This applies to the final stage of your Green Card process. Advocates of Consular Processing draw attention to the fact that it is faster and supposedly less cumbersome than Adjustment of Status. Nothing can be more simplistic than this notion of quick and easy processing at the Consulates abroad.
Here is what you need to know about the process – Consular Processing involves the Consulate and therefore the capricious concept of ‘Consular discretion’. Further, the Consulate does not afford Attorneys the opportunity to represent the Applicant at the Consulate, leaving the Attorney incapable of bailing the client out of a difficult situation. Almost all Consular cases are subject to a personal interview process before a Consular Officer, further subjecting the Applicant to scrutiny and “second guessing.” Moreover, and more importantly, the AC21 statutory provision that allows an Applicant in Adjustment of Status proceedings the ability to find new employment after 180 days of the filing of the Application without losing the validity of the underlying Labor Certification Application, or Immigrant Petition, is unavailable to Applicants who opt for Consular Processing. The process is further complicated by a new rule that requires all processing be completed by the National Visa Center, in the U.S., before any Consular Processing can commence. This is bound to delay the process and render the advantage of faster processing, moot.
Further, upon filing an Application to Adjust Status, the Spouse of the principal applicant is granted an Employment Authorization Document to work in the United States. This advantage is not available when one opts for Consular Processing.
Finally, Consulates may change processing rules and introduce additional documentary and evidentiary standards almost overnight without any need for administrative rule making or procedure. This is most unnerving.