Obtaining your green card through a family member is a multi-step process that requires the assistance of an experienced attorney.\u00a0 There are various categories of relatives that can petition for family members to obtain their green cards.\u00a0 For U.S. citizens who petition for immediate relatives to receive residence in the U.S., there is no waiting period before the immediate relatives are allowed to obtain their green cards.\u00a0 Under the immigration laws, immediate relatives are spouses of citizens, children (under 21 years of age and unmarried) of citizens, and parents of citizens 21 years of age or older.<\/p>\n
For other categories of relatives, there are waiting periods before the relative is allowed to enter the U.S.\u00a0 These waiting periods are laid out in the Visa Bulletin, which is published monthly by the government.\u00a0 In order to be eligible to obtain a green card, a relative\u2019s \u201cpriority date\u201d (the date an immigration petition was filed for him or her) must be before or the same as the date listed for that category of immigrants on the visa bulletin.\u00a0 For some categories of immigrants, a relative will be required to wait years before he or she is eligible to obtain his or her green card.<\/p>\n
Generally, the form that a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident uses to petition for a relative to obtain a green card is called an I-130.\u00a0 The filing of the I-130 is the action that creates the priority date for the immigration petition.\u00a0 Once the I-130 is approved and the relative\u2019s priority date is current, the relative will be eligible to apply for his or her green card in one of two ways.\u00a0 If the relative is in the U.S. and came to the U.S. legally, he or she may be able to \u201cadjust status\u201d by filing a form I-485.\u00a0 This means that the relative will not have to leave the U.S. in order to apply for his or her green card.<\/p>\n
If the relative is not in the U.S. or came to the U.S. illegally, he or she will likely have to process the green card application at a U.S. consulate abroad.\u00a0 Whether a relative obtains his green card by adjusting status or consular processing, the relative who petitioned for him will need to fill out an Affidavit of Support.\u00a0 The Affidavit of Support is essentially a contract between the petitioner and the government which states that the petitioner will provide financial support to the relative who is immigrating to the U.S.\u00a0 The reason for this is that the U.S. government does not want people to immigrate to the U.S. who will need to rely on the federal welfare system as soon as they arrive.<\/p>\n
Obtaining a green card through a family member is a complicated process.\u00a0 Please call John L. Wheaton, Attorney at Law, at 206-829-8214 if you are seeking assistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Obtaining your green card through a family member is a multi-step process that requires the assistance of an experienced attorney.\u00a0 There are various categories of relatives that can petition for family members to obtain their green cards.\u00a0 For U.S. citizens who petition for immediate relatives to receive residence in the U.S., there is no waiting period before the immediate relatives … <\/p>\n