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Overview
A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been
granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the
United States. If you want to become a lawful permanent resident
based on the fact that you have a relative who is a citizen of
the United States or a relative who is a lawful permanent resident,
you must go through a multi-step process.
- First, the USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition, I-130
Petition for Alien Relative for you. This petition is filed
by your relative (sponsor) and must be accompanied by proof of
your
relationship to the requesting relative.
- Second, the Department
of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is immediately
available to you, the foreign
national, even if you are already in the United States. When
an immigrant
visa number becomes immediately available to you, it means
that you can apply to have one of the immigrant visa numbers
assigned
to you. You can check the status of a visa number in the
Department of State's Visa Bulletin.
- Third, if you are already
in the United States, you may apply to change your status to
that of a lawful permanent resident
after a visa number becomes available for you. This is
one way you can apply to secure an immigrant visa number.
If you are
outside the United States when an immigrant visa number
becomes available for you, you must then go to the U.S.
consulate servicing
the area in which you reside to complete your processing.
This is the other way in which you can apply to secure
an immigrant
visa number.
Eligibility
To be eligible to sponsor a relative
to immigrate to the United States you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be a citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the
United States and be able to provide documentation proving your
status.
- You must prove that you can support your relative at 125%
above
the mandated poverty line. Click here to find out more
information about meeting this criteria and Affidavit of Support.
- If you are a US Citizen you may petition for the following
foreign national relatives to immigrate to the United States;
however
you must be able to provide proof of the relationships:
- Husband
or wife;
- Unmarried child under 21 years old;
- Unmarried son or daughter
over 21;
- Married son or daughter of any age;
- Brother or sister,
if you are at least 21 years old; or
- Parent, if you are
at least 21 years old.
- Need Help? Call us at -
California (916)-669-0649
Florida (239)-643-5529
- If you are a lawful permanent resident you may petition for
the following foreign national relatives to immigrate to the
United
States; however you must be able to provide proof of the relationships:
- Husband
or wife; or
- Unmarried son or daughter of any age.
To be eligible for
lawful permanent residence based on a family relationship
you must meet the following criteria:
- You must have a relative who is a United States citizen or
a lawful permanent resident of the United States who can provide
documentation
proving their status and is willing to sponsor you for lawful
permanent residency by filing the I-130, Petition for Alien
Relative.
- Your relative must prove they can support you by providing
documentation that their income is 125% above the mandated
poverty line for
their family, including you and all other sponsored family
members. Click here to find out more information about meeting
this criteria
and filing the Affidavit of Support.
- If your relative is
a US Citizen and they can legally prove you share one of
the following relationships, you may be
eligible
for lawful permanent residency, please see below for
preference category information.
- Husband or wife;
- Child under 21 years old;
- Unmarried son or daughter over
21;
- Married son or daughter of any age;
- Brother or sister
if you are at least 21 years old; or
- Parents if you are
at least 21 years old.
- If your relative is
a lawful permanent resident and they can legally prove you
share one of the following relationships,
you
may be eligible for lawful permanent residence, please
see below for preference category information:
- Husband
or wife; or
- Unmarried son or daughter of any age.
What is an Affidavit of
Support?
If you are bringing a relative to live permanently in the United
States, you must accept legal responsibility for financially
supporting this family member. You accept this responsibility
and become your relative's sponsor by completing and signing
a document called an affidavit of support. This legally enforceable
responsibility lasts until your relative becomes a U.S. citizen
or can be credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years.)
- Need Help? Call us at -
California (916)-669-0649
Florida (239)-643-5529
Preference Categories
The relative you wish to
immigrate must obtain an immigrant visa number that is based on
the preference category in which they fall.
People who want to become immigrants are classified into categories
based on a preference system. The immediate relatives of U.S. citizens,
which includes 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 the USCIS. An immigrant visa number will be immediately available
for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. The relatives in the
remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to
become available according to the following preferences:
- 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.
Once
USCIS receives your visa petition, I-130, Petition for
Alien Relative, it will be approved or denied. USCIS will notify
the person who filed the visa petition if the visa petition
is
approved.
USCIS will then send the approved visa petition to the
Department of State's National Visa Center, where it will remain
until
an immigrant visa number is available. The Center will notify
you, the foreign national, when the visa petition is received
and
again when an immigrant visa number is available. You do
not need to contact the National Visa Center, unless you change
your
address or there is a change in your personal situation,
or
that of your alien relative, that may affect eligibility for
an immigrant
visa, such as reaching age 21, marriage, divorce, or death
of a spouse.
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