The changes are noted on Page 2 of this memorandum under the heading, Revisions on Form I-485.

Form I-485 was revised on February 7, 2000, with an “N” designation, meaning prior versions of the form should not have been used after that date. The revised form was recently printed and distributed to the field.

In the interest of customer service, INS offices shall accept prior versions of the Form I-485 until the end of the current fiscal year because some applicants, unaware that the form has been revised with an “N” designation, are continuing to file outdated I-485s with the Service. However, prior versions of the form received after September 30, 2000, shall be rejected and returned to the applicant with a revised Form I-485, or with instructions to call the INS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833) to order the revised form.

In the meantime, Service offices should not distribute prior versions of Form I-485 to the public. The outdated forms should be removed immediately from circulation and recycled according to standard procedures.

Revisions of Form I-485

The Form I-485 was revised to incorporate significant statutory, regulatory and policy changes. A key revision enables young men between the ages of 18 and 25 years to register with the Selective Service System as of the date the application is filed and accepted by INS. Other changes in the form’s instructions include:

  • an explanation on how travel outside the United States may adversely affect persons with pending adjustment applications, unless they are granted advance parole. Exceptions are noted for H and L nonimmigrants maintaining status who may travel on a valid H or L visa, and refugee and asylee adjustment applicants who may travel outside the United States on a valid refugee travel document, without the need to obtain advance parole.

  • a warning that travel outside the United States may trigger the 3- or 10-year bar to admission under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for some applicants with pending adjustment applications, if they were unlawfully present on or after April 1, 1997, in the United States for more than 180 days or more than a year, respectively, before applying for adjustment.

  • an explanation that an applicant who becomes inadmissible because of unlawful presence while his or her adjustment application is pending will need a waiver under section 212(a)(9)(B)(v) of the Act before the adjustment application may be approved. The waiver requires a showing of extreme hardship to the applicant’s U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, unless the applicant is a refugee or asylee, in which case a waiver may be granted for humanitarian reasons, to assure family unity, or if it is otherwise in the public interest under section 209(c).

  • information on when adjustment applicants should submit their required medical examination report when filing at an INS service center or field office; and that a K-1 fiancé(e) or K-2 dependent who has had a medical examination within the past year needs to submit only a vaccination supplement.

  • information on the submission of the Affidavit of Support (I-864), if the adjustment is based on a fiancé(e) petition, family-based petition or an employment-based visa petition based on a business owned by a family member.

  • an explanation concerning a required employment letter, if adjustment of status is based on an employment-based petition. The letter must be on the letterhead of the petitioning employer, confirming that the job noted in the petition is still available to the applicant, and stating the salary to be paid.

  • information on how the principal applicant’s derivative spouse and children, whether in the United States or abroad, can file to adjust their status or immigrate to the United States, using Form I-485 or Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, respectively.

To inform our external customers about the revised Form I-485 with the “N” designation and minimize the submission of the outdated versions of the form, copies of this memorandum will be distributed to the national office of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Interpreter Releases and national and local community-based organizations. The memorandum will also be placed on the INS Internet web site.

For further information, contact E.B. Duarte, Jr., Branch Chief, Customer Service Coordination Branch, Headquarters, Immigration Services Division, at 202/514-7464.

Accessible to Public.