U.S. citizens and holders of green cards enjoy so many perks and privileges, USA Immigrate Visa – Steps to Apply 2024 the United States is a particularly attractive location for immigration. You undoubtedly want to know what the immigration procedure entails if you have made the decision to come to the United States. The many types of U.S. immigration visas are numerous. However, for a foreign citizen who wishes to enter the country, the U.S. immigration procedure usually starts with a qualified sponsor submitting a petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We refer to this as petitioning. In the event that the petition is successful, the foreign national would often apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas or change their status to that of a lawful permanent resident of the country. This post will explain the various categories of U.S. immigrant visas and offer a step-by-step tutorial on how to apply for them.
The difference between immigrant and nonimmigrant visas is in their names. Nonimmigrant visas are for foreign citizens who will be in the U.S. on more of a short-term basis. Nonimmigrant visas include those for tourist visits and student visas for international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities. On the other hand, immigrant visas are for foreign citizens looking to remain in the U.S. on a long-term, usually permanent, basis. There are a limited number of immigrant visas available every year. An immigrant visa is also called a green card. People with green cards are “lawful permanent residents” of the United States. After remaining in permanent resident status for 3 or 5 years, they can apply to become U.S. citizens. While many people apply for nonimmigrant visas each year, this article will focus on immigrant visas and explore some of the different pathways people take to become U.S. lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens.
What are the U.S. immigrant visa types
Under U.S. immigration law, several pathways exist to getting a long-term U.S. immigrant visa. For example, you can get a Green Card through a close family member or a U.S. employer after a humanitarian crisis or through the diversity visa lottery process. Read on to learn more about the different U.S. immigrant visa types.
Family-based immigrant visas
Family-based immigrant visas are one of the most popular U.S. immigrant visa types. Foreign nationals can apply for immigration status as permanent residents of the U.S. through immediate relatives — close family members like spouses, parents, siblings, and children, who are either Green Card holders or U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can apply for a Green Card for their spouses, biological or adoptive parents, or children. As Green Card holders, immigrants can live and work lawfully in the United States. They can eventually become U.S. citizens if they remain in legal status for three or five years.
Employment-based immigrant visas
U.S. immigration policy also allows some highly-skilled foreign nationals to live in the U.S. while working for U.S. employers. There are both temporary and permanent work visas available for foreign nationals. Skilled foreign nationals can apply for at least 20 temporary R.K. visas. Some of these visas include H-1B visas for foreign workers in U.S. speciality occupations, H-2B visas for non-agricultural employees to do seasonal, one-time work, L-1 visas for employees of multinational companies who are on transfer to a U.S. office branch, R-1 visas for religious workers, and P visas for people working in sports, arts, and entertainment. USCIS gives out only 65,000 H-1B visas per year. The U.S. Congress sets this H-1B visa cap. Foreign workers with temporary work visas, like the H-1 and L-1, can eventually apply for a Green Card. This type of Green Card is employment-based, and the employer must submit an immigrant petition on their behalf. USA Immigrate Visa – Steps to Apply 2024
Humanitarian immigrant visas
People can also become permanent U.S. residents and citizens for humanitarian reasons. People who flee their home country because of a fear of persecution can seek asylum or refugee status in the U.S. While waiting on a decision on their asylum application, asylum seekers can apply for a work permit to help them support themselves in the U.S. Foreign nationals in refugee and asylum seeker status may apply to become U.S. lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders) through an adjustment of status. Once in permanent resident status, asylees can also apply for Green Cards for any close family members who may have fled to the U.S. with them. Like all Green Card holders, they can eventually become U.S. citizens by naturalization.
