Preparing for your Adjustment of Status Application

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:04]Good morning everyone. Come on in.

[00:00:08]Good morning. Hope you guys um are having a good morning, good day, good June. Happy new month. Um good morning Kenneth on Instagram.

[00:00:21]Um morning sexy shirt. Good morning.

[00:00:24]How's everyone doing? Uh my name is Aisha Chidole. So, I'm an immigration attorney um here in Atlanta, Florida, but I represent clients all over the United States with their um immigration matters. We handle family immigration, humanitarian based cases, um removal cases, some detention work.

[00:00:44]Um so, if you want to schedule a consultation, you can call our office.

[00:00:48]Let me just pin that in here um for you guys and then just get right into it. Um what's our phone number again? Okay.

[00:00:56]3251037 and welcome. If you're a first timer, welcome. Thank you for joining.

[00:01:05]If you know anyone who needs um to hear this, share this with them or anyone prepping for their adjustment of status application.

[00:01:17]Okay. So, pin comment.

[00:01:22]Okay. So you guys should be able to see my phone number there. Again, if you want to schedule a consultation to specifically talk about your own case, schedule a consultation, click the link in my bio. You can schedule it directly yourself um in the bio on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or on our website um which is chidoleaw.com or you can call the phone numbers on the ticker or in the timeline um and we'll be able to schedule it. Good morning, Twinnie. how are you doing? Please stay strong. Lots of love from Kansas. Oh, thanks. Yeah, you know, definitely we are, you know, staying strong always, you know, when you have God on your side. Um, okay. So, yeah, today I really just wanted to talk about um preparing your adjustment of status application.

[00:02:09]um you know so of course um it's just been kind of chaotic over the last um few um days or week and a half at this point you know with the initial adjustment and I talked about this yesterday how they walked back um some of what they said saying well not majority of people don't have to leave the country um but they're just reminding officers of their discretion which they've always had um really you know the big thing is you know and this is just how I've always dealt with immigration. Um whether it's this administration, the previous administration, Trump's first administration, you know, I think it's really important that when you are submitting this application, you should always expect to bring your best foot forward in your application. you know, regardless of who's in administration or not, you'll always have to imagine every every um rebuttal and have and have a way to present your argument for that rebuttal. I mean, this is not going to be the first time that you guys have heard me say it about presentation, how you put together your application, you know, and the fact that um, you know, when you submit something, you know, whether that's, you know, how you show up, you know, when I come on here some days like I just want to be in my bed or like I don't want to put on makeup or like do my hair, whatever it is, right?

[00:03:39]But, you know, I I come to you um you know, I present myself regardless of how I'm feeling on the inside, right? Um and it's the same thing when you put your application. You cannot send sloppy applications to USCIS, especially now when discretion is something that they're being reminded of and saying, you know, look at the factors or look at that factors. Um so um so to start to start by saying if you are filing for adjustment of status right now first of all you need to make sure that um you know you are not a public charge or you don't have a likelihood to be a public charge you know some people may ask what is a public charge you know so of course you know when you're taking an any kind of public benefits um or um you you seem your application seems like you have a propensity to do that either based on whatever whoever is sponsoring you, what their own um what their own income is, what their own job type is, you know, and their ability to support you, right?

[00:04:44]because you're going to need to overcome that because you know in dissecting you know USCIS as a spokesperson spokesperson's you know um you know um um um commenting or memo everything what what what basically this boils down to is they essentially want to make sure that you are someone that is e economically desirable in the United States you know um and you know I know many people say um okay well I can't work because, you know, I don't have my social security, you know, I I don't want to work under the table or whatever it is, which is all well and good, but then, you know, we need to see, well, what is your spouse doing, you know, and how is your spouse um how is your spouse going to ensure that you're not going to be a public charge should you be given this? So the some of the things that you really want to start thinking about like when you are preparing your um application is you want to start thinking about of course you know any kind of family ties you have here in the United States you know um you want to start thinking about um how long you've been in the United States you want to start thinking about um you know like one of the one of the things that we've included in our application is even down to um you know our clients um them and their US citizen spouse.

