During a recent meeting with USCIS, immigration lawyers questioned why the agency requests all status documents ever issued to an applicant for adjustment if the case is based on employment, when according to long-standing guidance the only relevant periods of being out of status under the immigration laws are those that occurred since the most recent admission. In response, the agency provided several reasons why all of an applicant’s status is reviewed. The main reason is to look for inadmissibility due to unlawful-presence, previous periods of unlawful presence that may trigger one of the bars (three years for 180 days of unlawful presence and 10 years for one year or more of unlawful presence). For example, an individual who overstayed his or her previous visa status for a year or more would be ineligible to adjust status for 10 years, unless eligible for a waiver. Another example given when an applicant’s full nonimmigrant visa status history is relevant relates to J-1 exchange visitors who may be subject to the two-year home residency requirement, unless waived. USCIS also states that because adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, previous violations of status or overstays can be weighed as a negative factor when adjudicating the adjustment application even though status from the last lawful admission forward is the critical portion that is examined.Â