Diversity lottery immigrant visas
Every year, the U.S. Department of State runs a diversity lottery for immigrant visas, popularly known as the “Green Card lottery.” Fifty thousand people receive diversity lottery visas each year out of the approximately 12 million who apply. The U.S. visas offered in the lottery are available to people from countries that sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the last five years. Foreign nationals must have completed high school or its equivalent (like a GED) or have worked in a job requiring training for at least two years to qualify for the diversity lottery. Their family members can also get status through them. Learn more about registering for the diversity visa lottery on the State Department website.
Longtime-resident Green Cards
Foreign nationals who have lived in the U.S. for a long time may qualify to apply for a Green Card and begin their official legal process of becoming U.S. immigrants. Not every foreign national in the U.S. can apply for the longtime-resident Green Card. Only people who have been physically present in the U.S.—either lawfully or unlawfully—since January 1, 1972, and who have not left the U.S. since, are eligible to apply for longtime-resident Green Cards.
Other U.S. immigrant visas
Beyond the immigrant visa categories we discussed, the U.S. government also issues other types of visas yearly. There are Green Cards set aside for people considered “special immigrants.” The Department of Homeland Security believes people like religious workers, people in entertainment, media professionals, and Iraqi and Afghanistan nationals who have assisted the U.S. government to be special immigrants. In some cases, there are also Green Cards for people from Mexico and Canada, America’s neighbours. You can learn more about these other types of U.S. immigrant visas on the USCIS website.
What are the requirements for a Green Card
The requirements for a Green Card are specific to the type you are applying for. Employment-based and family-based Green Cards, for instance, have different requirements. However, two process requirements cut across the different Green Card types—the immigration medical exam and a criminal background check. At the immigration medical exam, a USCIS-certified doctor will carry out a series of health tests to confirm that you are in good health and can enter the U.S. Additionally, the USCIS conducts a criminal background check as part of the immigration system’s process to ensure that the officials don’t admit a public safety and national security threat to the U.S.
Read on to learn more about other requirements for the respective Green Card types.
Family-based Green Cards
To qualify for a family-based Green Card, you must be an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder). The time you will have to wait to get your Green Card will depend on whether you are closely related to a citizen or a Green Card Holder.
People who are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can apply for their Green Card immediately. Immediate relatives here refer to the spouses or widows of U.S. citizens, parents of U.S. citizens, and unmarried children of 21 years and younger.
People applying for the Green Card through a Green Card holder or a U.S. citizen family member they aren’t closely related to are called “family preference” applicants. A limited number of family preference Green Cards are available yearly, so family preference applicants must wait in line to apply. There are four main preference categories:
- First Preference (F1)—Unmarried children who are 21 or older, whose parents are U.S. citizens;
- Second Preference (F2A & F2B)—Green Card holders’ spouses and unmarried children;
- Third Preference (F3)—Married children of U.S. citizens; and
- Fourth Preference (F4)—age 21 and older of U.S. citizens.
Your preference category determines how long you will have to wait to apply. For family-based Green Cards, the sponsor (the U.S. permanent resident or citizen you are applying through) must submit an affidavit of support on your behalf. The affidavit is USCIS’s way of ensuring you can access financial support once you move to the U.S.
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Humanitarian-based Green Cards
For humanitarian-based Green Cards, like the asylum Green Card, there are four main requirements to apply. First, you must continue to qualify as a refugee under U.S. immigration law. This means that the dangerous situation you fled from in your home country must continue. If things have changed for the better, and you can return and live in your home country safely, this affects your eligibility for the Green Card. Second, you must have yet to resettle in another country. Resettlement means that you have received an offer for permanent residence in another country that is neither your home country nor the U.S. If you firmly resettle in a third country after receiving U.S. asylum, you will no longer qualify for a Green Card.
Third, you must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least a year to apply for a Green Card as an asylee. USCIS counts physical presence in the U.S. as only the time you spent in the U.S. since receiving asylum. Any time spent outside the U.S. after receiving asylum will not count. Once USCIS grants you asylum, you must accumulate at least one full year in the U.S. before applying for a Green Card.
