Updated May 23, 2026.

Can I Still File Adjustment of Status in 2026? Yes - Here's What Changed

If you have been reading panicked group-chat messages this week, take a breath. The door is still open, and this article will show you exactly what changed and what you need to do next.

Yes, adjustment of status filing remains available in 2026. The May 21, 2026 USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 did not close Form I-485, did not amend the statute, and did not add new bars. It changed how adjudicating officers weigh discretion. Eligible people may still file. The bar for documentation, however, is higher.

What Did USCIS Actually Do on May 21, 2026?

USCIS published Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, which reframes adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a discretionary form of relief rather than an entitlement. The memorandum text on USCIS.gov reaffirms long-standing Board of Immigration Appeals precedent and directs adjudicating officers to conduct an individualized weighing of positive and negative factors in every file.

The memo does not amend the statute. It changes adjudicator instructions and the interpretive lens. Per Wolfsdorf Rosenthal's May 2026 employer advisory, the memorandum cites Matter of Blas and successor BIA precedent for the proposition that adjustment is "an extraordinary discretionary relief" compared to the regular immigrant visa process at a U.S. consulate abroad. For a full plain-English walkthrough of the memo, see the canonical explainer at /policy/pm-602-0199.

Is Form I-485 Still Open for New Filings?

Yes. Form I-485 is still the operative filing for adjustment of status, USCIS is still accepting it, and the categories of people permitted to file are unchanged. Per Boundless's May 2026 family-based summary, the procedural shell of adjustment of status is unchanged. Specifically, all of the following remain the same:

• The visa bulletin still controls priority date availability.
• Concurrent filing with Form I-130 is still permitted where the immigrant category allows it.
• Employment-based concurrent filing rules are intact.

What changed sits inside the file once it is open. Officers are now directed to treat statutory eligibility as the starting point, not the finish line. The discretionary analysis, historically a quiet part of adjudication, is now an explicit, documented step. In practice, a file built only around the eligibility checklist may be a weaker file in May 2026 than the same file would have been in April.

What Specifically Changed Inside the Adjudication?

Three operative shifts are doing the work, per the May 2026 analyses from Harris Beach Murtha and Ballard Spahr.

First: Officers are now directed to consider the availability of consular processing abroad as a baseline. Where an applicant could in principle pursue an immigrant visa through a U.S. consulate in their home country, in-country adjustment is framed as the "extraordinary" alternative that must be justified by the applicant's specific equities.

Second: Officers are instructed to weigh negative factors as part of the discretionary calculus, rather than treating them as already resolved by eligibility review. Those factors include:

• Prior immigration violations
• Periods of unauthorized employment
• Overstays
• Prior arrests
• Conduct inconsistent with the purpose of the original admission

Third: The memorandum invokes the BIA's equity-balancing language: negative factors can be "offset by a showing of unusual or even outstanding equities." This puts the burden on the applicant to affirmatively document positive equities, rather than relying on the eligibility paperwork to carry the file.

Think of your application like a job interview where the hiring manager now reads your whole resume, not just your degree. Eligibility is the degree. Equities are everything else.

What Did Not Change?

This is the part that matters most for anyone asking "can I still file." Per Murthy Law Firm's May 22, 2026 analysis, the following are unchanged:

• Statutory eligibility under INA section 245 (categories of people who may file)
• Filing fees and the I-485 fee schedule
• Required supporting documents
• Concurrent filing rules with Form I-130 and employment-based petitions
• The visa bulletin priority date system
• Work authorization (Form I-765) and travel authorization (Form I-131) ancillary filings
• Dual-intent doctrine for H-1B, L-1, and similar classifications

The memorandum also does not retroactively reopen previously granted adjustments. It does not state that pending I-485 applications filed before May 21, 2026 must be refiled. It does not create new mandatory denial categories.

Who Should Pay the Closest Attention?

Different applicants face different levels of exposure to the new discretionary framing. Based on law firm analyses published in the week after issuance, the most exposed groups include:

• Marriage-based applicants with complex prior immigration history
• Dual-intent visa holders with thin equity records
• Derivative beneficiaries near age-out
• Applicants with prior unlawful-presence concerns
• Pending I-485 applicants whose files were built around eligibility checklists rather than affirmative equity documentation

For a deeper look at the marriage-based pathway under the new framing, see /learn/marriage-based-green-card-pm-602-0199. For dual-intent specifics, see the H-1B walkthrough at /learn/h1b-dual-intent-pm-602-0199.

What Should I Actually Do Right Now?

The most useful step right now is organizational, not strategic. Strategic decisions belong with a licensed immigration attorney who can review your specific facts. What you can do in the meantime is arrive at that consultation with a complete, accurate, well-organized record. The stronger the record your attorney has to work with, the more substantive that first meeting will be.

Here are useful items to gather before your consultation:

• A chronological timeline of every U.S. entry and exit, with dates and visa categories
• Documentation of every period of authorized, and any unauthorized, presence
• Family-relationship records with dates and supporting evidence
• Tax-filing transcripts (orderable directly from the IRS)
• Employment records with dates and authorization status
• Community-ties documentation: faith communities, civic involvement, volunteer work, professional memberships
• Any prior immigration filings, denials, RFEs, or contact with immigration authorities

Topics worth raising with a licensed immigration attorney include: the strength of your equity record on paper, gaps that may need supplemental documentation, any negative factors that need context, and whether the adjustment-of-status route or consular processing makes more sense for your situation.

Where Can I Read the Memo Directly?

The full PDF of PM-602-0199 is published on USCIS.gov. The USCIS Policy Manual is the canonical reference for current adjudication guidance. Plain-English summaries from named law firms, including those linked throughout this article, are useful for context. The operative document, however, is the memo itself.

For ongoing situational guidance, the Adjustment of Status Navigator explainer at /policy/pm-602-0199 tracks the firm-by-firm analyses and what they imply for different applicant categories.

Get your situation organized before your attorney consultation. Adjustment of Status Navigator helps applicants build a complete, organized factual record, the kind of record that makes an attorney consultation substantive rather than exploratory. Start the intake walkthrough or find an AILA attorney.