The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Green Card

There are several ways to become a permanent resident or green card holder. Designation as a permanent resident allows you to live and work permanently in the U.S.

What Do I Need to Know About Getting a Green Card?

Today, most individuals can apply for a green card only after a visa petition filed by a family member, fiancé, or employer has been approved. In the United States, this process is called sponsoring and is the most common way that people are granted a green card. Nonetheless, there are exceptions.

For instance, refugees and asylees are an exception to the rule. Also, if you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, you do not need to wait for visa numbers and can apply for a green card when you submit your visa petition.

Who Can Apply for a Green Card?

Only specific categories of applicants are allowed to file for a green card. Typically, this is confined to those who entered the U.S. legally and did not stay past the date on your Arrival-Departure Record, or form I-94, as issued by Homeland Security. It should be noted that those who have stayed beyond the date on their I-94 form are subject to deportation if they file for a green card in the U.S.

Those excepted from this rule are immigrants whose immediate relatives are U.S. citizens. Examples of immediate relatives would be a husband or wife, mother, and father. Even though these immigrants may have stayed past the date on the I-94 form, they are allowed to apply for a green card.

What Are the 10 Ways to Obtain a Green Card?

The following are the various ways to get a green card:

1. Family-Based Immigration: As a relative of a U.S. citizen, if you are one of the following, you may qualify to receive a Green Card:
   • Spouse
   • Unmarried child or stepchild under the age of 21
   • Adopted child under the age of 18
   • Parent or stepparent
   • Unmarried son or daughter (over the age of 21)
   • Married son or daughter (any age)
   • Brother or sister

• You can also get a green card if you are a relative of a green card holder. The following relatives qualify:

1. 1. • Spouse
      • Unmarried child (under the age of 21)
      • Unmarried stepchild (under the age of 21)
      • Adopted child (under the age of 18) or
      • Unmarried son or daughter (over the age of 21)

2.  Employment-Based Immigration:
   • Employment first preference: Individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, managers and executives in multinational companies
   • Employment second preference: Experts with advanced degrees, individuals with exceptional ability, exceptional professors and researchers
   • Employment third preference: Experts with U.S. bachelor’s or foreign equivalent degree, skilled workers, unskilled workers
3. Green Card Lottery: Winners of the green card lottery conducted by the U.S. Department of State
4. Investors:
   • Foreign entrepreneurs who invest $500,000 n a commercial enterprise in a targeted employment area that will aid the U.S. economy and create at least five full-time jobs
   • Foreign entrepreneurs who invest $1,000,000 in a commercial enterprise that will create ten full-time jobs
5. Adoption: Juveniles under the age of 16 who are adopted by U.S. green citizens or green card holders
6. Registry: Foreign nationals that Congress has acknowledged as having compelling humanitarian factors to stay permanently in the U.S. and for whom the UCIS cannot grant permanent resident status
7. Diplomats: High-level diplomats
8. Asylum: Political asylum can be sought by people in the U.S. who fear persecution if they return to their home country.
9. Refugee: A political refugee is anyone who cannot stay in their country due to political persecution.
10. Special Immigrants: Special immigrant visas contain several specific situations, including religious employees seeking a green card.

Applying For a Green Card While in the United States

If you are in the U.S. and have not stayed past the departure date on your I-94 form, your following action is to apply for an adjustment of status. The form required to adjust your status may be found online at www.uscis.gov and is called the form I-485.

When filling out this form, you must read the form instructions carefully and submit all necessary documentation and evidence for the adjustment.

Applying for a Green Card While Outside the United States

If you are outside of the U.S. but hope to apply for a green card, you should visit the National Visa Center or NVC. The NVC will start discussions with you once your visa application has been authorized. The NVC will then transfer your case to the U.S. embassy in your country.

The embassy will then schedule an interview and give you instructions on getting a medical exam and taking photos before the interview. Different documents must also be delivered during the interview, including your passport, your birth certificate, marriage certificate, and perhaps more if necessary.

What If I Already Am a Green Card Holder?

If you presently hold a green card, it’s essential to ensure your green card status is current. If you are a permanent resident with a Form I-551 valid, your green card status is good for ten years. At that time, the card is either expired or will expire within the next six months. It should be noted that this requirement only applies if you are a permanent resident. If you are a conditional resident, other rules apply.

If you have applied for a green card, you can review the status of your application at www.uscis.gov.

There are cases where you may need to replace your green card.

What If My Green Card Application Is Denied?

If your application for renewing your green card is denied, you will receive a letter notifying you of why your application was denied. There is no appeal process for a denial of a green card application. You may, nonetheless, submit a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider the denial. The USCIS will then revisit or reconsider its decision.

If you file a motion to reopen your case, you must supply new facts that the USCIS should consider regarding your application. A motion to reconsider must establish that the denial of your application was based on an incorrect application of the law. It must further prove that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence used by the USCIS at the time your application was denied.

What Are My Rights and Responsibilities as a Green Card Holder?

Your Rights
As a green card holder, or permanent resident, you have the right to do the following:

• Live permanently in the U.S. as long as no acts are committed that would make you removable under immigration law.
• Work in the U.S. at any legal work of your qualification and choosing.
• Be protected by all laws of the U.S., your state of residence, and local jurisdictions.

Your Responsibilities
As a permanent resident, you are responsible for the following:

• Required to obey all laws of the U.S., the states, and localities
• File your income tax returns and report income to the IRS
• Support the democratic government of the U.S.
• Mandated, if you are male aged 18 to 25, to register with the Selected Service

Do I Need an Immigration Attorney?

If you have been denied a green card application or need advice on whether you are eligible for a green card, an immigration attorney is a helpful resource.