Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status Guide (2026)

Section 245(i) is one of the most valuable — and most misunderstood — provisions in U.S. immigration law. It lets certain people who entered the United States without inspection, overstayed a visa, or worked without authorization adjust status to lawful permanent resident inside the U.S. instead of having to consular process abroad and trigger 3- or 10-year unlawful presence bars. Another option for long-term undocumented residents is Section 249 Registry, which requires continuous residence since 1972.

The catch: you must be “grandfathered” by an immigrant petition or labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001. No new grandfathering has been available since then. But for people who qualify, 245(i) remains the single most powerful adjustment tool in the immigration system.

What Section 245(i) does

Normally, INA § 245(a) only lets you adjust status in the U.S. if you were “inspected and admitted or paroled” and have maintained lawful status. INA § 245(c) adds bars for people who have worked without authorization or been out of status.

Section 245(i) waives those bars for grandfathered applicants. It lets you:

• Adjust status inside the U.S. even though you entered without inspection (EWI)
• Adjust status inside the U.S. even though you overstayed your visa
• Adjust status inside the U.S. even though you worked without authorization
• Avoid the 3- and 10-year unlawful presence bars that would otherwise be triggered if you left to consular process

In exchange, you pay a $1,000 penalty on Form I-485 Supplement A.

Who is grandfathered

You are grandfathered under Section 245(i) if any of the following was filed on or before April 30, 2001:

• Form I-130 (family-based immigrant petition) naming you as the beneficiary
• Form I-140 (employment-based immigrant petition) naming you as the beneficiary
• Form ETA-750 or ETA-9089 (labor certification) filed on your behalf

If the qualifying filing was made between January 15, 1998 and April 30, 2001, you must also show you were physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000 (the date the LIFE Act was enacted).

If the qualifying filing was made on or before January 14, 1998, there is no physical-presence requirement.

The “approvable when filed” requirement

The grandfathering petition must have been approvable when filed. This means:

• The petition was properly filed
• The underlying relationship or job offer was bona fide at the time
• The petition could have been approved at the time of filing

The petition does not need to have actually been approved. Petitions that were denied for later reasons (the petitioner died, the marriage ended, the job was eliminated) can still grandfather the beneficiary, as long as the petition was approvable when it was filed.

Derivative grandfathering

If a principal beneficiary was grandfathered, their spouse and children at the time of the filing are also grandfathered — regardless of whether they later divorced, married someone else, or aged out.

This is a crucial point. An adult who was a minor child listed on a pre-2001 family petition can still use their grandfathering today, 25 years later, to adjust through a completely different petition.

Using 245(i) with a new petition

Here is where 245(i) becomes genuinely powerful: the grandfathered petition does not have to be the one you ultimately use to get a green card.

Example: You were listed as a derivative child on your parent’s 1999 I-130 filing. That petition was eventually denied. Fast forward to 2026. You are now 38 years old, married to a U.S. citizen, and entered the U.S. without inspection in 2015. Without 245(i), you would have to leave the U.S. to consular process and trigger a 10-year bar. With 245(i), you can adjust status inside the U.S. on your current spouse’s I-130 — using your original 1999 grandfathering.

The $1,000 penalty

Grandfathered applicants pay a $1,000 penalty on Form I-485 Supplement A when they file for adjustment. This is in addition to the regular I-485 filing fee.

Exempt from the penalty:

• Children under 17 at the time of filing
• Certain applicants whose only 245(c) bar is a technical one
• Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens filing without any 245(c) bar other than overstay (in which case 245(i) may not even be needed)

When you still need 245(i) as an immediate relative

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, unmarried under-21 children) already get a partial pass on 245(c): they can adjust despite overstay and unauthorized work, as long as they were originally inspected and admitted. But they cannot adjust if they entered without inspection.

For EWI immediate relatives, 245(i) is still required — it is what lets them adjust inside the U.S. without leaving and triggering unlawful presence bars.

The filing process

Step 1: Confirm your grandfathering

Gather evidence of the pre-2001 petition:

• Receipt notice or approval notice
• Copy of the filed Form I-130, I-140, or labor certification
• USCIS response letters
• For December 21, 2000 physical presence: leases, pay stubs, school records, tax filings

Step 2: Identify your current qualifying petition

You need a current approvable immigrant petition — new marriage, new employer petition, new parent-child filing, etc.

Step 3: File Form I-485 with Supplement A

• Form I-485 with the standard filing fee ($1,440)
• Form I-485 Supplement A with the $1,000 penalty
• Evidence of grandfathering
• Evidence for the current petition

Step 4: Attend biometrics and interview

Standard adjustment of status process.

Step 5: Approval

USCIS grants permanent residence, and the 245(c) bars are waived by statute.

Costs in 2026

• Form I-485 filing fee: $1,440
• Form I-485 Supplement A penalty: $1,000
• Biometrics: included in I-485
• Medical exam: $200–$500
• Attorney fees (typical): $3,000–$8,000

Timelines

• I-485 adjudication: 12–24 months
• Priority date wait (if family preference or employment based): varies by Visa Bulletin

Common mistakes

• Assuming 245(i) is gone. It is not. It is just not available for new petitions. People grandfathered by pre-2001 filings can still use it.
• Losing the original paperwork. Without evidence of the grandfathering petition, USCIS will not grant 245(i) treatment. Order a FOIA copy of your A-file early.
• Not checking derivative grandfathering. Many people do not realize that a parent’s or spouse’s old filing can grandfather them today.
• Forgetting the $1,000 penalty. The Supplement A fee is frequently missed and causes rejections.

When 245(i) is not enough

245(i) waives the 245(c) adjustment bars. It does not waive:

• Criminal inadmissibility (crimes of moral turpitude, controlled substances, etc.)
• Fraud or misrepresentation (requires I-601 waiver)
• Reentry after removal bars (requires I-212 waiver)
• Security-related inadmissibility

If you have one of these issues, you may still need a separate waiver even with 245(i) grandfathering.

Not legal advice. Section 245(i) cases turn on old records and precise statutory requirements. If you think you might be grandfathered, work with an experienced immigration attorney and request your A-file from USCIS before filing.