Reviewed by André Matias, Esq., Principal Attorney
Services
Maryland runs adjustment of status through a small number of places, which makes the practical side of a case unusually predictable across the state.
- One field office, in Baltimore, handles the interviews.
- Biometrics are taken at the Baltimore Application Support Center.
- Two immigration courts, in Baltimore and Hyattsville, hear the cases that reach a judge — see the EOIR listing.
Office assignment is by ZIP code, not by proximity — confirm yours on the USCIS Office Locator; the nearest building is not always the assigned one.
Two routes, two sets of questions
Altius focuses on family-based adjustment of status — a spouse, a child or a parent of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Those cases usually turn on how you entered and what your status has been since.
The other route starts from work: a J-1 or an H-1B, often tied to the research and biotech employers along the I-270 corridor, where permanent residence runs through an employer or a national-interest petition and the adjustment application is the last step rather than the first.
Which one you are on changes what has to be established before anything is filed. It does not change the law: adjustment of status is federal, and no Maryland county has its own version of it.
By city
- Rockville — the county seat, and the I-270 corridor
- Bethesda — NIH and the biomedical employers
- Silver Spring — largely family-based, Spanish spoken
- Baltimore — the field office and the court
USCIS publishes live processing times per office and form type, and they move. Check the current figure for your own office on the USCIS processing times tool.
Government fees
Adjustment of status carries several government filing fees, and they change. Confirm current amounts on the USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) or the USCIS Fee Calculator.
These are government filing fees only. They are not Altius Law's attorney fees.