Adjustment of Status in U. S. or Consular Processing
Adjustment of Status is the process of filing an application for green card. The process can be utilized when the visa number is available and the applicant desirous of getting green card is present in the U.S. In most situations, most people present in the U. S. opt for adjustment of status in the U. S. if there is no personal or business need to process the visa at consulate abroad.
However, there can be situations when the applicant wants to get visa processing handled at consulate. Such situations can be personal e.g. applicant has to be abroad to wrap up persona affairs such as sell a property, complete a job assignment, let a child finish school year, etc. Such situation can also be business or professional such as job threat because of future lay off, better opportunity for the employer necessitating getting green card quicker, etc.
Most of the times, a green card applicant knows where the visa processing has to be done and stay the course. However, certain times, change in personal or business situation is abrupt necessitating a change later. In such situations, if an option is made and indication has been sent to Immigration Service that applicant will opt for adjustment of status here, change in intention has to be indicated to Immigration Service by the filing of a Form I-824, Request for Action on an Approved Application or Petition.
Such filing does impose some resource burden on the Immigration Service. It also creates confusion in the system increasing the risk of allocating more than one visa number to the same immigrant. Therefore, if a pending adjustment of status application (Form I-485) files a Form I-824 requesting that the visa petition be forwarded to a consulate the alien or the attorney of record will be notified that the I-824 will be treated as a request to withdraw the I-485. In accordance with 8 CFR 103.2(b)(8) the notice will provide the alien a response time in which to advise the Service on how they wish to proceed. The I-485 is to be terminated by written notice if the alien chooses to pursue consular processing or fails to respond within the time granted. This notice will also advise the alien of the termination of any employment authorization granted under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9). The I-824 is then to be approved, and the visa petition forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing.
Likewise, if the Service receives a "duplicate" immigrant visa petition requesting consular processing, and the alien has a pending I-485, the Service will notify the alien or the attorney of record that the duplicate petition will be treated as a request to withdraw the I-485, as above, provide a response time in which to advise the Service on how they wish to proceed. The I-485 is to be terminated by written notice if the alien wishes to pursue consular processing or fails to timely respond. This notice will advise the alien of the termination of any employment authorization granted under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9). The visa petition along with the duplicate is then to be forwarded to the NVC for processing.
Therefore, it is better to know your options well in advance. And if you don't, because of sudden change in personal or business situations, you just might have to stay the course and hope for the best.
