Immigrant Visas
Immigrant Visas:
A first step in living the “American Dream” is to have a “Green Card”. Prior to addressing the ways in which one can get a “Green Card” why is it called a “Green Card” anyway? The simple answer, it used to be green. As a result, everyone started calling it the “Green Card”.
Generally speaking, there are two ways you can get a “Green Card”. For both of them you need a sponsor. The sponsor can be a family member or an employer.
Family Based Sponsorship:
During college you decided to do a summer abroad trip to Spain with a group of your girlfriends and happened to meet Sergio. You started casually dating but soon enough it became more serious. You visited each other during vacations. In your last trip, he finally proposed. You have a great job and Sergio is open to move to the U.S. How do you get him here? Simple. He can become an immigrant or permanent resident merely because you are a U.S. citizen. The U.S. immigration system doesn’t want to stand in love’s way.
But it does have different classifications because apparently not all love is created equal. There are Sponsorships based on immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and Other Family members.
Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens:
Other Family Members:
Employment Based Sponsorship:
To support the “American Dream” we want to attract the best and the brightest but we will make exceptions if you are rich!
For instance, do you think someone like Albert Einstein was the best and the brightest? He moved here in 1933 as a resident scholar. The U.S. government defines the best and the brightest as someone with “extraordinary ability in the arts, the sciences, education, business or athletics”. Albert Einstein certainly possesses such extraordinary abilities.
Alternatively, Sergio’s friend from Spain is a multi-millionaire and wants to invest a million dollars to start a new business in the U.S. As a result, he wants to move here to manage his investment. We certainly will welcome him with open arms too!
Similar to Family Based Sponsorships, not all Employment Based Sponsorships are created equal. Below is a list based on preference.
Humanitarian
Other Ways to Get a Green Card
A first step in living the “American Dream” is to have a “Green Card”. Prior to addressing the ways in which one can get a “Green Card” why is it called a “Green Card” anyway? The simple answer, it used to be green. As a result, everyone started calling it the “Green Card”.
Generally speaking, there are two ways you can get a “Green Card”. For both of them you need a sponsor. The sponsor can be a family member or an employer.
Family Based Sponsorship:
During college you decided to do a summer abroad trip to Spain with a group of your girlfriends and happened to meet Sergio. You started casually dating but soon enough it became more serious. You visited each other during vacations. In your last trip, he finally proposed. You have a great job and Sergio is open to move to the U.S. How do you get him here? Simple. He can become an immigrant or permanent resident merely because you are a U.S. citizen. The U.S. immigration system doesn’t want to stand in love’s way.
But it does have different classifications because apparently not all love is created equal. There are Sponsorships based on immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and Other Family members.
Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens:
- Spouses of U.S. citizens
- Unmarried people under 21 with at least one U.S. parent
- Parents of a citizen, if the son or daughter is at least 21 years old
- Stepchildren and stepparents of citizens, if the marriage creating the stepchildren or stepparents took place before the child’s 18th birthday;
- Adopted children of citizens or permanent residents, if the adoption took place before the child turned 16 and other conditions are met.
Other Family Members:
- First Preference: unmarried adults, age 21 or older, who have at least one citizen parent.
- Second Preference: coincidentally there are two categories under second preference. First, spouses and unmarried children of a green card holder, so long as the children are younger than 21. Second, unmarried children age 21 or older of a green card holder.
- Third Preference: married couples with at least one citizen parent.
- Fourth Preference: sisters and brothers of citizens so as long as the citizen is over 21.
Employment Based Sponsorship:
To support the “American Dream” we want to attract the best and the brightest but we will make exceptions if you are rich!
For instance, do you think someone like Albert Einstein was the best and the brightest? He moved here in 1933 as a resident scholar. The U.S. government defines the best and the brightest as someone with “extraordinary ability in the arts, the sciences, education, business or athletics”. Albert Einstein certainly possesses such extraordinary abilities.
Alternatively, Sergio’s friend from Spain is a multi-millionaire and wants to invest a million dollars to start a new business in the U.S. As a result, he wants to move here to manage his investment. We certainly will welcome him with open arms too!
Similar to Family Based Sponsorships, not all Employment Based Sponsorships are created equal. Below is a list based on preference.
- Priority Workers are Albert Einstein’s of the world. Ok, maybe not everyone needs to be an Albert Einstein.
- Professionals Holding Advances Degrees & Persons of Exceptional Ability
- Professionals and skilled or unskilled workers
- Special Immigrants
- Employment Creation/Investors
Humanitarian
Other Ways to Get a Green Card
- Green Card Lotteries
- Special Immigrants
- Refuge and Asylum
- Amnesty and Special Agricultural Worker Status
- Long-Time Residents
- Special Cases
