Keep an eye on the latest visa bulletins provided by the Department of State. Your priority date will be the day that the USCIS receives your petition. Other green cards may require a different form. Keep in mind that the I-130 and I-140 are just for family and employment-based green cards. Once you know which green card you are applying for, you will need to have your sponsor (whether that is you, your employer, or your family member) file the right petition along with any required supporting evidence. As we’ll discuss later, citizenship allows you greater preference and flexibility when it comes to sponsoring other family members for green cards. citizensĪs you can see, we have already encountered a benefit of citizenship over green card status. F-4: for the brothers and sisters of U.S.F-2B: for the children over 21 of green card holders.F-2A: for the spouses and unmarried children under 21 of green card holders.F-1: for the children and dependents of U.S.To get one of these, your sponsor will need to file the I-130 petition. These green cards are awarded based on which family member is able to sponsor you. EB-4: for special workers that have occupations outlined in an exclusive list.This requires both the PERM and a job offer. EB-3: for professionals (bachelor’s degree holders), skilled workers (2+ years of experience), and “other workers” (less than 2 years of experience).EB-2 National Interest Waiver: You can have the PERM and job offer requirement waived through the National Interest Waiver (NIW) if your work will benefit the U.S.This requires both a PERM and a job offer. EB-2: for foreign nationals with exceptional ability or advanced degrees.

Like the EB-1B, it requires a job offer but not a PERM.

EB-1C: for multinational executives and managers.

While this requires a job offer, it does not require a PERM.

EB-1B: for outstanding researchers and professors.

This green card does not require a PERM or a job offer.

EB-1A: for foreign nationals with extraordinary achievement (prestigious awards, high salaries, etc.).

Here is a list of the employment-based green cards that you can choose from: workers that would be displaced if you were to start working for that employer. These immigrant visas make use of the I-140 petition.Īdditionally, some require a PERM Labor Certification, which requires a sponsoring employer to determine the prevailing wage to pay you and to go through a recruitment process to see if there are any qualified U.S. employer, though some allow you to petition for yourself and are based more on personal achievement rather than your job. Many of these require that you have a valid job offer of employment from a U.S. Employment-Based Green CardĪs the name suggests, these green cards are obtained through your job or occupation in the U.S. Because employment and family are the two most common methods of obtaining a green card, we’ll cover those methods briefly. including employment, family, marriage, investment, asylum, and a green card lottery. There are several different ways to get a green card in the U.S. Let’s start by analyzing the process and benefits that go along with getting a green card. citizenship, we need to go over the process and benefits of each. To understand how having a green card compares to having U.S. The question is, what does it take to become a citizen and do the pros outweigh the cons in the debate of the green card vs citizenship?

citizens enjoy rights and privileges that green card holders do not.

But just because you are a lawful permanent resident, doesn’t mean that there isn’t more out there. green card is the pinnacle of achievement–the end of the immigration journey. If you read enough about immigration law, you might think that a U.S.

Green card status