Reviewed by André Matias, Esq., Principal Attorney
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Two routes to permanent residence run through Northern Virginia, and which one you are on decides what has to be established first.
If your route runs through work
Northern Virginia's employers — federal contractors, universities, and the international organizations concentrated in Arlington, Alexandria, Tysons and Reston — mean a lot of people here reach permanent residence from H-1B or L-1 status through an employer petition rather than through a marriage.
That route carries problems a family case never encounters:
- Gaps between jobs. A transfer that slips or a role that ends can create time out of status, and how long it lasted matters.
- Sequence. Where the green card runs through an employer petition, the adjustment application is the final step. Filing early wastes the fee and the wait.
- J-1 history. The two-year home residency requirement applies to many exchange visitors and blocks adjustment until it is met or waived. If there is a J-1 in your history, it is the first thing to establish.
Altius also focuses on family-based adjustment, and there the decisive question is usually how you entered rather than who you married. Both are explained on our adjustment of status page — Virginia does not change the law, only which questions apply.
Where it happens
- Your interview office is assigned by ZIP code — check the USCIS Office Locator.
- Virginia's immigration courts sit in Annandale and Sterling (EOIR listing).
Most Northern Virginia residents are interviewed on the Virginia side rather than in Washington.
By city
- Arlington — the professional and J-1 caseload
- Alexandria — long-established family-based communities
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.