If you are not in the United States, you will need to apply for your green card through a U.S. Consulate abroad, usually in your home country. This is known as ``consular processing.``

If you, the beneficiary, are already in the United States, in most cases you can apply for your permanent resident status without having to leave.

Our lawyers will thoroughly review your criminal and immigration history to make certain you qualify to adjust your status to that of a permanent resident while in the United States.

Certain people who have approved petitions may not be able to file for adjustment of status immediately after the visa petition is approved, unless there is a visa available in their specific categories.

The U.S. Department of State each month shows whether a visa will be available in each category when it makes its Visa Bulletin available every month. The Visa Bulletin is essentially a chart that shows the number of immigrants in each category that the U.S. Congress will allow to obtain a green card. The U.S. Department of State is responsible for monitoring and allocating the ``green cards`` approved each year, whether through adjustment of status or through consular processing.