Marriage and Family Based Green Card

A path to Lawful Permanent Residence status (Green Card) based on your marriage or family relationship.

A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States. He or she may become a lawful permanent resident based on a familial relationship with a relative who is either a U.S. Citizen or a lawful permanent resident, depending on the respective preference category outlined below.

The multi-step process begins with USCIS approving an immigrant visa petition, I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, for the foreign national. The I-130 petition is filed by a relative (the sponsor) and must be accompanied by proof of their relationship to the foreign national. Then, the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is immediately available to the foreign national and whether the foreign national is in the U.S. or abroad. Thus, when an immigrant visa number is available, it means that the foreign national may apply to have one of the immigrant visa numbers assigned to them.

You can check the availability of a visa number in the Department of State's Visa Bulletin.

In addition, if the foreign national is currently in the U.S. in lawful immigration status, he or she may apply for a change of status to that of a lawful permanent resident after a visa number becomes available to them. However, if the foreign national is outside of the U.S. when an immigrant visa number becomes available, they must then go to the U.S. consulate servicing the area in which he or she resides to complete the process.

Please feel free to contact Beltran Brito LLP today, where one of our experienced attorneys will be able to guide you through the Family Based Green Card process.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

In order for a relative to sponsor you to immigrate to the United States, they must meet the following criteria: The family member must be a U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident:

If the sponsoring relative is a U.S. Citizen, they may petition for the following relatives to immigrate to the U.S:

• Husband or wife
• Unmarried child under 21 years of age
• Unmarried son or daughter over 21
• Married son or daughter of any age
• Brother or sister, if the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old, or
• Parent, if the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old.
• If the sponsor is a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident, they may only petition for the following relatives to immigrate to the United States:
• Husband or wife,
• Unmarried son or daughter of any age.
• Noteworthy Points

The sponsor must prove that they can support the Foreign National at 125% above the mandated poverty line, by filling an Affidavit of Support which consists of providing tax returns and employment verification documents. The sponsor must be able to provide proof of the familial relationship. Most importantly, if the foreign national wishes to immigrate as a relative of a U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident, they must obtain an immigrant visa number based on the preference category in which they fall as previously mentioned. The Preference System: Family based immigration is based on a category preference system.

Immediate Relative of U.S. Citizens: Parents, Spouses and Unmarried Children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. An immigrant visa number will be immediately available. All other relatives in the following categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the monthly Visa Bulletin published by the Department of State and yearly immigrant visa quotas.

• First preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.
• Second Preference: Spouses of lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children (under twenty-one), and the unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
• Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens.
• Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens. For a detailed overview the eligibility requirements and procedures for Marriage and Family based Green Cards please contact Beltran Brito LLP for a step-by-step explanation of the process.

Employment-Based Green Card

Permanent residence in the United States can also be obtained based on extraordinary or exceptional skills, through a job offer for permanent employment and future, or through an investment made in the States USA.

BASIC STEPS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES!

An immigrant is a foreign person who has been authorized to live and work permanently in the United States, and therefore it is approved to stay as a permanent legal resident.

If you wish to obtain legal permanent residence through an offer of work in the United States, or if you are an employer who wishes to sponsor a foreign person to obtain lawful permanent residence based on an offer work in the United States, you must go through a process that involves several stages.

Initially, LLP Brito Beltran will help you determine if the foreign person is eligible for legal permanent residency under one of the various job categories described below.

As a first step, many of the categories through employment require the U.S. employer complete a labor certification process through the Department of Labor (USDOL). Once the employer completes the process of recruitment of skilled workers in the U.S. labor market, the Labor Department may approve or deny the labor certification application made by the employer.

EXCEPTIONS: Some people are not required to have a Labor Certification application / PERM made on its behalf by a U.S. employer. Aliens who are not required a U.S. employer to sponsor them and who themselves are exempt from labor certification requirement mentioned above, include: persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletes, teachers or researchers, managers and executives of multinational firms subject to a transfer to the United States, people who qualify for an exception based on the national interest (National Interest Waiver), and qualified doctors who perform n the medical profession in certain U.S. carriers.

Second, once the Department of Labor (DOL) approved labor certification application (PERM), or if the person qualifies for some of the exceptions mentioned above, an application for immigrant visa ( Form I-140) for the benefit of the foreigner must be submitted in to the office of U.S. Immigration (USCIS). In the case of employers who have submitted an application for labor certification (PERM), the employer must apply for immigrant visa and serve as a petitioner. If the requirement of Labor Certification is waived, the foreigner shall submit the application itself as an immigrant worker visa.

Finally, if the immigrant visa petition is approved by the immigration office (USCIS), the beneficiary, if you are in the United States, under certain conditions and exceptions, you can make the request for change estaaa Legal Permanent Resident within the country. If the beneficiary is living outside the United States, must then complete the process through the submission of application for immigrant visa to the United States Consulate in your country of residence.

• The sponsor / petitioner must prove that he can keep the beneficiary in the United States at least equivalent to 125% above the poverty criteria established for that year. Shall be an "Affidavit of Support" which is the submission of tax returns and documents verifying their current work situation.
• The sponsor / petitioner must provide evidence to demonstrate their filial relationship with the beneficiary.
• More importantly, if the foreign recipient wish to immigrate as a relative of a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident must obtain an immigrant visa number based on the preference category in which qualifying and that previously mentioned.
  • The family requests are based on the following system of preference:
  • Immediate Family of American citizens: Parents, spouses and children under 21 and unmarried, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa is available and that once the application is made on their behalf for a visa is approved by USCIS. An immigrant visa is immediately available. All other relatives in the following categories must wait for an immigrant visa is available to them according to the Monthly Bulletin of Visas issued by the Department of State based on the annual quotas of immigrant visas. (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BULLETIN OF VISAS FOR THIS MONTH)
  • First Preference: Children over 21 and unmarried American citizens.
  • Second Preference: Spouses of permanent residents, children under 21 and unmarried and children over 21 years and unmarried of permanent residents.
  • Third Preference: Married children of U.S. citizens.
  • Fourth Preference: Brothers of a U.S. citizen.