How to Use a Green Screen Without a Green Screen

How to Get a US Green Card

If you want to live and work in the United States but are not a U.S. citizen, you need documentation that shows you're allowed to be there. A U.S. green card (also known as a permanent resident card) does that. You can apply for a U.S. green card if eligible.

Determine Your Eligibility

Before you apply for a green card in the U.S., you should make sure you're eligible to receive one. Many immigrants qualify through their family or employers. For example, the spouse of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident can apply for residency based on that criteria. A notable university professor can also apply based on his expertise and employment status.

Other eligibility groups include refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking. Abandoned minors, religious workers and members of the media can also apply for green cards. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website has a complete list of eligible categories. But eligibility does not automatically guarantee approval. You still have to complete the application process.

Apply for a Green Card

If you meet the eligibility requirements for a green card, you have to submit an application and initial processing fee. The form you complete depends on your eligibility category. In some cases, you are the person who completes the form, but other circumstances require the person petitioning for you to complete it.

Eligible immigrants already living in the United States complete Form I-485 to adjust their status. Those living outside the United States complete Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative). If you're applying for a green card through your employer, they must submit Form I-140 to petition you as an alien worker.

Green Card Through Family

After USCIS reviews your application, it sends an approval or denial. If you receive a denial, you will also get an explanation for the denial. You may be able to reapply at a later date, or appeal the decision. If USCIS approves your petition, it sends your application to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC determines when there is an available visa for you, and whether you qualify for it. It also collects visa processing fees and reviews supporting documentation, like your ability to support yourself financially and the results of your medical exam.

The final step is an interview with an immigration official who approves or denies the visa. If the NVC approves your green card, it gives you a visa packet that you take with you to the Customs and Border Protection officer. This is the final inspection. You then receive your green card in the mail after you pay the visa processing fee and arrive in the United States.

Adjustment of Status

Individuals applying for an adjustment of status go through a different process. In most cases, you have to submit an immigration petition in addition to the adjustment of status form. You cannot submit the adjustment of status form until there is a visa available for you. As soon as there is an available visa, you go to a biometrics appointment, and may need to go through an interview or submit additional information. You'll receive the decision through the mail.

Employment Based Green Card

If you have an EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 visa that allows you to work in the United States, you can apply for permanent residency by applying for an adjustment of status. Your employer must petition for you through Form I-140. Since you are already in the U.S. with an employment visa, there is already a residency visa available, so you can submit your Form I-485 at the same time. You'll follow the same process as other immigrants applying to adjust their status.