Green Card application process [2024] Detailed explanation of American green card category

Green card, English is Green Card, is commonly known as the “American Permanent Resident Card”.Foreigners holding green cards can legally settle in the United States and choose to work legally.Join US nationality, Become a US citizen, Naturalized Citizen, enjoy the complete U.S.citizen’s rights and benefits Therefore, it is hoped that foreigners who develop in the United States in the future will need to get a green card before entering the procedure to apply for the nationality.If your I-140 or I-130 has been approved, you can view American green card schedule monthly Essence

What are the types of green cards?What are the conditions for obtaining, what materials are needed when applying, and what do you need to pay attention to during the application process?

Notice: This article is not written by an immigrant lawyer.It is just a summary of the author’s personal experience.If you have any questions about green card applications, please consult the immigration lawyer.

Directory of this article

What are the categories of green card applications?
What is the application process of the green card?
Preparation required before the green card application
Preparation of green card application materials
Green card interview preparation
After getting the green card, what are the precautions?
More immigrants

What are the categories of green card applications?

American green cards currently include: employment-based green cards, family green cards, special immigration green cards, refugee green cards, victims green cards, victims of victims green cards, other types of green cards, and green cards through registration.

For most ordinary people, the main application of Employment-Based Green Card and Family-Based Green Card.

Employment-based Green Card

Based on employment green cards, English is EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD.When applying for a employment green card, according to the different identities of the applicant, the US Citizen and Immigration Service Admin USCIS (U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services) provides six employment-based Preferences, respectively::

EB-1: First type of priority work immigrant
EB-2: The second type of priority work immigration
EB-3: The third category of priority work immigrants
EB-4: The fourth type of priority work immigration
EB-5: Fifth Category of Priority Immigration

EB-1 green card application

EB-1 refers to the first type of work immigration category, mainly refers to the following three types of applicants:

Class A: I have extraordinary abilities in science, art, education, business or sports;
Class B: Outstanding professor or researcher;
Class C: multinational experience or senior administrators that meet specific standards;

EB-1 A kind

In terms of science, art, education, business or sports

The requests include important international awards such as the Nobel Prize, Olympic medal or Oscar award, or those who meet at least three of the requirements:

He has won international/domestic non-major awards;
The applicant is a member of the professional associations set up in the professional field of their place;
Essays have been published in professional or main commercial publishing publications;
As an independent individual or a member of the association, the other people in the field have made professional evaluations;
Has made significant contributions in the professional field of your place;
Professional or main commercial publication publications have published personal reports on applicants;
The personal work of the applicant has been publicly displayed;
Possess important positions in professional or advanced organizations;
Compared to other peers in the same field, higher salary and treatment are obtained;
Applicants involved in the art field have successful business performances;

EB-1 B kind

Outstanding professor or researcher

It means that in the current academic field, there are more than three years of teaching experience or research lengths, or the research results of the applicant’s research can be provided to obtain the world recognition, or in the United States and research institutions.You can issue an American employer to issue an American employerFilled I-140 form, or those who meet at least two of the following requirements:

He has won outstanding achievements and awards at the same level;
Applicants are members of the top professional institutions in the field;
I have published an interview with applicants in professional publication and publications;
Once an individual or group, the work of others in the same field has been evaluated or evaluated;
Has made outstanding contributions in your professional field;
I have published academic reports or papers in the professional field;

People who meet the requirements refer to the company they have worked in the United States for at least one year, and there are branches or subsidiaries and applicants outside the United States.In the year, American companies could apply for an L-1A visa for applicants.

EB-1 C kind

Multinational experience or senior administrators that meet specific standards

Refers to his inauguration company for at least one year in the United States, and in the United States, there are branches or subsidiaries and applicants outside the United States.Apply for the applicant’s L-1A visa.

EB-2 green card application

EB-2 refers to the first type of work immigration category, mainly refers to the following three types of applicants:

Class A: professional workers with a high degree;
Class B: have extraordinary abilities in science, art or business;
NIW: Applicants who meet the National interest exemption (EB-2 NIW), such as doctors who are willing to go to a specific region for medical services for a period of time according to arrangements, etc., their work content will bring specific benefits to the United States.

