If a legal pathway is available to him/her, a foreign national who is in the United States may apply for adjustment of status in order to become a lawful permanent resident.  There are many eligibility requirements for adjustment of status.  An applicant will be evaluated to ensure that he/she doesn’t have any communicable diseases of public health significance, is not a threat to national security, has not violated immigration laws previously, does not have disqualifying criminal convictions, etc.  In some cases it is necessary that the person has continuously held lawful immigration status prior to applying, while there are exceptions for other cases.  Adjustment of Status applications can typically be made using form I-485.