Written by Eric Chambers from our Las Vegas, NV location. Call us today if you need any guidance with this process.

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If there are people in Las Vegas in Nevada that are legal aliens, they can apply for permanent residency. When this occurs, they are going to be able to adjust their status. This is only available for legal aliens. This means that they will have to have eligibility rights for a green card. They must be in the United States, physically in the Las Vegas area if that’s where they want to do this. The only thing available to individuals not in the United States is consular processing which can also lead to adjusting their status. Anyone in the Las Vegas area can work with immigration attorneys that will help them every step of the way. There are some frequently asked questions that people often have as they are trying to go through this process to become permanent residents of America.

What You Need To Know About Adjustment Of Status

When a foreigner has migrated into the United States in a lawful manner, they can go through an application procedure that can change their actual status. For example, they are only here are typically on a visa. That means they have a limited amount of time. They could be here for business, or they could be here for a vacation. Whatever visa you have, this simply means that you are only here for a temporary amount of time. If you can apply, and you succeed, you will become a permanent green card holder. If you are outside of the United States, this is simply not an option.

What Three Things Do You Need To Be Eligible For This Change?

There are several things that you need to have in order before you can even apply. First, as mentioned above, eligibility for a green card is something you need to have. If you are here in the United States, and you did come in legally, that is something that is also mandatory. Additionally, if you do have a visa, and you are not over that timeframe which is legally allowed, this is going to not negate the possibility of having your status changed. Finally, anyone that does this has to be in the United States. You have to physically be here to do this. If all of these requirements are met, you will have no problem at all getting this done. You do need to, however, work with an attorney in many cases just to make sure it is done properly.

What If You Want To Do It Yourself?

If you would prefer doing this yourself, then you need to fill out a couple of forms. I-94 and I-485 are ones that you will need to fill out. In addition to this, as with anybody trying to get permanent residency, you have to submit to a biometrics fingerprinting. A medical exam also needs to be taken. The only time that you may not have to take a medical exam is if you are a refugee, or if you currently have a fiancé that is a visa holder. These forms are then submitted to USCIS. This is the Department of immigration services for citizenship. They will evaluate all of this information, and if you do everything right, including pass the interview, you should be given status as a legal green card holder.

How Long Does It Take To Get This Done?

It’s going to take several weeks at least to go through all of this. You have to understand that there are quite a few other people doing this at the same time. If you have not been able to do this, then you need to consider getting this done as soon as you can. It may have been a problem with the paperwork. You may not have been able to physically be in Las Vegas for interview. These are all problems that can arise. When you do this, just make sure that you are focused on getting it done, you have the time set aside, and you remember to make all of your appointments. One way around this is by marrying a US citizen. If they are a legal citizen, then this can expedite the process. If you are eligible for a green card, but you are currently overseas, you will have to go through the consular processing instead of the procedures listed above. Regardless of what you do, or how you do it, it’s going to take weeks, sometimes months, for this entire process to reach its conclusion.

The change of status that you seek may be yours in a short period of time. If you do everything right, it’s going to make it easier. If you are married to a US citizen, this can make the process very streamlined. If you are not in the country, then you will not have the ability to submit the forms and go through the interview. Remember to get your physical, get fingerprinted, and make sure that your time here with your visa, if you have one, has not expired. It is a fine line that you have to walk, but it will be well worth it as you move forward toward becoming a US citizen.