[00:06:05]Nobody has ever filed for bankruptcy.

[00:06:07]You know, this is the job that the other person has. If their children involved, the reason why um one person has to be around um for the children, especially if you have smaller children because, you know, we all know the cost of child care. Um some of the other things we have, let me just bring like my list because we're just kind of like I don't care like you know, all the back and forth. Like I just want my clients to be prepared. So, we're just revamping all of our um let me see if I can pull this up for you guys. Um revamping all of our um submission because I just want to be able to um just kind of like I would rather be prepared um than to have, you know, someone just kind of slip the rug from under you. Um so, give me a second, you know, because my computer is like frozen right now.

[00:06:58]um so I can tell you guys what I am putting together for our clients.

[00:07:08]Okay. So some of the things that we're doing now, you know, in our applications is, you know, of course, we're trying to show strong ties and hardship, you know, so we show strong strong ties by showing, of course, family members or how long you've been in the United States. And we show hardship by showing, you know, what the difficulties would be if you had to cancel a process, you know. So for a lot of people, again, if you're from one of the 75 countries um that has a pause, you know, so it's you don't know when this pause is ending. So essentially, you know, you're basically going to be put in an abyss basically because you don't know when it's ending and that's separating your family. Um, so that is to me an extraordinary hardship for people who are in love and want to build their life together, you know, or you know, someone who's pregnant and is trying to have a child, you know, having to go back depending on what the situation is in whatever home country they are. Um, you know, another thing that we're doing. So, so when we when I say family ties, we list all family ties. We're listing all family ties, any siblings you have here, any parents, any children, any c like everyone that has status to show that you're rooted here in the United States.

[00:08:17]Another thing that we're doing is um we're also checking have you resided with any of those family members, you know, because um basically the strategy we're taking is a strategy if you were detained, right? So like typically if you're detained and in order to get bond for you to be released one of the things that we have to show is you know other US citizens um family members and how they will be kind of like responsible for you as a village kind of like a village you know so that you're not like a flight risk or anything like that. Um, another thing we we do is um, another thing we're including is um, financial responsibilities, shared financial responsibilities, you know, in the household, you know, um, you know, um, which already is one of the questions, you know, in your I485, you know, if you look in your I485, you're going to see that one of the questions it asks you is what is your household income? So, you know, so even though it's asking that in there in the forms, well, basically what we're doing is that those questions on the forms, we're explaining um we're having our clients explain like in our cover letter just so the USCs has kind of like an understanding of that household or what they're potentially able to do. I remember one of the things that um we used to do back in Trump 1.0 Oh, when they also had this wealth test kind of like economic test. Um we would we would we would focus on the client's maybe educational background from you know whatever country they came from.

[00:09:45]What um what the Bureau of Labor Statistics say that the income would be if they came into the United States like if they started working here to show that okay you know this person has a bachelor's degree in you know mechanical engineering. I remember one, you know, one of our clients was a pilot like so we literally put the Bureau of Labor Statistics what the income requirement for pilot is and you know the process of transferring his license and so you know if you give him favorable discretion you know he'll be able to get a license ultimately you know this client this is from Trump 1.0 uh get got approved um and obviously is you know a license um a license pilot right now um another thing we we're including is we want clients to tell us if you were required to leave the United States for console processing how will that departure affect your family so you know so as you can see we're kind of setting the stage you know to show these are the family members here involved this is not a just a one person thing where if you send this person home um everybody will be good because it's not just one person, you know, it's like if something bad happens to one person, it's there's so many other people it affects, not just, you know, um, you know, the spouse, um, as well. Um, and then, you know, we're looking at long-term lawful presence in the United States or long-term presence in the United States and just community integration. So, it's really important that if you're not involved in any capacity, um this is a good time to um use your skills to um be involved. You know, whether it's volunteering at a soup kitchen, volunteering at a homeless shelter, like that was something I used to do um when I was in college, you know, now I volunteer with a group that um helps tutor young kids like um you know, whether that's English or math, like elementary school kids, you know.

