Eligibility and pathways to acquire a USA Permanent Visa
US permanent Visa or Green Card holders are the legitimate Permanent Residents of the United States. Green Card is the official card or USA immigration status issued by the US Immigration Service (USCIS) to foreign nationals enabling their permanent residency in the USA and conferring all national and local benefits and rights.
A Green Card allows you to live and work in the United States of America with independence. However, Green Card allotment demands several conditions to be met and takes a long time to be awarded.
The 4 Prime Ways to Obtain a US Green Card:
1. Employment based Green card:
This is the easiest of channels to of acquiring Green Card for those who are educationally eligible and are on the lookout for employment with US companies. However, green cards are issued to employees availing non-immigrant services as per certain prioritized employment categories such as EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3. Alien nationals with extraordinary performance in the fields of Sciences, arts, business, education or athletics, outstanding professors and researchers and multinational managers or executives come under EB-1 category to take the first preference. Persons with advanced degrees or exceptional and queer abilities are favored with EB-2 visas. Skilled professionals with abundance of work experience to moot will be ranked for EB-3 visas.
Foreign nationals who are already in US on any other Visa such as H1B etc, and who apply for Green Card to be eligible for permanent US residency must first apply for “Adjustment Status”.
Eligibility:
* Form I-485 application filing
* Physical presence during Form I-485 filing
* Immigrant visa eligibility
* Have Valid Form I-140 with employment abidance
* If you are inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the US
* Required Documents:
* Form I-485 and Form I-485 supplement J
* Copy of valid Form I-797
* Two passport sized photographs
* Copy of the Government issued photo identity
* Copy of the birth certificate
* Copy of your passport with inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled stamp as applicable
* With non-immigrant visa as per applicability
* Copy of the Form I-94/ US CBP admission or parole stamp as per applicability
* Abidance of your lawful status maintenance since your USA arrival
* Form I-693
* Form I-601 and Form I-212 Form I-508 as pr applicability
* Form I-508/ Form I-508F ( for French national) as per applicability
* Form I-566
* Form I-485 supplement A
2. Win a green card - green card lottery - dv lottery:
US DV Lottery Immigration and Naturalization program is another licit gate to enter USA. However, this is a US Government sponsored visa program under US Immigration and Naturalization Services that lets you bring your family to USA and permit the bread winner and his/her family members to live, work, and study in the US and let them become the US citizen.
Eligibility:
* You must be a national of Diversity Visa Lottery qualifying country
* You must have completed US 12 years high school certification or any equivalent to this or have a work experience of 2 years in past 5 years
* Ability to furnish all the required abidance of your educational qualification or work experience and proof of your native nation
Documents required:
* Copy of your passport
* Your original birth certificate to proof your native country
* In case of unavailability of birth certificate, baptismal certificate issued just after birth or a secondary conformity of your birth through an affirmation from the Civil Registrar’s office is asked for
* Marriage certificate or marriage termination evidence as per applicability
* Legal Record regarding your name change as per applicability
* 5×5 cm Colored full faced photo graph of yours
* Your educational certificates
* Work experience evidence
* Original Police certificates
* Court and prison records as per applicability
* Military records as per applicability
* Deportation paper as per applicability
3. Green card through a family member:
Under the USA immigration law, there is a provision to hold green card status by virtue of being a family member or relative of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident of USA based on certain family relationships.
If you are one of the immediate family members of a US citizen including spouse, unwed children below 21 Years of age and parents of 21 years old or elder US citizen then you are eligible to immigrate to US and apply for a green card under this category.
Eligibility:
* Immediate relatives of US citizen-
* Spouse of a U.S. citizen
* Unwed children below the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen
* Parent of a 21 years old or elder U.S. citizen
* Other relatives of US citizen or a lawful permanent residence of US
* 21 years old or elder unwed son or daughter of a US citizen
* Married son or daughter of a US citizen
* At least 21 years old brother or sister of a US citizen
* Spouse of a legitimate permanent residence of USA
* Unwed child of below 21 years old of a legitimate permanent residence of USA
* Unwed child of 21 years old or elder of a legitimate permanent residence of USA
* Fiancé of US citizen or children of fiancé
* Person entered as the Fiancé of a US citizen (K1 nonimmigrant)
* Person entered to the U.S. as the child of a fiancé of a U.S. citizen (K-2 nonimmigrant)
* Widow of US citizen- widow or widower of a US citizen (your late spouse must be a US citizen at the time of your marriage)
4. Green card by marriage:
Possibly, obtaining a Green card by marriage is the fastest method to acquire green card status. However, as per US immigration law, the marriage must be lawful and must not have the singular intention to avail the immigration convenience. If your spouse is already living in the USA, Form I-485 is the relevant form to be filed. On the other hand, if your spouse is abroad, you should go through Form DS-230 and consular processing.