EB-2 A kind

Professional workers with a high degree

It refers to more than 5 years of work experience in related jobs after obtaining a bachelor’s degree or above.

EB-2 B kind

It has extraordinary abilities in science, art or business

Refers to at least three of the following seven standards:

With an official academic record, it shows that applicants have obtained degree, diploma, certificates, or similar awards related to the applicant’s special ability areas from colleges, universities, schools, or other learning institutions
Letter from the current or former employer to prove that applicants have at least 10 years of full-time experience in their career
Applicants can provide their professional or occupational practice license or certification
Can provide proof of income that has obtained compensation through the excellent ability of applicants
Member qualifications of professional associations
Applicants’ peers, affiliated government agencies, professional or commercial organizations’ recognition of applicants’ achievements and major contributions
Other similar qualification proof

EB-2 NIW

Applicants who meet the National interest exemption situation

If the EB-2 NIW applicant can prove that its EB-2 application meets the national interests of the United States, it can be exempted from the requirements that they must provide job opportunities and PERM labor certificates

EB-3 green card application

EB-3 refers to the third type of work immigration category, mainly refers to the following three types of applicants:

Technical workers (the work content requires 2 years or more training or work experience)
Professional workers (requires bachelor’s degree in a bachelor’s degree in work)
Non-skilled workers (work content only takes less than 2 years of non-skilled labor)

The EB-3 requirements for education are relatively broad.All applicants submit job opportunities or labor certificates must be full-time jobs.Seasonal or temporary workers cannot apply.

EB-4 green card application

EB-4 refers to the fourth category of immigration category, mainly refers to the following twelve categories of applicants:

Religious
Special immigrant teenager
Some radio companies employees
Some retired officials or employees of some international organizations
NATO Cultural Employees, family members and unmarried children
Some US government employees and family members abroad
American Armed Force Member
Panama Canal or Canal District Government employees
Afghanistan or Iraqi Translator or Translator
Iraqi hired or represents the US government
Afghan people who are employed by the US government or international security aid for troops
As of January 9, 1978, some doctors who have obtained licenses and medical qualifications in a certain state in the United States

EB-5 green card application

EB-5 refers to the fifth type of work immigration category, which is often referred to as investment immigration, refers to the following two categories:

For general investment areas: invested or prepared for investment $ 1,000,000 to build a new commercial enterprise.The company needs to hire at least 10 qualified employees.When applying on November 21, 2019, the minimum investment capital is worth $ 1,800,000, capital capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital, capital.Including cash, equipment, survival, other tangible property, cash equivalent, and debt guaranteed by immigrant investors, etc.
For the target employment field “Targeted Employment Area, referred to as Tea”: Investment exceeds $ 500,000.When applying for November 21 and after the application, the minimum investment capital is worth $ 900,000.Capital includes cash, equipment, survival, other tangible property, cash equivalent and other price objectsAnd debt guaranteed by immigration investors.

for Conventional investment field:

Commercial enterprises refer to all profit activities formed to continue to carry out legal businesses.The scope includes:

On November 29, 1990 or before	Acquisition and reorganize or reorganize existing businesses to form new business enterprises; Through the expansion of investment, the number of net assets or employees increases at least 40%.
After November 29, 1990	Legend of enterprises; Partnership (whether it is limited or general); Holding company; Joint venture; company; Business trust; Other parts of co-ownership or private.

The criteria for judging the 10 qualified employees required by new commercial enterprises are:

For new commercial enterprises not in regional centers, the statistical full-time positions created by the enterprise means that the new commercial enterprise (or its wholly-owned subsidiaries) must be the employer of the qualified employees in itself.
For new commercial enterprises in the regional center, new commercial enterprises can directly or indirectly create full-time positions.
For companies that are trapped, EB-5 investors can rely on work maintenance, that is, investors must prove that the number of employees of the enterprise will not be lower than the pre-investment level in the future.

For the target employment area

The scope of the target employment area (TEA) includes:

RURAL Area (RURAL Area)
High UNEMPLOYANT AREA, the average unemployment rate in the region is at least 150%of the national average unemployment rate, including:

Family-Based Green Card based

The family green card is the applicant’s direct relative of the applicant is a US citizen or has obtained the permanent qualifications of the United States.Therefore, the green card application relying on family relations and Family Based.