[00:11:34]So just any kind of community involvement that shows that you know you're a person of good moral character like so those would be helpful. Um and then you know um we also want to see that your spouse you know has been filing taxes you know we want to see you know already you have to submit your bank accounts anyway. Um, so, um, we generally want to see, uh, that there is some sort of income, you know, or some sort of money. And again, when I say this, it's not necessarily just for the immigrant. It's for you and whoever is sponsoring you to show again that you're not going to be a public charge. Um, and then occupational skills. Again, these are already questions that are in the I485. So, that's why, you know, I guess USCI said, you know, we're just reminding them of their discretion.

[00:12:22]Granted, I think that they use that first language to scare a lot of people, but these are already questions that are in your I485 where it asks you your occupational skills. Now, there are some people that are exempt from that. those who have humanitarian based cases like you know um vow cases, refugee cases, T cases um U visas on you know you know how like when you fill out your form if you're one of those who's applied for that when you fill out your form you know you put that you're exempt from those public charge um requirements so those people don't necessarily put it but if you're in any other category like a marriage based case family based case um filing based on you know um education you know all of those things H-1B anything else even dual intent applications you want to put that, you know, whether that's you have a license or certification or degree, but basically something that makes you desirable and says, you know, we need more of this, you know, here. Um, and then of course, good moral character. Obviously, any criminal history is going to be a negative factor when they are reviewing your case. Um, so the the goal is um to be able to show one rehabilitation.

[00:13:30]So, it's not saying that, you know, if you've ever had a criminal infraction, you will never be able to get a green card. One, they're going to look at, well, what is the crime? How long ago was the crime? What have you done to show that you are a different person?

[00:13:44]So, if you have a criminal record, you really need to really pack pack your application with a lot of good moral, character, evidence to show that this is a this is a mistake. This is not who you are. you know, you're a good person or whatever it is. You know, people who file for fee waivers, um, you know, it might not be favorable to you. When I say fee wavers, you know, you can apply for a fee waiver. Um, so that's going to be considered, of course, like a negative factor. Um, you know, another thing that's going to be considered a negative factor, of course, is that of course you overstayed. You know, you worked under the table. You know, although it's kind of like contradictory, right? because it's like you want them to file taxes, you know, you want them to have all this money, but at the same time, you don't want them to work. So, it's a bit contradictory. So, so it's a negative factor. Um, but one of the things that you have to do to overcome it is everything else that I'm listing because you know your positives basically have to outweigh your negative. Again, this is not necess I I can't tell you for a fact if this is how they're going to process it since they've kind of walked walked it back and said, "We're just exercising discretion." But for me, until we start to see some real um um you know, results based on um the announcement and then the push the the the walk back. It's always best to prepare as though it's what it is that they said it is. You know what I mean?

[00:15:16]Um and then um and then a critical area is that you really need to be able to articulate why consular processing is not a pract practicable alternative.

[00:15:29]This to me is a very easy one for most people. Again, if you are from one of the 39 countries banned outside of the United States, if you are from one of the 75 countries outside of the United States where you have an immigrant visa pause, this is to me something that is very very easy to articulate. you know, you literally give them you literally submit um evidence that these countries are subject to the department of state consular visa pause or ban or suspension or reduced operation. So clearly I cannot it's not practable practicable for me to console process. So you know you definitely want to include that in there um in your application. Um, and then of course if you've taken any public benefits, that is a negative factor. So make sure you're not taking public benefits. Public benefits for US citizen kids is not public benefits for you because US citizen kids are entitled to public benefits, but you cannot take any public benefits. You also for your interview need to be able to answer those questions about why you chose to apply for adjustment of status versus consular processing you know and if there are any factors again similar to the question that you prepare because I'm basically talking about those preparing and if you've already submitted if you're in the interview stage you want to be able to talk about um what factors stop you from consular processing rather than adjustment of status you know um and you know generally they also ask you questions um or they've been asking questions about, you know, if you still have family members that live in your home country, you know, and they want, you know, you being able to explain their, you know, what is the condition for those of them that live there, right?

