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The green card , also known as a “permanent resident certificate” or more commonly “green card”, allows the lucky ones who have it to live on American soil and to work there. Indeed, this precious document offers its holders the same rights as American citizens, whether in terms of education, health insurance, retirement, awarding of university scholarships, etc.
The different means of obtaining the green card
The green card can be obtained by 4 different means:
For political reasons: asylum seekers as well as political refugees are allowed to make a request;
For professional reasons: depending on the case, you will need to be a director of a company with a seat in the USA, to invest large sums in the United States to create jobs, for travel fill form and follow i-131 processing time to be a recognized personality (visitor, traveler artist, scientist, athlete, etc.) or find a US employer who agrees to provide you with a position and agrees to sponsor you;
Through the Lottery : Each year, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) enables approximately 50,000 people to win the precious sesame through a lottery;
Due to family ties : A US citizen of full age can apply for the green card for parents, adult siblings, children, and spouse.
The green card for married couples
Are you married to an American citizen or planning to take the plunge soon? Know that you can get the green card thanks to the sponsorship of your spouse. You will be summoned by an immigration officer whose mission is to assess the legitimacy of your marriage. If its report is conclusive, a temporary green card valid for 2 years will be given to you. You can renew it later in favor of a definitive card, valid for 10 years.
This temporary card decision was put in place by the United States to limit the risk of marriages, a subterfuge frequently used by non-citizens in search of the American dream.
In fact, in the event of a divorce occurring within two years, you will not be able to apply for the “permanent” green card for the reason of marriage and you will have to turn to another solution (visa, job-related sponsorship, lottery, ESTA for tourist stays…).
The holder of a green card is indeed authorized to live and work on American soil, without any restriction… and can obtain American nationality a few years later. However, the course of the candidate for immigration is often long and strewn with pitfalls… all the more so under the new American presidency. Focus on the 3 main ways to get a green card.
Is one of your parents or your spouse American? In certain cases, you can be sponsored by a member of your family in order to obtain a green card for the family reunion. A citizen of the United States over the age of 21 can indeed apply for their spouse, children, parents or siblings. In addition, the holder of a green card can in turn sponsor his spouse or children.
The procedure :
Your U.S. sponsor completes Form I-130 , Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, and collects all of the required documents.
The file along with the registration fee payment ($ 535) must be sent to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) .
Your sponsor first receives an acknowledgment of receipt and then a notification concerning the decision that will have been taken, once the request has been processed.
Another possibility to win the precious sesame: be sponsored by your employer. The green card is granted as a priority to 5 main categories of profiles:
- people with rare and recognized talents in the fields of science, the arts, education, business or sports; to certain high-level teachers and researchers;
- highly qualified people or people with exceptional skills (EB2 visa);
- professional workers (EB3 visa);
- to specific categories of employment (members of the armed forces, international organization, doctor, religious, etc.).
The procedure :
Your employer completes Form I-140 , Immigration Petition for Alien Worker , and collects all the required documents. Your sponsor first receives an acknowledgment of receipt and then a notification concerning the decision that will have been taken, once the request has been processed. If the file is accepted, the NVC ( National Visa Center ) will tell you the procedure to follow for the immigration visa application.
Winning the Green Card Lottery
The lottery is certainly the most popular way to get a green card. Each year, the United States allows 55,000 immigrant applicants to obtain a green card through the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery . Despite the presidential announcements evoking its removal, its 2020 edition has nevertheless taken place: it was open from October 3, 2018 to November 6, 2018.
This lottery is reserved for nationals of countries whose immigration quotas to the USA are the lowest.
The procedure :
Register through www.dvlottery.state.gov . Please note that each year you can only participate in the lottery during a specific period. If you have been selected, you will then be able to apply for an immigration visa.
