A Green Card provides lawful permanent residence in the US and can be applied for through employment, a family member or the Diversity Lottery. A US Green Card offers foreign people the opportunity to live and work in the US permanently and without restriction.
EMPLOYMENT BASED GREEN CARDS
Foreigners with a permanent employment opportunity in the US can be sponsored by their employer to apply for lawful residence in the US. This category includes four employment based priorities and one employment creation sub-category (EB-1 - EB-5).
PRIORITY WORKERS (EB-1)
The Priority Worker category allows foreigners with extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics to apply for permanent residence through their employment.
The Advanced Degree Holder category allows foreigners with a Master's degree or exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business, to apply for permanent residence through their employment.
The Professional and Skilled Workers category allows foreigners with a Baccalaureate degree or professional work experience to apply for permanent residence through their employment.
The Special Immigrants category allows ministers of religion, NATO employees and certain medical graduates to apply for permanent residence through their employment.
The Employment Creation category allows entrepreneurs who can invest in a new commercial enterprise in the United States to apply for permanent residence.
Foreigners with eligible family members who are either US citizens or permanent residents can apply for a US Green Card through their family. A Green Card through family can be granted to immediate relatives (IR) and through any of the four preference categories (F1-F4).
IMMEDIATE RELATIVE OF US CITIZEN (IR)
The Immediate Relative Green Card category allows US citizens to sponsor their foreign spouses, children and parents to apply for permanent residence in the US.
Each year, the US Department of State holds a lottery and randomly selects applications to apply for a visa to live and work permanently in the US. The lottery is open to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US and applications are accepted from October to December each year.
