Types of Green Cards and How to Apply

A Green allows non-US citizens to get permanent residence and helps them live and work lawfully in the United States.

Types of green cards:

There are many types of green cards, and the six most common types of green cards are discussed here. Each of these is covered in detail below:

1. Family-based Green Cards:

Eligibility to Apply:

• Close relatives of the US citizen or the current green holders are eligible to apply for family-based green cards to immigrate to the United States. The list of people who can apply for the family-based green card in the form of a close relative of a US citizen is given below:
• If you are the spouse of a US citizen
• An unmarried child of a US citizen under the age of 21
• Parent of a US citizen who is at least having the age 21 years old
• Married daughter/Son of a US citizen of 21 years old or older than this
• Sister/brother of a US citizen who is at least have the age 21
• Fiancée or fiancée’s child of a US citizen
• Widow of a US citizen

If you are a family member or relative of a US lawful permanent resident or a green card holder, you can also apply in the following :

• If you are the spouse of a green card holder
• Unmarried or married son/daughter of a green card holder who is 21 years old or older than this
• Abused child, parent, or spouse of the green card holder

Many extended family members such as cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents cannot apply on family-based green cards. They are eligible if they are immediate relatives of US citizens or Green cardholders.

How to apply for family-based green cards?

You can apply for a Family-based green card in the following ways:

• You must file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
• You are physically present in the United States when you file Form I-485.
• You are eligible to get an immigrant visa, and an immigrant Visa is also available when you file form I-485
• When filing the form I-485 at that time, another form, Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, will also be filed on your behalf.
• Not any of the applicable bar of the adjustment of status applies to you.
• You are admissible in the United States for a Lawful Permanent Resident and eligible on the other supporting forms of relief.
• After submitting all the forms and required documents, wait for the approval of Form I-130

2. Employment-Based Green Cards:

Eligibility to Apply:

In the employment-based green card, there are multiple categories of workers that can apply for green cards. So, if you want to apply for US green card for employment bases following are the preferences for them:

• Their first preference (EB-1)is extraordinary abilities in science, arts, business, education, athletics, or any other field.
• Their second preference (EB-2) is those who have any advanced degree or exceptional ability in their professions or any field of science, arts, or business or are seeking a national interest waiver.
• Their third preference (EB-3) are those people who are skilled or professional workers having minimum experience of two years in their fields. They also prefer unskilled workers with at least two years of training experience.
• Their fourth preference is special workers(EB-4), religious, media professionals, Afghani or Iraqi translators, interpreters, security agents who worked for the US government or ISAF, and many other employees, retirees, and family members.
• You are also eligible for the green card if you are a physician(EB-2 with a special waiver) who will do his clinical practice in a designated underserved area for a certain period and also fulfills other eligibility requirements.
• You are also eligible as an immigrant investor (EB-5) who invests 500,000 to 1 million US dollars in a new commercial enterprise.

How to apply for Employment-based Green Cards?

You can apply for an Employment-based green card in the following ways:

• You must file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
• You are physically present in the United States when you file Form I-485.
• You are eligible to get an immigrant visa in the form of the first three employment-based preferences, and an immigrant visa is also available when you file form I-485
• When filing the form I-485 at that that another form, Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, will also be filed on your behalf
• Not any of the applicable bar of the adjustment of status applies to you.
• You are admissible in the United States for a Lawful Permanent Resident and eligible on the other supporting forms of relief.
• After submitting all the forms and required documents, wait for the approval of Form I-140
• To get more information on visa availability, see Visa availability dates and adjustment of status filing charts.

3. Humanitarian Green Cards:

Green Card to Asylum status or refugee:

 People who fear or have experienced harassment in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group can seek protection from the United States. You can apply as a refugee or for asylum if you have been granted asylum status or were admitted as a refugee at least one year ago.

Green Card through Crime Victims and Human Trafficking:

Victims of human trafficking living in the United States lawfully or unlawfully are eligible for T nonimmigrant visa to seek protection from the United States. To qualify for the green card, the applicant must live in the United States for three years since receiving a T visa or duration of investigation or prosecution of human trafficking.

Victims of “substantial and physical abuse” living in the US don’t matter lawfully or unlawfully can seek protection through a U nonimmigrant visa. Victims’ applications must be certified by a law enforcement agency to get a U visa. The applicant must live in the United States for three years since receiving a U visa to qualify for the green card. You have left the United States from the time you applied for a green card until the application is approved, and you must not be refused to help or investigate or prosecute certain crimes until you receive your green card.

Green card through victims of abuse:

Over 1.6 million people world lose their life due to violence and abuse. In that case, if you are a victim of abuse or extreme cruelty, then you are eligible to apply for a green card in the US:

• If you are an abused parent, child, and spouse of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, you are eligible to apply for a green card.
• You are also eligible to apply as a special immigrant Juvenile as a unique child who has been neglected and abandoned by your parents, and you also have SIJ status.
• You are eligible if you are an abused spouse or child of a Cuban native citizen under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
• You are also eligible as an abused spouse or child under the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act (HRIFA)

How to apply for a Humanitarian-green card?

