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How To Get A US Green Card

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Close relatives of US citizens and highly skilled workers get the best placed to get a US green card. Getting a US green card takes you steps closer towards becoming a permanent legal residence in the United States. When people talk of the easiest ways to get a US green card, they usually mean to say; the fastests or at least ambitious way to become a legal resident  in the USA.

In the context of modern American immigration, the waiting period for many US green card applicants can be 10 years or even more. However, for some lucky people, this wait can only last several week. Of course, what is "easy" relies in part on what you are entitled to with each category of the US immigration visa or Us green card.

US  green card and What you must know

Existing family relationships with US citizens or permanent residents can make immigrations uncomfortable for most people. Also there is the US Visa Diversity lottery for citizens of eligible countries. As well as millionaires who want to start their business in the United States have a potential visa (EB-5).

However, you should keep in mind that there isn’t general categories for people who want permanent legal permanent residence in the United States. Everyone must fall into a specific category required by United States immigration law. Also, there are annual restrictions in some categories, the waiting times can equally be very long.

How the waiting list affects certain categories of US green cards

A key concept called "immigration visa preference category" influences the time many applicants take to receive a US green card. United States immigration law establishes a special preference category in which foreigners can qualify for so-called "immigration visa numbers." The number of immigration visas is basically queued points for a US green card.

Most categories are "easier" than others because the demand is low and also the number of visas available to immigrants is almost too small. Other categories may have to wait ten to twenty five years to have a visa number available. Let's have a look at the main categories.

Let’s examine the US visa bulletin

This is published on monthly basis by the United States Department of State and it provides information on the availability of current immigrant visa numbers. You will find that the entry visa number is divided into 2 main groups; specific family preferences and work preferences.

The US Bulletin also lists the category of Immigrant Diversity, which we will talk about of below. Under each group you will find some subcategories.

Favorite US green card categories

With regard to family-related immigration, married couple, children under 21, and also parents of US citizens may not be registered in the US Visa Bulletin. This is because they’re considered "close relatives," who immediately have the opportunity to apply for an immigration visa or US green card under current immigration law. This is usually the fastest way to get a US green card through a family member.

The different categories listed in "Family-sponsored Agreements" are; The "first", "second", "third" and "Fourth" (each one clearly defined in the US Visa Bulletin). Unless otherwise indicated, "children" means a single child under the age of twenty one.

By definition for each category, the US visa bulletin contains a table that lists the priority data that shows the date of submission of an application by immigrants who finally tried to obtain a visa or a green card.

US green card for foreigners

Due to the great demand for immigration visas or US green cards by Chinese, Indian, Mexican and Filipino citizens, foreign citizens of these countries mostly have separate priority dates and are usually late.

As for the "simplest" way to obtain a US green card through a family based preference system, couples and children under 21 who live in the United States have a mostly short waiting time, usually in 2 months and 2 years. However, immigration laws is a constantly changing field. If you have questions concerning your case, contact an immigration lawyer.

Work preferences categories for employment based

The overall approach of work-based preferences categories is not very different from family-related categories. The US visa bulletin divides the specific entry visa categories for workers available by law and establishes priority date for each category.

Unlike family preferences, employers in the United States generally sponsor foreigners. In addition, work-related categories are mainly determined by the difficulties and educational needs of work that foreigners must perform. The two notable exceptions are the forth and equally the fifth categories of work preferences. We'll talk about that later.

Although the waiting period for work-related immigrant visas or US green card is relatively short in some categories, the application process demands a lot of work and also documentation from the applicant and equally the sponsor.

Catergories for the US green card

The basic requirements for eligibility can be very demanding. For example, the "First preferences" category for "superior workers" is available only to the workers who are considered exceptional in their field, such as internationally recognized artist, award-winning scientist or similar people or managers or executive or managing directors of multi-national companies.

The "2nd option" and "third option" categories are also available primarily to people whose jobs are planned in the United States demands at least a degree in a particular field of study. The 2nd and third preference generally also require employers to sponsor foreigners to conduct "market tests" in the labor markets to ensure that no US citizen or permanent resident living in the United States is transferred from available work.

Diversity of immigration visas

You may have heard of the Diversity US Immigrant Visa (DV) program equally called the "Green Card" lottery. This isn’t far from the ideal goal.

The United States immigration law provides 55,000 immigrant US visa or US green card numbers for foreigners from countries where only some applications for permanent residence in the US are filed. If you meet up the minimum training requirements and have no problems with previous criminal activities, immigration problems or other violations, you can request a randomly selected opportunity and assign an immigrant US visa or US green card number as part of the DV program.

Chance of getting US green Card

As in all the lotteries, your chance of success with a DV program rely on luck. If you are from the country that already has many permanent candidates, your chances of being selected for a DV immigration US visa are drastically reduced.

Also, if you choose it as part of a computer program, you’ll immediately have an immigrant US visa number and also a short path to the US green card if you can receive treatment before the visa expires same year.

Botoom line

Permanent Stay in the United States is not easy to obtain, though there are many ways to significantly reduce waiting times for a US green card. Talk to an accredited immigration lawyer about the ways in which you can obtain a residence card and the rarely used categories that are not covered here.

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