GREEN CARDS

There are two basic ways in which someone can obtain permanent status in the United States, either through Family or Employment. In most cases this is not immediate. The United States Government limits the number of new immigrants each year. To determine how long the processing time is for a particular immigrant visa you may check the Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov, click on the visas tab, then on the left side of the page click on “frequently requested visa information” and then look for visa bulletins.

FAMILY IMMIGRATION PETITIONS:

When the immigration system was created, the government, along with the support of the people, decided that one of its policies would involve family reunification. That is to say, close relatives should be able to live together in one country.

IMMEDIATE RELATIVES - NON-PREFERENCE: in the case of parents and spouses of American citizens, there are no limits on the number of people admitted into the United States.

Spouse: Foreign spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens have the right to enter the U.S. at all times and with few difficulties as long as the marriage is legitimate. Marriage to a U.S. citizen confers onto the alien conditional residency status only for the first two years of marriage; after the first two years of marriage, a change of status to permanent residency can be obtained from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It is important to note that the Immigration Department has become increasingly tough in its requirements due to the considerable increase in the number of fraudulent marriages.

Parents: The natural father or natural mother of a U.S. citizen also benefit from non-quota status.

OTHER RELATED FAMILY:

The following categories receive an allocation of a specific number of visas per year. The classification is based upon the degree of family relationship existing between the U.S. petitioner and the alien beneficiary. The delays involved in this type of application can range from a few months to several years depending on the preference.

1. First preference: unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens’

2. Second preference:

3. 2A: Spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents

4. 2B: Unmarried children of lawful permanent residents

5. Third preference: married, adult children of U.S. citizens

6. Fourth preference: brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens

2. EMPLOYMENT/SPONSORSHIP IMMIGRATION

LABOR CERTIFICATION:

One of the most popular methods of becoming an American resident, is by being sponsored by an American employer. The employer, if he can prove that there is a lack of qualified U.S. workers in the local market, can require the employment of a foreigner. This long and tedious procedure can generate good results if one analyzes the requirements before undertaking it.

As long as the employer is on American territory, is solvent, proves a good faith need and demonstrates an unsuccessful result in recruiting an American worker, then the employer has sufficiently proven that it has the qualifications to be a sponsor. The employee must be a foreigner, trained or experienced in the work offered by the American employer and wishing to immigrate permanently to the U.S. Finally, the market conditions for the proposed position must reflect low U.S. national response in a specific geographical market and under specific terms and conditions of employment.

The employer will have to prove with documents that no American citizen or resident qualifies or is interested in taking up the offered job. The employer will have to run advertisements in newspapers, post the job offer in his offices, and file a job offer at the local office of the Department of Labor, known as the Job Service. Once the employer proves that he has truly, although unsuccessfully, tried to find American citizens or residents to fill the position, the labor certification is generally granted. However, the employer's job description may not be unduly restrictive; unusual or restrictive job requirements have to be justified to the Department of Labor.

Once the labor certification application is approved, a lawful permanent residency application is made to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

If the employee is married, the spouse and minor children will be granted permanent residency status once the employee obtains permanent residency status. Furthermore, there is no need for the employee to remain in the employ of the sponsoring employer once lawful permanent residency is secured.

MULTINATIONAL MANAGER OR EXECUTIVE:

A multinational executive or manager is in a category of "priority workers" which receive preference in the employment category. You may cross-reference this section to the L-1 Visa category section above. An employee transferred from a foreign country to the U.S. must have been employed by an American subsidiary for at least one continuous year within the previous three years before applying for lawful permanent residency. Moreover, the American company must have been in business for at least one year. The alien executive or manager must intend to continue employment with the sponsoring employer.

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY ALIEN:

This type of visa is also viewed favorably by immigration regulations. Those aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics, including: outstanding professors and researchers may be eligible for lawful permanent residency. In order to qualify as "outstanding", the alien must have received international recognition, have a minimum three years experience in teaching or research in the field and an entry for a tenured track teaching position or a comparable research position. No labor certification is required for this category.

A second immigrant visa employment category exists for other persons with "exceptional ability" where aliens who have a master's degree or equivalent or whose presence will substantially benefit the U.S. can receive lawful permanent resident status. However, this category requires that labor certification be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER:

The Immigration & Nationality Act of 1990 provides an immigrant visa category for aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees and aliens of exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business. These categories were explained in the previous section.

Unlike the extraordinary ability alien category where a labor certification is required, no labor certification is required if the foreign national demonstrates that the job is in the national interest. This category allows an individual to apply without a sponsor for permanent residency; furthermore, if the job is exempt from labor certification, processing time is significantly reduced.

National Interest is not defined by any statute or regulation, except that the foreign national must demonstrate that he will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural, educational interest, or welfare. The purpose of this particular category is to promote the entry of those who are specifically selected for their ability to contribute needed skills and talents to our country. The applicants must qualify under the following factors: improvement of the U.S. economy; improvement of wages and working conditions; improvement of education and training programs for U.S. children and under-qualified workers; improvement of health care; provision of more affordable housing for younger/older, poorer residents; enhancement of the environment and making more productive use of natural resources; a request from a national government agency.

The most significant drawback in connection to this classification involves the inherent inconsistency which exists among the cases due to the absence of clear-cut guidelines from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition, applicants bear the burden of proof in demonstrating that their qualifications and intent will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy.