Green Card

Family Members of US Citizens

Immediate Relatives

Immediate relatives of American citizens are not subject to annual quotas and an immigrant visa is always immediately available. As a result, if the foreign national relative is already in the U.S., the immigrant petition and the application for adjustment of status may be filed simultaneously. There are no derivative benefits for dependents of the foreign national who is being sponsored for permanent residence. The dependents may still be eligible to obtain a green card if they can independently qualify for classification as immediate relatives.

The immediate relatives category includes:

  • Spouses
  • Unmarried children under 21
  • Parents

Extended Family Members

Extended family members of US citizens are subject to annual quotas and limitations and there is frequently a several year wait before an immigrant visa becomes available. There are derivative benefits for dependents of the foreign national and receive the same priority date and preference classification as the principal immigrant who is being sponsored for permanent residence.

The extended family category includes:

  • Unmarried children over 21 (FB-1)
  • Married children of any age (FB-3)
  • Siblings (FB-4)

Family Members of Permanent Residents

Family members of green card holders are subject to annual quotas and limitations and there is frequently a several year wait before an immigrant visa becomes available. Permanent residents can sponsor the following family members:

  • Spouses (FB-2A)
  • Unmarried children under 21 (FB-2A)
  • Unmarried children over 21 (FB-2B)

First Employment Based Category (EB-1)

Individuals with Extraordinary Ability

This category is reserved for professionals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Extraordinary ability means a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor. Extraordinary ability must be demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and achievements that have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation. An offer of employment and labor certification are not required for this classification.

Professors and Researchers

This category is set aside for professors and researchers who are recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area. Applicants must have at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in the academic area and must be hired for a tenured position (or tenure-track position) within a university or institution of higher education to teach or conduct research in the academic area. Alternatively, applicants may be hired for a comparable position to conduct research in the area with a department, division, or institute of a private employer, if it employs at least 3 persons full-time in research activities and has achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field.

Managers and Executives

This category is appropriate for international managers and executives. In the three-year period preceding the application, the foreign national must have been employed for at least 1 year by a firm or its affiliate or subsidiary and must be coming to the US in order to continue to render services to the same employer in a capacity that is managerial or executive.

Second Employment Based Category (EB-2)

Advanced Degree Professionals

Advanced degree means any US academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. The term "profession" includes, but is not limited to, architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in elementary or secondary schools, colleges, academies, or seminaries. It also includes any occupation for which a US bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent is the minimum requirement for entry into the occupation.

A US bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty will be considered the equivalent of a master's degree. If a doctoral degree is customarily required by the specialty, the applicant must have a US doctorate or a foreign equivalent degree. A job offer and labor certification are required for this classification.

Individuals with Exceptional Ability

Exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the respective field. In determining whether an applicant has exceptional ability, the possession of a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning or a license to practice or certification for a particular profession or occupation shall not by itself be considered sufficient evidence of such exceptional ability. A job offer and labor certification are required for this classification, but an exception of this requirement is available to applicants who qualify for a national interest waiver.

Third Employment Based Category (EB-3)

Skilled Workers

Skilled worker means an individual who is capable of performing skilled labor (requiring at least two years training or experience), not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States. Relevant post-secondary education may be considered as training.

Baccalaureate Degree Professionals

Applicants must establish that they hold at least a US bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree, and that a baccalaureate degree is required for entry into the occupation.

Unskilled Workers

Unskilled worker means an individual who is capable of performing unskilled labor (requiring less than two years training or experience), not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Immigrant Visa

When the immigrant petition filed on your behalf is approved and a visa number becomes available, you must apply for an immigrant visa at the US consulate in your country of residence. You are required to appear for a personal interview before a consular officer. The interviewing official has authority to request additional documentation that is helpful in determining your eligibility for a visa. The immigrant visa has a six-month validity period. You officially become a permanent resident on the day of entry on an immigrant visa.

Adjustment of Status

The traditional method of obtaining permanent residence (green card) involves an application for an immigrant visa at a US consulate abroad. The adjustment of status process is an alternative method which allows eligible foreign nationals who are in the US in legal status to receive their green card without having to leave the country. The applicant must demonstrate that he or she is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and that an immigrant visa is immediately available at the time of filing of the application for adjustment of status.

You are not eligible for adjustment of status if:

  • you are not in lawful immigration status on the date of filing your application for adjustment of status (there is an exception for immediate relatives)
  • you failed to maintain continuously a lawful status since entry (there is an exception for immediate relatives)
  • you were ever employed without the authorization (there is an exception for immediate relatives)
  • you were admitted as a visitor under the visa waiver program (there is an exception for immediate relatives)
  • you were admitted as a crewman
  • you were admitted as an alien in transit
  • you entered without inspection
  • you are already an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis