By: Dawn M. Lurie, John W. Mazzeo, Leon Rodriguez, and Mia Batista

This significant development may have wide-ranging impacts, as Adjustment of Status is a pathway available to family, employment-based, and investment-based (EB-5) immigrants and organizations.

On Friday, May 22, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum (Memorandum) that could meaningfully affect how Adjustment of Status applications (Adjustment) are adjudicated moving forward, though USCIS implementation details remain limited and operational impacts are still developing. While the Memorandum does not change the statutory eligibility requirements for Adjustment under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA or Act), it signals a potentially significant shift in how immigration officers may exercise discretion when adjudicating Adjustment applications. The Memorandum emphasizes that Adjustment is an “extraordinary act of administrative grace” because it exempts the foreign national from having to exit the United States to complete green card processing and should only be exercised sparingly.