USA Green Card

Immigration USA

There are a number of routes to obtaining a Green Card for applicants living inside or outside the US. A summary of the main categories is set out below. Aside from the Green Card, you US immigration options include a range of US visas for work, family, business and study purposes. Visit our US Visas page for further details.

Get an America Green Card Through Family

The US allows its citizens and permanent residents to petition for certain residents to live permanently in the country. Some applicants already living in the US may qualify for adjustment of status to permanent residence. This allows them to get their US Green Card without returning home. The ways to obtain a Green Card through family include:

• Being an immediate relative of a US citizen. This group includes the parents, spouses or unmarried children under the age of 21 of US citizens.
• Being a family member of a US citizen in a Preference Category. This might include unmarried or married sons or daughters (over the age of 21) or siblings of US citizens.
• Being in a special category of family. This includes the battered children or spouses of US citizens and widows/widowers of US citizens.

Green Card Application Through Work

A job or offer of employment can also offer a route to a USA Green Card. The US employer will often have to apply for certification to show that the immigrant worker is not taking a job that could have been done by a US worker. But highly skilled workers who are classified as having extraordinary ability may be given priority status and so allowed to self petition for permanent immigration. Foreign investors may also be able to get a Green Card for USA businesses set up to create new jobs. Some special categories of jobs may also allow applicants to get Green Cards. These include:

• Afghan/Iraqi translators
• NATO-6 non-immigrants
• Panama Canal Employees
• Religious Workers

Apply for Green Card as refugee/asylum seeker

If you were admitted to the US as a refugee or as a qualifying family member of an asylum seeker you can make a US Green Card application one year after entry. There are different rules for refugees, asylum seekers and their families. To find out more, take the Global Visas free assessment.

US Visa

If you do not qualify for a US Green Card there is no need to worry. You may still qualify for a US visa allowing you to live and work in the country temporarily. A US visa may eventually lead to citizenship, use the free assessment below to find out if you qualify.