If you want to establish yourself in the United States with a permanent residence, you have surely heard of the Green Card, with which you can live and work in this nation without any restrictions.

But the procedures are usually long and at times complicated, and here we tell you the three most common ways to obtain one.

Green Card for family reasons

If one of your parents or your spouse is American, it can be a good endorsement to obtain the Green Card. A person with a United States national and over 21 years of age can apply for their spouse or for their children, parents or siblings. A Green Card holder can also be a guarantor.

How does it work?

The U.S. guarantor fills out Form I-130 , Immigrant Application for Alien Relatives, and gathers all required documentation.

The application and payment of registration fees ($420 USD) must be submitted to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services).

Your guarantor will receive a receipt and subsequently a notification of the resolution adopted once the application has been processed.

Green Card for work reasons

Another possibility is to be sponsored by your company. But this opportunity is strictly supervised and controlled, just like obtaining the H1B work visa, which has been very limited since 2017 (only 65,000 a year). The Green Card is granted in priority to 4 main categories of profiles:

Individuals with rare and recognized talents in the fields of science, arts, education, business or sports; certain high-level professors and researchers; certain executives and directors of companies ( EB-1 visa ).

  • Highly educated or exceptionally qualified individuals (EB-2 visa).
  • Professional, skilled and unskilled workers (EB-3 visa).
  • Specific categories of employment (EB-4 visa) for members of the armed forces, international organizations, doctors, clergy, etc.

How does it work?

Your U.S. guarantor fills out Form I-140, Immigrant Application for Alien Relatives, and gathers all required documentation.

The application and payment of registration fees ($580 USD) must be sent to USCIS by mail or email, depending on the situation.

Your guarantor will first receive a receipt and a notification of the adopted resolution once the application has been processed. If the application is approved, the National Visa Center (NVC) will inform you about the immigrant visa application procedures.

Win in the Green Card lottery

The lottery is probably the best known way to get a Green Card.

Each year, the United States gives 50,000 aspiring immigrants the opportunity to obtain a Green Card through the Diversity Visa Lottery.

The lottery is open to nationals of those countries with the lowest rates of immigration to the United States. This means that the list of countries whose nationals may or may not participate in the Green Card lottery changes every year.

How does it work?

Register online at dvprogram.state.gov. You must bear in mind that each year you can only participate in the lottery during a certain period.

Save the confirmation number you receive: you will need it to check if you have been chosen or not.

If you are selected, you will be able to apply for an immigrant visa.

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