In the family green card application, if the qualified direct relatives are American citizens, they only need to provide simple information to obtain the green card identity immediately, and the direct relatives of other situations will be classified according to different identities.

The definition of direct relatives of American citizens is as follows:

American citizen spouse
U.S.citizens who are under 21 years of age, including adopted children and remarried children
Parents of American citizens at the age of 21, including step-parents and adoptive parents

Green card application category	Corresponding applicant identity requirements
F1	U.S.citizen’s unmarried children at the age of 21 and above, including adopting children and remarried children
F2A	The spouse of the legal permanent residents, as well as unmarried children under 21 years old, including adopting children and remarried children
F2B	Unmarried children aged 21 and above, including adopted children and remarried children
F3	The married children of American citizens, including adopting children and remarried children
F4	American citizen’s 21 -year-old direct brothers and sisters

What is the application process of the green card?

For employment-based green card applications and family-based green card applications, the application process is roughly consistent:

Step 1.Submit I-140 or i-130 application form

Applicants with EB-1, EB-2 NIW, EB-4, EB-5 can directly submit I-140 forms to USCIS.For this step, you often need to hire immigration lawyers to help you complete.
For family green cards, the applicant’s direct relatives need to fill in Table I-130 and submit it to USCIS.For this step, you often need to hire immigration lawyers to help you complete.
For employment-based green card applications, in addition to EB-1, EB-2 NIW, and specific EB-4, EB-5, employers need to make PERM applications to ensure that the applicant’s identity meets the employment green card application requirements.

Perm, the full name is Program Electronic Review Management.Its role is to ensure that no one in the American worker group is qualified, time and willing to serve as applicants, and the current salary provided by the employer is reasonable in the current labor market.Once to protect American workers and maintain normal market salary levels.Among them, American workers include American citizens, permanent residents, and other specially authorized foreigners.

After passing Perm review, the employer’s lawyer can fill in the applicant’s I-140 form to USCIS.

Step 2.Get “Priority Date”

After the applicant submits the I-130 or I-140 green card application form, USCIS will send the applicant’s information to the National Visa Center ( NVC) Review, at the same time, you will receive a receipt sent by USCIS to you, called “& nbsp; I-797 table”.In the table, you will receive a Priority DateThe priority date is compared with the green card schedule issued by the US State Department every month.

Note that different green card application categories have different schedule dates.Taking professional immigration schedule as an example, the schedule of EB-1 is often “currently”, that is, as long as your I-140 is approved, you can be able toPerform the steps of adjusting the I-485 below.For immigration categories such as EB-2 and EB-3, the schedule is not the current date, but a certain date in the future.Then, you need to wait.When your priority date reaches the schedule, you can do it.The third step below.

Step 3: Identity adjustment

When the applicant gets the “Priority Date” number, you can choose the way to apply for a green card according to his location.If the applicant was in the United States at that time, he chose “Adjustment of Status”.Outside the United States, “Consular Processing”.

Both are slightly different in the materials that need to be prepared at the time of application:

I-485 identity adjustment:

Applicant is currently in the United States
Need to submit forms I-485, “applying for a permanent residence or adjusting identity”;
The acceptor is USCIS;
When waiting for a green card, you can be with family members;
You can do legal work on the premise of obtaining employment authorization;

Consulctions:

The applicant is not in the United States at present
Need to submit DS-260 form, “Immigration Visa and Foreigner Registration Application Form”;
The acceptor is the US State Department;
Before obtaining the green card, you cannot enter the country as a permanent resident, and work with your family;

Step 4: Pay application fee, sign economic guarantee

The applicant pays the payment of the green card application fee through the established manner through the appointment date.When you should pay attention, if the final green card application is not approved, the application fee will not be refunded.

At the same time, the applicant needs to sign the Affidavit of Support, that is, Form I-864.The role of the document is that the applicant promises that his financial situation allows him to live in the United States.In this quarter, it is usually about 10 years of legal work.

Step 5: Interview

In some cases, the US consulate or USCIS will ask the applicant to interview and ask some questions.The applicant can go to the interview on time based on the information obtained.

