Green Card Application Process

A green card is a document which proves the legal status of immigrants in the US, also known as the US Permanent Resident Card. It is issued to aliens who are legal residents with rights to work in the United States. US citizenship can be applied for after having a green card for several years.

Employer

Aliens may obtain a green card from an employer who sponsors them. There are several ways this might occur: if the applicant has an extraordinary skill in science, art, education fields, business or athletics. Professors, researchers and Ph.D.s are often included here. Several documents must then be filed with the immigration office, including a work verification and visa application.

Family

A green card can also be sponsored by a family member. A lawful permanent resident of the United States may sponsor an immigrant's green card. The catch here is that the family member petitioning for the alien's green card must be a spouse or child and prove they can financially support the applicant at 125 percent above the poverty level.

Lottery Program

Each year, the immigration office awards many qualified applicants a visa through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program. Applicants must be from a country of origin with low immigration rates to the US. Applicants from the following countries are not eligible: Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, UK with the exception of Northern Ireland as well as its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Refugee Status

Applicants in refugee status can also get a green card. They can apply for asylum. Asylum is for foreign nationals that have been persecuted in their homeland and may be killed if they return to their country. This type of visa must be applied within a year of the last time they entered the US.