However, in the 1990s, the United States government decided to add to its toolkit of removal strategies to deal with the scale of presence of unauthorized aliens, a trend that has continued through the 2000s and 2010s.
Prior to enactment of the LIFE Act Amendments, the window for preserving adjustment eligibility under Section 245(i) ended or cut off on January 14, 1998, after which only "grandfathered" individuals (beneficiaries of labor certifications or immigrant visa petitions filed on or before that date) were eligible to adjust status under Section 245(i) .
[3] The LIFE Act emerged as a compromise after negotiation with Republican legislators who argued that while they were supportive of family reunification, they also wanted safeguards against incentivizing and rewarding the breaking of United States immigration laws.
The other major legislation was the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act, that focused more on employment-based immigration and temporary worker statuses, particularly the H-1B visa.
Explicitly, the following conditions need to all be satisfied: In order to apply under this provision of the LIFE Act, one must file Supplement A along with Form I-485 for Adjustment of Status.
[1] There is also a penalty fee for the convenience of being able to adjust status without having to physically leave the United States that must be included as part of the application.
The V visa is most relevant for the F category of Form I-130, which is numerically capped, and where the wait time for one's Priority Date to become current can be several years.