Step 6: Waiting for the final review results

After completing the interview, the final waiting period is that when all the review steps are notified and passed, they can receive their own green cards before the established.

The time required for the whole process is often affected by many factors, but in general, the green card review speed of EB-1 and American citizens’ direct relatives is the fastest.

Preparation required before the green card application

Regardless of which green card application, you must first confirm whether you are qualified to apply, such as whether the status of the work is legal, or whether the relationship with the relatives supports the application green card, because once the green card application fails, it will affect the subsequent visa pass rate.
When applying for a general employment green card, you need your employer to conduct Perm review first.You can fill in Form I-140 after passing the Perm review.
When applying for a family green card, relatives in the United States must first be a US citizen or a legal US green card to fill in the applicant’s I-130 form and hand over.
All files at the time of application need to be accurate translation.This step is usually recommended to start preparing when submitting Form I-140 or Table I-130 to avoid problems in the preparation process or translation process and delay the submission of materials.
All the forms must be filled in a black pens, and must sign their names in all places that need to be signed., Extend the application process of the green card.

Preparation of green card application materials

Employment green cards and family green cards are roughly the same in materials when applying.The main difference is:

The inauguration green card requires Form I-140.For the application of foreigners as an extraordinary ability or an exemption of national interests, the J supplement copy of the I-485 is required to determine that the current job is still the applicant will continue after obtaining approval.Real work
Family green card requires Form I-130

The rest of the materials include:

I-485 Form“Application for Registration Permanent Residence or Adjusting identity”;
The copy of the I-797 form in Form I-140 / I-130, if submitted to Form I-140 / I-130, I-485 is submitted together without this item;
Two passport format photos;
A copy of ID cards issued by the original resident government;
Copy of the applicant’s birth certificate;
Copy passport page with non-immigrant visa (as applicable);
A copy of a passport page with a permit or parole (issued by U.S.immigration officials) (as applicable);
I-94 Form A copy of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) access or parole seal on the copy of the copy, the entry/departure record or the travel documents (such as applicable);
Applicants have maintained a certificate of legal identity since they arrived in the United States (or obtained a proof of exemption based on INA 245 (K));
I-864 Form, According to the AFFIDAVIT of Support of Ina 213A;
I-693 Form The medical examination report and vaccination records (applicants can submit this form together with the I-485 form, or submit it in person when mailing or interviewing when the USCIS is made in the future);
All criminal allegations, arrests, or certified police and court records, no matter what the final disposal (such as applicable);
I-601 Form Apply to give up the application for inseparable reasons.The role of the form is: when you are not qualified to enter the United States or adjust your identity in the United States as immigration, and some non-immigrant applicants who are not accepted must submit thisThe form is to seek to give up some unacceptable reasons (such as applicable);
I-212 Form After deportation or repatriation or repatriation, apply for a license application to enter the United States (as applicable);
In the past or current J-1 or J-2 non-immigrant identity documents (such as applicable), it includes certifications that meet or abandon the 212 (E) regulations of INA 212 (E) (more information, please refer to Form i-612, apply for exemption from foreign residence requirements);
If the applicant currently holds A, G or E, please submit at the same time at the same time I-508 Form, Request to give up rights, privileges, exemption and exemption;
Table i-566 When applicants have A, G, or NATO non-immigrant status, this form must be submitted.The information includes the recording of the request agency.
Table I-485 Supplement A Adjust your identity according to section 245 (i).

Green card interview preparation

In the final interview session, applicants, their lawyers or agents will receive an appointment email or letter, including the interview time and address.

Applicants should arrive at the interview venue on time at the appointment time, and must bring their valid passports and supplementary materials that may be required.

On the day of the interview, the USCIS or consulate will ask the applicant to ask the applicant according to the US immigration law to determine whether it is eligible to obtain a green card.At the same time, fingerprint scanning will be performed.Files and translations are also given to the applicant.

During the interview, applicants remember to answer the interviewer’s question simply and clearly, and they must not lie.All content needs to be consistent with the information filled in in the table.

After getting the green card, what are the precautions?

What do you need to do after getting a green card [2022] Forget about this, there will be a felony