An immigrant visa is required for foreign nationals seeking to live permanently in the United States. The process is sometimes called getting a green card. These are the several best ways to get your green card in the United States.
1. Find a Mate And Get Married
A foreign citizen can obtain a green card this way if they have an immediate relative who is either a U.S. citizen or a U.S. lawful permanent resident and at least 21 years old. Marriage is a common way to achieve this, but the marriage must be genuine and not simply undertaken for immigration purposes.
Specifically, there are two kinds of immigrants visas that are based on family:
Immediate Relatives – these visas can be obtained by close family members such as a spouse, child or parent of a U.S. citizen. The number of immigrants in these categories is not capped every year. The process is expeditious-usually taking around a year to complete.
Visas for the Family Preference category are for certain, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen or certain specified relationships with a lawful permanent resident. Immigration is limited each fiscal year to a certain number of immigrants. The application process can be lengthy, sometimes taking years.
2. Invest Your Way Into Success
As part of the EB-5 direct investor program, immigrants can get green cards by investing as little as $500,000 in their businesses, provided they create ten new jobs. The opportunity is temporary, and it will close by the end of the year, with the amount required likely to go up to $ 900,000. A regional center variant of this program is currently closed and awaiting reopening by Congress.
3. Get in by Transferring
You can imagine Toyota sending its New York manager to Tokyo to manage its Tokyo office. There are numerous examples of inter-corporate transfers that can lead to a green card. The petitioning employer must be a U.S. company that intends to employ you in a managerial or executive capacity. You must be employed in a managerial or executive position abroad by a company that conducts business in the U.S. for at least one year. There is no need for labor certification, so this is a highly desirable way to obtain a green card.
4. Prepare for Admission by Studying
Get your bachelor’s or master’s degree from a U.S. college with a student visa. After you complete Optional Practical Training, you will receive a one-year post-graduate work permit. Have your boss apply for an H1B work visa on your behalf after one year. Get the boss to submit a labor certification to the Department of Labor showing there are no American workers who are ready, willing, and capable of taking the job. Apply for a green card through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in the Department of Homeland Security. The road may be long and winding, but for many applicants, especially those with skills but no money to invest and no family in the USA, it may be the only option.
5. Work Your Way Up
Apply for an H1B visa and then a green card through labor certification as described in the student example, or apply for an EB-2 extraordinary worker green card based on a national interest waiver.
H-1B applicants who perform specialty occupations, work on defense-related cooperative research and development projects, or work as fashion models of distinguished merit or ability can then obtain green cards if their employers apply for labor certification and sponsor them.