How to Apply for a Family Based Green Card

How to Apply for a Family Based Green Card

Family Based Green Cards are the most common way of obtaining lawful U.S. permanent residency. Family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents may apply for legal permanent residency in the United States.

Applying for permanent residency also allows you to obtain an employment authorization document (commonly known as a “work permit”) which authorizes you to work in the United States while the final decision on your green card application is still pending.

Generally, a person who wants to immigrate to the United States must have a petition approved by the USCIS before applying for a green card. For family based green cards, the petition must be filed by a relative who is either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, known as “the sponsor.”

To apply, first, the sponsoring relative must file a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the area where the sponsor lives.

Sometimes, U.S. citizens living overseas can apply for family-based green cards at a U.S. embassy or consulate or with the USCIS.

Unlimited Family Based Green Cards for Immediate Relatives

Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens: These types of family based green cards are based on a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen living in the United States such as a spouse, children, and parents.

Additionally, a U.S. citizen can sponsor a child who has been adopted or will be adopted from abroad so long as that child meets the definition of an orphan according to immigration law.

The waiting period for applicants who fall under this category is about six to twelve months.

Limited Family Based Green Cards

These types of family based green cards involve specific and more distant family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some particular relationships with a Lawful U.S. Permanent Resident. Under U.S. immigration law, there are fiscal year limitations on the number of green cards granted to family preference immigrants:

• Family First Preference (F1) – Unmarried children of U.S. citizens and their children (if any). (23,400 visas per year).
• Family Second Preference (F2) – Spouses, minor and unmarried children (over the age of 20) of lawful U.S. permanent residents. (114,200 visas per year). Almost eighty percent of all visas available for this category will typically go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be given to unmarried sons and daughters.
• Family Third Preference (F3) – Married children of U.S. citizens and their children and spouses. (23,400 visas per year).
• Family Fourth Preference (F4) – Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their children and spouses, as long as the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age. (65,000 visas per year).

It is important to note that grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and in-laws cannot sponsor foreign relatives for family based green cards.

Can Foreigners Obtain Family Based Green Cards While Outside the U.S.?

If you are a foreign immediate relative of a U.S. citizen seeking a family-based green card while being outside the country, you may become a permanent resident through consular processing.

Consular processing is the process in which the USCIS works in unison with the Department of State to issue a green card on an approved Form I-130. Once the green card is granted, you can travel to the U.S. and become a permanent resident the moment you arrive at the port of entry.

Get the Help of a Jurado & Farshchian, P.L. Immigration Lawyer

At Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., you will find skilled Immigration Lawyers who specialize in family based green cards. We provide our clients with compassion, professionalism, and personalized services. We dedicate as much time as we need to each and every client in order to understand their specific needs, which helps us create the best strategy to guarantee as many successful family based green cards as possible.

Our family based green card specialists have an in-depth knowledge of the specific processes and documents required to complete a successful green card application. We always do our best to avoid delays in the process in order to give our clients the best opportunity in obtaining the green cards they have wished for so long.

Let us add you to our ever-growing list of satisfied clients.

To learn more about how we can help clients apply for family based green cards, contact our experienced attorneys for an initial consultation by calling us today at (305) 921-0440 or sending us an email to Romy@jflawfirm.com.

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