[00:17:15]You know, and why did you decide not to return? This one, they've been asking this like since last year really. Um, so you should be prepared for this, which is why did you decide not to return to your home country when your period of authorized day expired? So you really want to be able to really think about the reason why you came here because if you have an intent if you if you have an int if you intended to never return back when you came here that is a negative factor to you. too. So, they could be asking, well, when did you quit your job? Like, when did you stop working in the job that you had in the other country? You know, were you planning to just like if you quit it um to come here, then it's kind of like creating that um um perception that you intended to stay here. You you never intended to go back. You know, if you if you came here and you didn't have a return ticket, that creates um a presumption that you never intended to go back. So, those are some of the kinds of things that, you know, you really want to think about when you're putting together your application. Um, you know, like like I've said, you know, before. Yeah.

[00:18:20]Someone says good moral character is key to prove good citizenship. It is. It is.

[00:18:24]It is. Good moral character is just really critical because that's really what this is about. the two things that they've basically painted immigrants as which is that they like to take public benefits which is really really grossly untrue and inaccurate and also as criminals which is also grossly inade inadequate. So you know the the onus or the the responsibility is on you to prove that you're not what it is that they say that you are as an immigrant.

[00:18:50]you know, um, you know, like I've said to you guys, to me, this is not the time for DIY kind of cases. Like, you know, there's just so much going on, you know, behind closed doors that you really want to make sure that um you're not just listening to sound bites on like Reddit or somebody saying, "Oh, this this worked for me or this is what I because" because you really really everybody on there is a stranger with no face and an alias to their name. you don't know who is on there, if it's a bot or whatever it is that they're saying, it's always good to consult with an attorney.

[00:19:23]Consult with someone that's competent.

[00:19:24]Consult with someone who's practicing immigration today. Meaning, someone who is going to immigration court, someone who's going to USCIS, not someone that's a well, you know, I don't like to say bad things about people, so let me not let me let me not say that. But basically, you need to make sure that whoever is reviewing your stuff is practicing US immigration as a legal attorney in 2026. You know, not just someone that's like, "Oh, let me help you. Let me let me put this together.

[00:19:52]Oh, I did it for my cousins. You know, I did it for because things um have changed." And you know, even USCIS's officers can't keep up with the changes.

[00:20:01]you know, like when I go into the interview and I'm learning new things, you know, from those officers, God bless your hearts because they try to share with us as well, you know, attorneys.

[00:20:10]But you want to make sure, you know, before you submit an application, before you prepare to submit a marriage-based case or family based case that you're consulting with an attorney to go over your own history to see what are the negative and positive factors and how you can potentially overcome those, right? So, really preparation is key.

[00:20:28]So, that's what I wanted to talk about today. Um, let me answer some questions.

[00:20:33]Um, Anthony says, "I have the best on the case, Chili." Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Um, okay. Um, let's see what else we got here.

[00:20:48]Um, I received a two-year marriage green card based um um a two-year marriagebased green card in 2022. I filed a joint I751 with my spouse and I got a 48-month extension, but we are now separated. Can I simply wait to apply for naturalization under the five-year um requirement? Your problem is bigger than than naturalization right now. Um um sir um Victor on YouTube. Um the first thing that you have to do is if you filed a joint filing, you need to be amending your application. Separation is not the same thing as divorce. If you are separated and not divorced, you will get denied for your I751, which means that you will not be eligible for citizenship. So, the first thing that you need to do while your case is pending and your case is currently at a place where they will probably adjudicate the case, assuming that um because what I'm reading from you is that basically they haven't made a decision on your case. You need to immediately amend your case. I'm hoping that you when you say separation that you mean that you're divorced. So, you're going to have to need to amend your application um and submit the divorce decree to let them know that you are now divorced and you're now requesting a waiver based on the divorce. If you do not do that, when they schedule you for an interview, a separation is not going to be enough for them to approve you unless you had extreme cruelty or abuse and battery in that relationship and they have evidence of it. Right? So, make sure that you do that. Naturalization is the least of your concern right now. Right now, your goal should be to getting that 2-year um um conditions removed to a 10-year.

