U.S. citizens may petition for permanent residence in the U.S. for spouses, children, parents (once the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old) and brothers and sisters (once the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old). U.S. citizens may not petition for their grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins, and step-grandchildren. U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs or green card holders) may petition for permanent residence in the U.S. for spouses and children.
Upon approval of the immigration petition, immediate relatives of the U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 and parents) may immediately obtain a green card, either through adjustment of status in the U.S., if they are in the U.S., or consular visa processing, if outside of the U.S. Other immigrant relatives are divided into the preference categories, based on the closeness of the family relationship to U.S. citizen and LPRs:
- Unmarried children of U.S. citizens over the age of 21 and their minor children
- Spouses and unmarried children (any age)
- Married children of U.S. citizens (any age) and their spouses and minor children
- Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and minor children (once the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years of age).
Within each preference category, the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) allocates the number of visas to be issued each year. Typically, the number of eligible immigrants in each preference category exceeds the number of allowed visas resulting in a backlog. For example, as of 2016, immigrant relatives in the first category are expected to have an eight year wait; spouses and unmarried children of LPRs under the age of 21 have a two year wait; brothers and sisters have a 13 year wait. The wait times change yearly.
The process of permanent legal immigration can be extremely complex and overwhelming to attempt to navigate alone. Yet, receiving a green card is only one step away from becoming a U.S. citizen. Do not let a mistake get on your way of establishing lawful permanent residence in the U.S. We can streamline your legalization process and safe you a lot of time and money. Call us now for a free non-obligation consultation.