How hard is it to get legal permanent residence in the U.S. based on your marriage or other family relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident? We conducted a survey of readers who applied for family-based green cards through the “adjustment of status” process, which can be used only by immigrants already in the country (usually legally). Here’s what we learned about the result of their applications and the challenges they experienced during the process.

Approval Rates for Family-Based Adjustment of Status

Along with the basic eligibility standards for family-based green cards, immigrants who want to apply for a green card at an office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the United States—rather than from another country—must meet strict requirements for using the adjustment-of-status procedure.

Yet despite these eligibility requirements, our survey showed that applicants have a good chance of successfully adjusting their status. Nearly half (47%) of our readers were approved for a green card at their USCIS interview, while another quarter (25%) were approved after the interview. (USCIS officers who need more information or aren’t quite convinced about something, like the validity of the marriage, often give applicants time to supply more documents following the interview.) Overall, that means 72% of readers who completed this process ultimately became legal permanent residents.

Challenges With the Adjustment of Status Process

In order to dig deeper into readers’ experiences with immigration applications, we asked them to tell us what part of the process was most challenging or difficult. Given the good outcomes they reported for adjustment of status, it’s not too surprising that more than a quarter (27%) of readers said they didn’t find anything about the process particularly difficult. At the same time, of course, that means the remainder did complain of a range of challenges, even if they eventually received their green cards.

Gathering Information for the Visa Applications

Anyone who has dealt with an unwieldy government bureaucracy like the USCIS can testify to the amount of paperwork it takes to get through the system. As with all U.S. immigration applications, the process of applying for family-based adjustment of status involves lengthy forms that ask for a wealth of information and supporting documents, many of which can be obtained only from government agencies in the immigrant’s home country. More than a quarter (26%) of readers said this was the most difficult part of the process.

Although you’ll still have to track down your own information, a good immigration lawyer can provide a lot of help by explaining exactly which documents you’ll need to support your application, and how you might provide substitutes if certain documents aren’t available.

Proving Family Relationships and Marriages

Nearly two in ten readers (17%) told us the hardest part of the process was proving the family relationship between the immigrant and the U.S. citizen or permanent resident, including whether their marriage was genuine. Even if you believe you got married for legitimate reasons, you might have trouble avoiding accusations of marriage fraud when applying for a green card if your case involves “red flags” like large age differences, not living together after the wedding, or not speaking the same language or sharing the same religion. While these circumstances won’t necessarily rule out getting a green card, you may have to come up with more evidence to convince the USCIS officer that your marriage is for real.

Other Challenges

Many readers experienced a range of other challenges with their green card applications, including:

• meeting the requirements for a medical exam that clears the immigrant of health problems that present a risk to the general public
• nervousness or communication problems at the final stage of the process—the interview with a USCIS officer
• meeting the requirement that the sponsoring U.S. relative has enough income to support the immigrant and prevent that person from becoming a “public charge” (receiving need-based government assistance)
• how long the immigration process takes, which is not only frustrating but can cause problems when work permits or the medical exam expire before green cards are issued; and
• getting waivers for exceptions to some of the rules that would otherwise make immigrants ineligible for green cards.

If you have health, financial, criminal, or other circumstances that complicate your green card application, it’s particularly crucial to get help from a qualified, experienced immigration attorney. (See our survey results on how much immigration lawyers charge for family-based green card applications.)