About the Green Card

US GREEN CARD- ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.

In a Nutshell, aU.S. green card will let the petitioner live and work lawfully in the United States as a permanent resident. Lawful permanent resident status is not the same as citizenship. Still, it comes with immigration benefits like work authorization until the expiry of the Green card, and official immigration status in the United States, which entitles the holder to certain rights and responsibilities, including, the opportunity to naturalize as a U.S. Citizen. Other benefits include sponsoring your immediate, attending University for less Money, contributing to political campaigns, traveling in and Out of the United States with more ease, qualifying for Social Security benefits, having Greater Career Opportunities, and Less Paperwork with US Officials. Not all individuals who get approved for a green card are interested in becoming US citizens. Some petitioners want the liberty of living in the US freely while keeping the citizenship of their native countries.

What is Adjustment of Status?

The process for applying for a green card from within the United States is called Adjustment of Status (AOS). When you apply for an adjustment of status, you’ll be able to stay in the United States while your application is processed, even if your visa expires before your green card is approved. 

Green Card Eligibility Categories

There are various types of green cards. The steps one must take to apply for a Green Card will vary depending on your individual situation.

To apply for a Green Card, you must be eligible under one of the categories listed below. 

Green Card Through Family.

a) An immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. An immediate relative includes the Spouse of a U.S. citizen, an Unmarried child under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen, and a Parent of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old.

b) Other relatives of a U.S. citizen: This includes family members of a U.S. citizen, meaning you are the: Unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen and you are 21 years old or older, married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen, brother or sister of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old.

c) Relative of a lawful permanent resident under the family-based preference categories. Once a migrant is approved for a green card, they are allowed to bring their family members to the US. A family member of a lawful permanent resident means you are the: Spouse of a lawful permanent resident, Unmarried child under the age of 21 of a lawful permanent resident. Unmarried son or daughter of a lawful permanent resident 21 years old or older.

d) Fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen or the fiancé(e)’s child. This includes a person admitted to the U.S. as a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen under a K-1 non-immigrant visa and any person admitted to the U.S. as the child of a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen under a K-2 non-immigrant.

e) Widow(er) of a U.S. citizen. To qualify as a Widow(er) of a US citizen, the petitioner must have been married to a U.S. citizen spouse at the time their spouse died.

f) VAWA self-petitioner– victim of battery or extreme cruelty. 

Through the Violence Against Women Act, one can apply for a green card without their abusive relative knowing. The abusive relative could be a violent spouse, parent, or child who is a green card holder or U.S. citizen. USCIS processes VAWA green card cases without letting the abusive relative know. VAWA applies broadly to any applicant in an abusive situation. This means that not only women, but also LGBT-inclusive and transgender persons, men, children, and parents can apply for a green card under VAWA. If you, or someone you know, are a victim of abuse, contact Direct Path USA for a Free consultation. In a nutshell, this category includes:

a. Abused spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

b. Abused child of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident who is unmarried and under 21 years old) 

c. Abused parent of a U.S. citizen

Green Card Through Employment.

It is also possible to get a green card through your U.S. employer. This category of green cards allows foreign nationals of “exceptional ability” to live in the United States and contribute to the U.S. workforce and economy. To apply for an employment-based green card, your U.S. employer will have to be the petitioner, except in very few cases. Examples of Qualifying jobs for green Cards Include:

a. EB-1: Immigrant Visa-First Priority Workers. Multinational managers and executives, exceptional professors and researchers, positions that require exceptional ability.

b. EB-2 Immigrant Visa- Second Preference is for individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability. For Petitioners who hold an advanced degree or have exceptional ability and can show that your activities will substantially benefit the US national interest. In that case, you may qualify for the national interest waiver. This category also includes Physicians with a Physician National Interest Waiver: Positions that require at least a master's degree or a bachelor's degree and five years of work experience, positions that are in the U.S. national interest (e.g., foreign physicians serving in an underserved part of the U.S.)

c. EB-3 Immigrant Visa-Third Preference: Skilled, unskilled, and professional workers: Professional positions that require at least a U.S. bachelor's degree or its equivalent, unskilled positions that require less than two years of training, skilled positions that require experience that's not seasonal or temporary.

d. EB-4 Immigrant Visa- Fourth Preference: Special immigrants are individuals who may be eligible for lawful permanent resident status (a Green Card) based on specific visa categories that are listed in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Eligibility depends on the requirements for each visa category. To petition for an employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) immigrant, your employer must file a Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow (er), or Special Immigrant Special workers. To petition for an employment-based fourth preference immigrant, your employer must file a Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. However, there are certain situations where you, the employee, may self-petition on your own behalf.  You may be eligible for an employment-based, fourth preference (EB-4) visa if you are a special immigrant in the following special immigrants are eligible for the fourth preference visa:

· Religious workers, Special Immigrant Juveniles.

· Certain broadcasters.

· Certain retired officers or employees of a G-4 international organization or NATO-6 civilian employees and their family members.

· Certain employees of the U.S. government who are abroad and their family members.

· Members of the U.S. armed forces.

· Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone government employees.

· Certain physicians licensed and practicing medicine in a U.S. state as of Jan. 9, 1978.

· Afghan or Iraqi translators or interpreters.

· Iraqis who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government; and

· Afghans who were employed by the U.S. government or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

§ Invest in a new commercial enterprise, which is any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business that was either:

-Established after Nov. 29, 1990; or

-Established on or before Nov. 29, 1990; that was: Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results; or

-Expanded through the investment so that a 40% increase in the net worth or the number of employees:

§ Invest the required minimum amount of capital: $1,050,000 for standard investments or $800,000 for investment in a commercial enterprise principally doing business in a targeted employment area or in a regional center-associated infrastructure project. For petitions filed before March 15, 2022, the two amounts were $1,000,000 for standard investments or $500,000 for investments in a targeted employment area.

Other Forms of Green Card or Permanent Residency

§ Asylee

§ Refugee

§ Human trafficking victim

§ Crime victim

§ Special Immigrant Juvenile

§ An abused victim of battery or extreme cruelty. spouse or child under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

§ An abused victim of battery or extreme cruelty) spouse or child under the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act (HRIFA)

§ Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF)

§ Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

§ Cuban Adjustment Act.

§ An abused (victim of battery or extreme cruelty) spouse or child under the Cuban Adjustment Act

§ Dependent status under the HRIFA.

§ An abused (victim of battery or extreme cruelty) spouse or child under HRIFA.

§ Lautenberg parolee.

§ Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act of 2000.

§ American Indian born in Canada.

§ Person born in the United States to a foreign diplomat.

§ Section 13 (diplomat).

§ You may be eligible to register for a Green Card if you have resided continuously in the U.S. before Jan. 1, 1972.