To apply for the Humanitarian-green card:

• Firstly, there’s a need to submit Form I-131, the Application for a travel document, and the Form I-134, Affidavit for Support.
• Fill out both of these forms with all the necessary details and instructions.
• Pay the filing fees.
• Attach are the required evidence and supporting documents with your application.
• When you receive the email or text accepting these forms, complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of application/ Petition acceptance, and attach this in front of your application.
• Wait for the response on your application.

4. Diversity Lottery Green Card:

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program is also known as the Green Card lottery program. The US allows up to fifty-five thousand people from different countries to apply for immigration in the US, which is a cheap and straightforward way to enter the US.

Eligibility to apply:

To apply for a green card through the Diversity lottery Green card, you have to fulfill the following requirements:

• It would be best to apply for the lottery if you were eighteen years old.
• You are at least high school graduated or have completed 12 years of secondary and elementary education.
• The minimum education requirement for eligibility is to have a high school diploma. Suppose you don’t have a high school diploma. In that case, there are two ways to go around, you can either show that your skills are equivalent to the high school diploma, or you have two years of working experience.
• People who are born in the following countries are not eligible to apply: China(including Hong Kong SAR), Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, EI Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatemala, Jamaica, India, Nigeria, Mexico, Philippines, Pakistan, United Kingdom(except North Ireland)and it’s dependent territories, South Korea and Vietnam.
• There are two exceptions where you can claim your eligibility while living in these countries; the first exception is eligibility based on your parents if you are under 21. The second is eligibility based on your spouse. Your parents or spouse were not born in ineligible countries, not the natives of any of these countries.

How to apply for Diversity Lottery Green Cards?

• To apply for the Green Card Lottery program, visit the website www.dvprogram.state.gov and use one of the Form DS-260 or DS-5501
• Part one is about entrant information like name, gender, date of birth, city, country where you were born, passport, photograph (the photograph having white background), mailing address, education, etc. The complete form is filled in detail carefully.
• As we know, the minimum requirement of education is a high school diploma to apply for the diversity visa lottery program, so fill that block according to your education.
• After you are all done, please read the whole form thoroughly, make sure that there isn’t any mistake that affects your application or entry, and then submit it.
• Once you submit your entry, you will have the confirmation number; the confirmation number is significant because you will know whether you are selected or not through that number.
• To check whether you are selected or not, click on check status; they will ask you for a confirmation number, name, date of birth, email address, and Authentication code, and then submit it. After that, you get to know whether you are selected or not.

Longtime-resident green card:

If you are continuously living in the US lawfully or unlawfully since before January 1, 1972, you are eligible to register for Green Card through a unique process called a registry.

Eligibility to apply:

• If you have entered the United States before January 1, 1972, which you need to prove by providing an I-94 travel record
• You don’t leave the United States since arriving
• You have a good moral character means you are not involved in any crime, murder, or prostitution
• You have not committed a crime that makes you inadmissible for a green card and results in deportation
• You are eligible for US citizenship through naturalization

How to apply for Registry green cards:

• You have to apply for a registry green card based on Form I-485
• Fill out the form carefully, and attach the required documents mentioned there.
• Attach your photographs, copy of government-issued photo identification, birth certificate copy, form I-94, evidence you entered in the United States before January 1, 1972, and evidence to establish continuous residence
• Please fill the form carefully with all the required documents and Review it two times before submission.

5. Green Card to other categories:

There are some other categories through which you can apply for the green card:

• If you are a Liberian national or a spouse or child of a Liberian national who has been continuously present in the United States since November 20, 2014. You are eligible to apply under Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) Act
• You are also eligible for a green card if you participated in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program and were selected for a diversity visa via the diversity visa lottery.
• You are also eligible to apply if you were a parolee in the US as a Lautenberg parolee.
• If you are a native or citizen of Cambodia, Vietnam, or Laos who was paroled in the US from Oct.1, 1997, from Vietnam under the orderly departure program or a part of a displaced person camp administered by UNHCR in Thailand or a refugee camp in East Asia you are eligible under Indochinese Parole Adjustment ACT of 2000
• You are eligible to apply as an American Indian born in Canada who possesses at least 50% of American Indian blood.
• If you are born in the United States to a foreign diplomatic officer stationed in the United States when you are born, you are also eligible to apply.
• You are eligible to apply if you were stationed in the United States as a high-ranking official or a foreign diplomat and cannot return home.

How to apply for other categories of green cards?

• You must file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
• You are physically present in the United States when you file Form I-485.
• You are eligible to get an immigrant visa, and an immigrant Visa is also available when you file form I-485
• Not any of the applicable bar of the adjustment of status application on you
• You are admissible in the United States for a Lawful Permanent Resident and eligible on the other supporting forms of relief.
• After submitting all the states and required documents, wait for the approval.

Reference List:

1. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms
2. ://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-family-preference-immigrants
3. https://citizenpath.com/ how to apply for a family based green card /
4. https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/the-green-card-explained/
5. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my-options/humanitarian-parole
6. https://www.visaplace.com/usa-immigration/permanent-residence-green-card/?campaignid