8 U.S.C. § 1257
Section 1257 · Adjustment of status of certain resident aliens to nonimmigrant status; exceptions
This is § 247 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter)
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case United States v. Yakou (2005)
Most recently applied in Catherine Torres v. William Barr (September 2020)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be adjusted by the Attorney General, under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of a nonimmigrant under paragraph (15)(A), (E), or (G) of section 1101(a) of this title, if such alien had at the time of admission or subsequently acquires an occupational status which would, if he were seeking admission to the United States, entitle him to a nonimmigrant status under such paragraphs. As of the date of the Attorney General's order making such adjustment of status, the Attorney General shall cancel the record of the alien's admission for permanent residence, and the immigrant status of such alien shall thereby be terminated.
(b) The adjustment of status required by subsection (a) of this section shall not be applicable in the case of any alien who requests that he be permitted to retain his status as an immigrant and who, in such form as the Attorney General may require, executes and files with the Attorney General a written waiver of all rights, privileges, exemptions, and immunities under any law or any executive order which would otherwise accrue to him because of the acquisition of an occupational status entitling him to a nonimmigrant status under paragraph (15)(A), (E), or (G) of section 1101(a) of this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted “time of admission” for “time of entry”.
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective, with certain transitional provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
Cross References
Definition of alien, Attorney General, entry, immigrant, lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and nonimmigrant alien, see section 1101 of this title.
Issuance of immigrant visa to alien entitled to nonimmigrant status upon waiver of rights accruing from such status, see section 1184 of this title.