APPLYING TO BE A PERMANENT RESIDENT AKA GETTING A GREEN CARD
A permanent resident is someone that has the right to live and work in the United States for the rest of their lives. A permanent resident can later apply to become a United States Citizen. This is the dream of many. It was the dream of three of my grandparents (from Nicaragua, Mexico and China, respectively). Here, I want to take a focus on family sponsored immigration petitions.
Who can petition to immigrate a family member: A United States Citizen can petition for his children, wife, siblings and parents. A permanent resident can petition for his unmarried children or spouse.
How long will it take: How long the process takes depends on different circumstances, but in most cases it is determined by who is sponsoring you and the country that you are from. The U.S. State Department publishes a monthly visa bulletin which shows your their current processing times. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
Possible Obstacles- A family member’s immigration process can be complicated by what are called grounds of inadmissibility. These include criminal offenses, immigration offenses and other grounds. A common ground of inadmissibility is being in the United States without legal authorization. A legal analysis is necessary to see if these grounds can prevent your family member from coming to the United States.
I-130- For family petitions, the immigration process starts by filing an I-130. https://www.uscis.gov/i-130
For for information, contact us for an in person appointment in our Chula Vista office or a telephone appointment. We have represented clients in foreign countries as far away as Japan or as close as Tijuana.