Many people want a piece of the American dream. A green card is the start.
How Can I get a Green Card?
It is a fundamental question that many people ask. They want to live permanently in the United States and know that a green card gives them that right. If they qualify and they are already in the United States, it is a matter of filing an application to adjust their status from whatever status they have, such as a work visa, a student visa, or a visitor visa, to permanent residence. They file a Form I-485 to accomplish this task, attach all required documents, and pay all applicable fees. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will require them to go to a biometric appointment where they must provide fingerprints and a facial scan to obtain police and security clearance. In addition, they must pass a medical treatment and must also attend an interview to qualify for the green card. The process will take about a year or more and at the end they will receive their green card which will be proof of their permanent resident status for ten years. They will then be able to renew the green card for another ten years and so on. But it’s just a mechanical answer that outlines the procedure without talking about how difficult it is to get a green card and eligibility to get one.
How hard is it to get a green card?
Getting a green card is not an easy task, no matter how it is done. The process can be very difficult and complicated, especially if the applicant gets it wrong – and wastes a lot of time and money in the process. Applicants can also expose themselves to deportation, criminal charges, and even being barred from ever entering the United States if they have been in the United States illegally, committed crimes while in the country or abroad, or entered the country on wrong way. It is wise to be aware of the dangers involved and take the process seriously. This is not a process for the uneducated or those with a checkered past.
Green card lottery winners can immigrate to the United States. See the article : Boris Johnson defies calls to resign in the midst of mass exodus from his government.
What is the easiest way to get a green card to the USA?
The easiest way to get a green card is probably the green card lottery program. The US State Department gives away 55,000 green cards to applicants who apply from countries that are underrepresented in the annual flow of immigrants to the US, countries such as Fiji or Estonia for example. The purpose of the green card lottery is to promote diversity in the pool of recent immigrants entering the United States each year. See the article : Why is the United States still buying oil?. To apply for a green card in this category, an applicant only needs to enter their name in the lottery and follow the basic rules. But they cannot be from countries like Mexico, China, India, or the Philippines to qualify, since those countries are already overrepresented in the flow of immigrants to the United States annually. You can learn more about the diversity of the green card lottery here.
What are some other ways I can get a green card?
Aside from the diversity green card program, there are essentially five ways to get a green card. On the same subject : The Supreme Court saves politics. Let’s discuss each of these.
Family Based Immigration
A popular way to get a green card is to be sponsored by a close family member who is either a US citizen or someone who has a green card. For example, spouses, parents or unmarried children of US citizens can obtain green cards by being sponsored. Likewise, spouses and children of green card holders can apply to come to the United States as permanent residents. Eligibility depends on the status of the sponsor and the nature of the relationship between the applicant and the sponsor. Applicants sponsored by US citizens are given priority over those sponsored by green card holders. More information about these sponsorships can be found here.
Student Immigration
Studying in means being accepted at a college or university. To do so, you must speak to the international student advisor on campus. These people are paid to help students qualify and to get visas for them. Briefly, the process involves obtaining an I-20 letter confirming that you have enrolled in the school and can afford the costs of studying there, and then applying for a student visa abroad through a US consulate or at the border in the case of Canada . You can find out more here.
Asylum Claims
Applying for asylum means you can prove that you are outside your country of citizenship and have a well-founded fear of persecution by your home government if you return there based on well-accepted grounds for persecution, such as race, religion, political opinion, etc. Few people will qualify for this way to get a green card in the US, but for those who qualify it is a viable option. See here for more information.
Employment Based Immigration
Working your way in will depend on you qualifying for a work visa. The basic way to do that is through the labor certification process where your employer determines that there are no US workers ready, willing and able to take the job being offered and therefore it should be offered to a foreign worker. Avoiding this painful and laborious process is wise, if at all possible. It can take years.
Work visas such as a TN visa under the USMCA, or an H1B visa will avoid labor certification. Other more difficult work visas you can still apply for are O or P visas for people with extraordinary skills, L visas for transferred businesses and R visas for religious workers. These do not involve work certification and are therefore preferable. Once you have obtained such a work visa, you can eventually switch to green card status. See here for more details.
Investment Based Immigration
Finally, you can invest in the United States. The EB-5 program is the best way to do that. You invest $800,000 for a period of five years in a regional center project and you get your green card. The E-2 visa can be a temporary step toward getting a green card as well, for those applicants who are from a country that has a trade agreement with the United States.
How long can you stay in the U.S. on a green card?
Green cards are issued for ten years and then require renewal. In some cases, such as people who have been married for less than two years, they get a conditional green card for two years. At the two-year mark, they must apply to remove the condition by proving that they are still married and living with their spouse. Similarly, EB-5 investors who receive a conditional green card at the two-year mark must show that their money is still invested in the business and that they have created no fewer than ten new jobs. If they prove that the condition on the green card has been removed.
Processing green cards takes time. Usually more than a year.
How long does it take to get a green card?
It depends on. However, it is probably safe to say that an application for a green card will likely take at least a year to be approved and in some cases, it can take as long as four or even five years to be processed, depending on the category. The faster green card categories are those for exceptional immigrants and for immediate family members.
Hopefully, this green card summary will be helpful in your efforts to immigrate to the United States.
