You may be eligible to obtain a green card if a family member sponsors you through the filing of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with USCIS. Eligible family members include a U.S. Citizen sponsoring their spouse, parents, children, adult sons and daughters, or siblings. Lawful Permanent Residents may also sponsor their spouses, children and unmarried adult sons and daughters for a green card.
Below are the options that may be available to you for family-based immigration sponsorship:
K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa:
If you are a U.S. citizen and would like to bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the United States to get married within 90 days of your fiancé(e)’s entry into the United States, you can file for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa for your fiancé(e). If your fiancé(e) marries you within 90 days of being admitted to the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant, he or she may apply for a green card in the United States.
Adjustment of Status:
If you are in the United States, you may be eligible to file for your green card (adjust your status) directly in the United States depending on your specific circumstances. If you are eligible to adjust your status in the United States, you will be able to obtain an employment authorization document during the pendency of your green card application.
Consular Processing:
If you are abroad or have an approved provisional unlawful presence waiver, you will be required to process your immigrant visa application at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Once the Embassy or Consulate issues your immigrant visa, you can travel to the United States and upon your entry into the United States, you will become a permanent resident of the United States (green card holder).
Removal of Conditions:
If you obtained your green card based on marriage and you have been married less than two-years at the time your green card is issued to you, you will receive a two-year Conditional Resident card requiring you to file a petition to remove the conditions on your residence prior to the expiration of your Conditional Resident status. This petition is generally filed jointly with the spouse who sponsored you for a green card. However, there are circumstances in which you can request a waiver of the joint filing requirement, such as based on termination of the marriage through death / divorce / annulment, extreme cruelty, or extreme hardship.
Widow(er)s:
If you were married to a U.S. citizen at the time of the citizen’s death, you may be eligible for a green card even if your spouse did not file a I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on your behalf if you meet the specific eligibility requirements.
Humanitarian Reinstatement:
If your petitioning family member dies after the approval of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, but before you obtain your green card, the I-130 petition is automatically revoked and you may not be able to proceed with your case. However, it may be possible to request reinstatement of the I-130 petition based on humanitarian reasons to allow you to proceed with your green card application.
Military Parole-in-Place:
If you entered the United States without inspection and you are the spouse, widow(er), parent, son or daughter of an active-duty or veteran of the U.S. armed forces or Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, you may be eligible to obtain an entry document (I-94) from USCIS allowing you to apply to adjust your status.
Humanitarian Parole:
If you are outside of the United States, you may be able to request parole into the United States based on humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons. Examples of reasons why humanitarian parole may be granted included reunification of family members such as a minor child with a parent residing in the United States, emergency medical situations, or the need to visit, assist or support a family member who is at an end of life stage of an illness or disease.
J-1 Waivers:
If you entered the United States on a J-1 visa, you may be subject to a two-year home residency requirement that prevents you from being able to adjust or change your status in the United States without residing outside the United States in your home country for a period of two years. You may be eligible for a waiver of the J-1 two-year home residency requirement under one of the five applicable bases: (1) No-Objection Statement, (2) Request by an Interested U.S. Federal Government Agency, (3) Persecution, (4) Exceptional Hardship to a U.S. citizen (or lawful permanent resident) spouse or child, (5) Request by a designated State Public Health Department or its equivalent (Conrad State 30 Program).
Contact us to schedule a consultation to discuss the options that may be available to you or your family members.
