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· US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Adjustment of status is now discretionary relief

Since 21 May 2026 meeting the technical requirements for a green card from inside the US is no longer sufficient on its own.

What changed

USCIS issued a policy memorandum stating that adjustment of status — applying for lawful permanent residence from within the United States — is a discretionary form of immigrant relief.

What it means for you

Satisfying every eligibility requirement no longer guarantees an approval. The strength of the overall record, and how it reads as a whole, now carries weight it did not carry before.

This rewards exactly what a complete, internally consistent evidence file does, and punishes the filing that technically qualifies but is thin, contradictory or unexplained.

Sources

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