1. Mistakes in Application or Ineligibility
The adjustment of status or green card application can be applied for either in the United States or through a consular post. Both of those will have the same requirements but it’s a little bit different in the processing nature. One of the most common things that we see when people come to our firm with a consultation is that they’ve had some issues with mistakes that are made on the application or they just were not eligible yet for that adjustment of status.
We really work to make sure that the applications are as correct and as perfect as we can make them in that initial stage because whatever gets submitted to USCIS is going to come back later. You’re going to have to be able to answer for those discrepancies.
Sometimes you can satisfy them and sometimes they’re harder to overcome once you already have a denial or a mistake that’s been made that we then have to correct.
2. Failure to Meet Application Requirements
You can be eligible for the application or green card but you don’t meet the application requirements. There are a lot of forms; all of those forms have to be supplemented by evidence. Sometimes you need original documents, not to mention the legal requirements of an adjustment of status or a green card application.
Many times, USCIS will give you the opportunity to correct some of those errors but we’ve actually seen people get denied after they’ve sent in subsequent information after they’ve received a request for evidence. Part of that was because they missed one line of something that USCIS was requesting and they didn’t send that in and so, they end up with a denial for that green card application.
Failure to meet the application requirements could also mean it’s a fee issue. Usually, they will send you back your entire application and then you can correct that. But sometimes, the missing application pieces come after you’ve already received a request for evidence.
3. Inadmissibility Issues
Inadmissibility is a broad word under the INA but it could mean a lot of different things. It could be a criminal-related issue or an unlawful presence-related issue. Sometimes people aren’t even aware that those might be issues if they haven’t discussed it with an attorney.
One of the most frequent causes of issues that we are able to overcome on a regular basis is the affidavit of support or the public charge inadmissibility issue. It’s making sure that the petitioner or the person sponsoring that relationship makes enough money to support that extra person in their household.
This is something that is probably the greatest area that we see in our firm with that green card application that you really can talk through and come up with a good plan and usually be successful in that arena.