USCIS Highlights Temporary Nonimmigrant Status as Negative Discretionary Factor in Adjustment of Status
Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix
Policy effect
Under Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, USCIS clarifies that holding a temporary nonimmigrant status (excluding dual-intent statuses such as H-1B or L-1) will be considered a negative discretionary factor during the review of Form I-485 Adjustment of Status applications, as temporary visitors are generally expected to depart after their stay.
Conditions and exceptions
Does not apply to nonimmigrant categories with dual intent (such as H-1B or L-1) or immigrant categories where adjustment of status is the sole pathway or non-discretionary.
Official source excerpt
Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.
Generally, when a nonimmigrant or parolee fails to depart as required and instead seeks adjustment of status, it contravenes these Congressional expectations, though USCIS acknowledges exceptions including nonimmigrant categories with dual intent and immigrant categories where only adjustment of status provides a pathway to permanent resident status.Retrieved from https://uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/memos/PM-602-0199-AdjustmentOfStatusAndDiscretion-20260521.pdf
Review method
Official-source daily scan followed by independent Gemini 3.8 Flash exact-claim and materiality verification.
Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record fcp-5e67b6d9ae29d1674e8f. Something wrong? Flag this record.
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