{"id":587,"date":"2012-08-22T20:03:46","date_gmt":"2012-08-23T02:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:19:14","slug":"visa-waiver-program-entrant-applies-for-adjustment-of-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587","title":{"rendered":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>I&#8217;m from Germany and I entered the US through with the visa waiver.\u00a0My wife and I married and we applied for the green card but we filed it after the visa waiver expired.\u00a0At the marriage interview, I was told that they would not approve my green card because I overstayed and I needed to file an I-601 waiver,\u00a0Can you help us with this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is no requirement for a visa waiver entrant to be in status when they apply for adjustment through a US citizen.\u00a0The officer who told you this is mistaken and we can speak to him or his supervisor to get this corrected without filing an I-601.\u00a0However, when a foreign national enters the US through the visa waiver program, they waiver many of their rights that they would normally have if they had used a visa.\u00a0One of these rights is the right to fight removal.\u00a0Since you have been present longer than 90 days, you may be removed (deported) without any right to a hearing.\u00a0Therefore, we must proceed cautiously to get your green card approved an issued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m from Germany and I entered the US through with the visa waiver.\u00a0My wife and I married and we applied for the green card but we filed it after the visa waiver expired.\u00a0At the marriage interview, I was told that they would not approve my green card because I overstayed and I needed to file &#8230; <a title=\"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587\" aria-label=\"Read more about Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,30,10],"tags":[279,182,164],"class_list":["post-587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-i-601-waiver","category-marriage-green-card","category-visa-waiver-program","tag-i-601-waiver","tag-marriage-green-card","tag-visa-waiver-program"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I&#8217;m from Germany and I entered the US through with the visa waiver.\u00a0My wife and I married and we applied for the green card but we filed it after the visa waiver expired.\u00a0At the marriage interview, I was told that they would not approve my green card because I overstayed and I needed to file ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\"},\"headline\":\"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587\"},\"wordCount\":195,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"I-601 Waiver\",\"Marriage Green Card\",\"Visa Waiver Program\"],\"articleSection\":[\"I-601 Waiver\",\"Marriage Green Card\",\"Visa Waiver Program\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587\",\"name\":\"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=587#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Immigration Blog\",\"description\":\"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/messersmithlaw-site-icon-512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/messersmithlaw-site-icon-512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\",\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"description\":\"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.messersmithlaw.com\"],\"worksFor\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#organization\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.messersmithlaw.com\\\/about-us\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog","og_description":"I&#8217;m from Germany and I entered the US through with the visa waiver.\u00a0My wife and I married and we applied for the green card but we filed it after the visa waiver expired.\u00a0At the marriage interview, I was told that they would not approve my green card because I overstayed and I needed to file ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587","og_site_name":"US Immigration Blog","article_published_time":"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00","author":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587"},"author":{"name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a"},"headline":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status","datePublished":"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587"},"wordCount":195,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["I-601 Waiver","Marriage Green Card","Visa Waiver Program"],"articleSection":["I-601 Waiver","Marriage Green Card","Visa Waiver Program"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587","name":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status - US Immigration Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-08-23T02:03:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:19:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=587#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Visa Waiver Program Entrant Applies for Adjustment of Status"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/","name":"US Immigration Blog","description":"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#organization","name":"The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/messersmithlaw-site-icon-512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/messersmithlaw-site-icon-512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.messersmithlaw.com\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a","name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","description":"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.messersmithlaw.com"],"worksFor":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#organization"},"url":"https:\/\/www.messersmithlaw.com\/about-us\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":588,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions\/588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}