Green card - family
Green card through a family member
Permanent
residence based on family relationships falls into two categories.
The first is immediate relatives, for which there is no quota or waiting list.
Immediate relatives include unmarried children under the age of 21, spouses,
and parents of
United States
A child may include a legitimate child; or a stepchild, as long as the marriage
which created the relationship took place before the child's 18th birthday; or
a child legitimated under the law of the child's residence or domicile, or
under the law of the father's residence or domicile, as long as the
legitimization took place before the child's 18th birthday; or an illegitimate
child where the benefit is sought by virtue of the relationship with the
natural mother, or the natural father if the father has or had a bona-fide
parent child relationship with the person; or a child adopted while under the
age of 16 years if the child has been in the legal custody of, and has resided
with, the adopting parent for at least 2 years; or a child who is an orphan
because of the death, abandonment, disappearance, or desertion by both parents,
or where the sole surviving parent is incapable of caring for the child, and the
child is under the age of 16.
To file for a spouse, the marriage must be valid under the laws of the country
where it was performed and must not be against public policy. A fraudulent or
sham marriage that is entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing the
US
To file for a parent, the
US
Other types of family petitions fall under the preference system. There is a
limit on the number of persons who can receive permanent residence each year in
these categories.
- The first preference is for unmarried sons and
daughters of US citizens, over the age of 21.
- The second preference Part A is for the spouses
and unmarried minor children of lawful permanent residents of the
- The second preference Part B is for unmarried
sons or daughters 21 years old or older.
- The third preference is for the married sons and
daughters of US citizens (any age).
- The fourth preference is for brothers and sisters
of US citizens. The
Child Status Protection Act: On August 6, 2002,
the Child Status Protection Act was signed into law. This new law addresses the
problem of minor children losing their eligibility for certain US immigration
benefits as a result of US immigration processing delays. In the past, a
child's eligibility to receive a visa or be part of his or her parent's application
was based on the child's age at the time that the alien relative petition was
approved, not the time the petition was filed. However, because of enormous
backlogs and processing delays, many children turned 21 before US
In such cases, the child would "age-out" and become ineligible to
receive an immediate relative visa or would no longer be considered part of the
parent's application. The child's petition would either automatically move to a
lower preference category or the child would be required to submit his or her
own petition, resulting in years of delays and possible ineligibility.
The new act provides that the determination of whether an unmarried alien son
or daughter of a US citizen is considered an "immediate relative
child" (under 21 years of age) will be based on the age of the alien at
the time the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) is filed on his or her
behalf, rather than on the date the petition is adjudicated, as is the case
under current law.
The new law also provides similar determinations in the case of permanent
resident parents who subsequently naturalize after having filed petitions for
their sons or daughters and citizen parents who file petitions for married sons
or daughters where such sons or daughters later divorce. In the first
situation, the age determination will be made at the time of the parents'
naturalization. In the latter, the alien beneficiary's age will be determined
as of the date of his or her divorce.
For the children of legal permanent residents, or those who are accompanying or
following to join on a petition for an immigrant visa, their eligibility will
be determined based on the date that a visa becomes available to them, but only
if they seek to acquire permanent resident status within one year of such
availability.
In addition, the new law provides age-out protection to alien children who
accompany or follow to join parents who have filed for asylum or refugee
status.
Finally, the new law provides that the family-sponsored petition of an
unmarried alien son or daughter whose permanent resident parent subsequently
becomes a naturalized
US
citizen will be converted to a petition for an unmarried son or daughter of a US
Filing Procedure: A
petition for permanent residence is filed on US US United
States , he or she will apply for a permanent visa at a US US immigration service
office in the United States
The
US immigration service
center approves the petition and sends it to the National
Visa Center
in New Hampshire US United States
If the alien beneficiary is in the
United States ,
he or she may qualify for adjustment of status with the US immigration service, without the need of
traveling to a US consulate
outside of the United States US US United States US
legally (even if they are now illegal), if they are the immediate relative of a
US
The beneficiary will submit the application for adjustment of status together
with the petition, which is signed by the petitioner. The beneficiary must also
include the necessary documentation, including evidence of the relationship of
the parties, a medical exam, photos, evidence of support, and the required
filing fee. In addition, the beneficiary may request a work permit while
waiting for a final appointment date. The procedures for each
US
When the preliminary processing of the case is completed, the
US US US
If everything is in order, your application will be granted, and evidence of
your permanent residence will be stamped in your passport. The resident (green)
card will then be mailed to you within one to two months. However, since you
are a permanent resident as of that date, you can travel outside of the
United States
If you are not approved for permanent residence because of the commission of a
crime or because of some other ground of inadmissibility, you might still be
able to obtain a waiver. If the petition is denied, and you wish to appeal, you
would file your appeal with the Board of US immigration Appeals on
US US
