2| How do I apply for LRIF? Who is eligible?
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides full application instructions on its website, and Informed Immigrant has a guide for applicants. To apply for a green card, LRIF applicants must file an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form 1-485), which must be received by USCIS on or before December 20, 2021.
Generally, individuals can apply for adjustment under LRIF if they are a Liberian national and have been continuously present in the U.S. since at least November 20, 2014,2 and have not committed certain crimes. Spouses and unmarried children of LRIF-eligible Liberian nationals can also apply for a green card under LRIF.3
Applicants must generally be admissible under immigration law, or have a waiver of inadmissibility. However, some admissibility requirements do not apply for LRIF adjustment, including public charge, labor certification, being present in the country without being formally admitted or paroled, and certain documentation requirements.
The Center for Migration Studies estimates that up to 10,000 Liberians now in the U.S. could qualify for adjustment under LRIF, approximately 7,900 of whom are deemed essential workers. CMS also estimates that 100 spouses and 200 children of potential LRIF beneficiaries are potentially eligible.