Finally, you must be “admissible” to the U.S. USCIS has published a list of “inadmissibility grounds” that will make applying for a Green Card impossible. These include health concerns, financial concerns, criminal history, etc. To be “admissible,” none of these inadmissibility grounds should pertain to you. You can learn more about the requirements for the asylum Green Card in our detailed article. USA Immigrate Visa – Steps to Apply 2024
Employment-based Green Cards
For employment-based Green Cards, you must prove that you are highly skilled and talented in your field or be sponsored by an employer who can vouch for your skills and abilities. There are also additional requirements depending on which of the following five categories of employment-based Green Cards you apply for:
- First Preference (EB-1)—This category covers academic researchers, executives of multinational companies, and people with nationally recognized and internationally acclaimed extraordinary skills. Proving that your skills and talents have brought you popularity worldwide is not always straightforward, so it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer to walk you through applying under this category.
- Second Preference (EB-2)—This category refers to people with advanced degrees, people whose employment is in the U.S. national interest, and people with exceptional abilities in the arts, sciences, or business. Your employer would have to sponsor your Green Card application in this category. Your employer must also prove with a labour certification that an American worker cannot replace you because of your skill level.
- Third Preference (EB-3)—This category covers three groups: unskilled workers requiring less than two years of prior experience, skilled workers with at least two years of work experience or training, and professionals requiring at least a U.S. bachelor’s or equivalent. For this category, your employer has to sponsor your application and provide labour certification to prove that it cannot find other qualified workers in the United States to do your job.
- Fourth Preference (EB-4)—This category applies to “special immigrants,” like religious workers and religious personnel. You will need your employer to sponsor you for this Green Card category.
- Fifth Preference (EB-5)—This is for people who plan to invest at least $500,000 into creating jobs for people in the United States.
How is an application for an immigrant visa submitted
Depending on where you are applying from, the Green Card application procedure will differ. USA Immigrate Visa – Steps to Apply 2024 Applying for a Green Card while still residing in the United States requires you to go through the “Adjustment of Status.” When applying for a Green Card from outside the United States, you will use a process known as “Consular Processing.” For further information on those procedures, see our guidelines on filing for a Green Card through consular processing and status adjustments.
However, generally speaking, both application procedures go as follows
Step 1: Petitioner files application
On behalf of the beneficiary (Green Card applicant), the petitioner (Green Card sponsor) applies to start the procedure. Your Green Card sponsor is proving they are related to you via job or family by submitting forms and supporting documentation at this phase. For Green Cards based on family, your sponsor will file Form I-130. Your company will often file Form I-140 for employment-based Green Cards.
Step 2: The application is reviewed by USCIS
You can submit your Green Card application once USCIS has reviewed and approved the petition of your Green Card sponsor. If you are applying from inside the United States, you will file your application on Form I-485 with USCIS; if you are applying from outside the country, you will file your application on Form DS-260 with the State Department. In addition, your sponsor must file Form I-864, committing to your financial assistance if you apply for a family-based Green Card.
Step 3: The Biometrics Appointment is Scheduled by USCIS
USCIS will schedule your appointment for biometric services after they receive your application. USCIS will take your fingerprints and photos during the visit to obtain your biometric data. To ensure that, should you become an immigrant, you won’t pose a threat to public safety, USCIS will use your biometric data to conduct a criminal background check.
Step 4: Face-to-Face Interview
One of the most critical steps in the immigration process is the Green Card interview. The interview is conducted face-to-face and takes place in a nearby USCIS office if you apply domestically or at a U.S. embassy or consulate near your foreign address if you apply overseas. Applications for consular status are processed by the National Visa Centre (NVC). During the interview, the officer will verify that the information you supplied is accurate and that you qualify for a Green Card. You might have to attend the interview with your sponsor in certain situations. For instance, you will need to appear in person for the interview with your spouse, a citizen or permanent resident, if you apply for a marriage Green Card from within the United States.