[00:22:32]Okay.

[00:22:34]Okay. Let's see what else we got here.

[00:22:41]Does the memo interfere with the N400?

[00:22:44]Um Maches, it does not. Remember the memo is only for adjustment of status applications. Basically reminding USCIS of their not their discretionary ability um when they are reviewing those applications. An adjustment of status application is for people who are filing for a green card for the first time. It is not for two-year green card holders.

[00:23:09]It is not for people who have 10-year green cards. Um, also this does not apply um to people well the public charge rule applies to people um um that are doing like their K1. It's it's automatically there in the um um your I485 form. But the um the discretion in terms of consular processing for instance for a fiance visa does not apply because that's literally what um a K1 fiance visa is that you're going to come here and do your process here, right? Um also um people under humanitarian visas generally right now those are people that the um public charge rule does not generally apply to.

[00:23:54]um in terms of looking at um public charge you know or whatever it is um but still in those cases I would even still say being prepared to explain why you can't conscitarian cases um there's a lot of hardship one of the things that the um the USCIS um official um representative said you know was that you know we want to focus on our humanitarian cases which you know basically alludes to them not applying to this standards not applying to this um and again they've walked that back but again I'm still telling you guys just to still have your applications kind of prepare for that just until we see what is common or what is happening at the offices because again you know this is really new um we have a couple of interviews this week so I'm waiting to see how my clients um um are interviewed and the kinds of questions they're asking and you know you guys know when I hear new things. Um I give you guys um the information. Um good morning. With regards to TPS program and its timeline for approval, do you just have to wait or is there anything you can do to get a favorable response?

[00:25:06]Jamaica. Um there is no TPS for Jamaica.

[00:25:09]Sorry. Um okay. All right, guys. Um I got to jump off, but let me see if I can answer this question real real quick. What should be the best excuse not to file joint taxes even if you were married for um above 5 years or 3 years?

[00:25:27]Um you tell me why didn't you file jointly with your spouse? You know like I there's no such thing as a best excuse. You know it is what is your own reason for not filing with your spouse?

[00:25:37]You know, many people have had reasons where maybe the file the the the the person's wages were being garnished for like child support or like they owed back taxes and it was being taken away.

[00:25:49]And you know, because the thing about filing taxes sometimes is that um you have the same liability as your spouse.

[00:25:56]Um and so if you want to take that innocent spouse exception, you just don't want to file with them just so that you don't have that liability.

[00:26:03]Sometimes some people have complex businesses, you know, or different entities or, you know, um 1099s or um um LLC's where they just want to be able to file one where it covers all of that.

[00:26:15]So, people have different reasons while why they file taxes. What is most important is one that you're able to articulate why you're filing um a separate tax if asked, but more importantly that you have other evidence to show that you you your your life is combined together and your marriage is genuine because filing taxes is not the only thing that proves that you have a genuine marriage. Many people don't file taxes together with their spouses, but what else do you have to show that this is a genuine marriage? So, hope that answers your question, guys. Again, um if you want to schedule a consultation, do so. Um 678-3251037 or 678-233 2170. You can also WhatsApp us 404-338751.

[00:27:03]Um if you want to get um personalized attention to your questions, you know, we have a team of attorneys here who are very knowledgeable and can answer your questions. All right, guys. Have a good one. Bye.