Usa Green Card

 USA Green Card Eligibility

                         

You may be eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) through your family, a job offer or employment, refugee or asylum status, or a number of other special provisions. In some cases, you may even be able to self petition or have a record created for permanent residence on your behalf. In general, to meet the requirements for permanent residence in the United States, you must:

• Be eligible for one of the immigrant categories established in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
• Have a qualifying immigrant petition filed and approved for you (with a few exceptions)
• Have an immigrant visa immediately available
• Be admissible to the United States

Eligibility for an Immigrant Category

Individuals who want to become immigrants (permanent residents) through their qualified family member, a job offer or employment, or a special category will generally be classified in categories based on a preference system. Except for immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen who are given the highest immigration priority and a few other exceptions, Congress has set a finite number of visas that can be used each year for each category of immigrants. The general categories are listed below. For more specific information under each general category, see the links to the left.

Family Based

Some relatives of U.S. citizens, known as immediate relatives, do not have to wait for a visa to become available. There is no limit to the number of visas that can be utilized in this category in a particular year. Immediate relatives include

• Parents of a U.S. citizen
• Spouses of a U.S. citizen
• Unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen

Job or Employment Based

• First Preference: Priority Workers, including aliens with extraordinary abilities, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers
• Second Preference: Members of professions holding an advanced degree or persons of exceptional ability (including individuals seeking a National Interest Waiver)
• Third Preference: Skilled Workers, professionals and other qualified workers
• Fourth Preference: Certain special immigrants including those in religious vocations
• Fifth Preference: Employment creation immigrants (investors or entrepreneurs)

Visa Availability 

A visa is always available for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. If you are in a family or employment based preference category, visa availability is determined by

• Your priority date
• The preference category you are immigrating under
• The country the visa will be charged to (usually your country of citizenship)

Privileges

Once a Green Card is obtained, a person gains a number of privileges. Besides living in the United States, a Green Card enables a holder to work in the United States and to travel abroad or visit his home country for a determined length of time. A person with a Green Card can apply for citizenship in the United States after a certain number of years. Finally, a holder of a Green Card can secure a Green Card for a spouse or children under the age of 21 if they are unmarried.