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To be eligible to sponsor a relative to immigrate to the United States you must be a citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States and prove that you can support your relative at 125% above the mandated poverty line. 

If you are a U.S. Citizen you may petition for the following foreign national relatives to immigrate to the United States:

- Your husband or wife;
- Your unmarried children;
- Your married children;
- Your brothers or sisters, if you are at least 21 years old; or
- Your parents, if you are at least 21 years old.

If you are a lawful permanent resident you may petition for the following foreign national relatives to immigrate to the United States:

- Your husband or wife; or
- Your unmarried children 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 is willing to sponsor you for lawful permanent residency by filing the Petition for Alien Relative.

- Your relative must prove that he/she can support you by providing documentation that his/her income is 125% above the mandated poverty line.

Preference Categories

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 because an immigrant visa number will be always 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.
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  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, it will be approved or denied.  If the visa petition is approved, USCIS will 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 then notify you, the foreign national, when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number becomes available.  

Conditional Permanent  Residence

If the marriage is less than two years old when the non-citizen spouse becomes a permanent resident, the green card will expire after a two-year period.  Both spouses must submit a joint petition to remove the two-year condition within the 90-day period immediately preceding the end of the two-years. If the marriage was terminated by reason of divorce, death of the citizen spouse, or spousal abuse, the non-citizen spouse may apply for a waiver of the joint petition requirement.

Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) for aliens with extraordinary abilities

Aliens with extraordinary ability are those with "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation." You must be one of "that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor," to be granted this classification. For example, if you receive a major internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize, you will qualify for an EB-1 classification. Other awards may also qualify if you can document that the award is in the same class as a Nobel Prize. Since few workers receive this type of award, alternative evidence of EB-1 classification based on at least three of the types of evidence outlined below, is permitted. The worker may submit "other comparable evidence" if the following criteria do not apply:

• Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence;
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  Membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members;
• Published material about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
• Evidence that the alien has judged the work of others, either individually or on a panel;
• Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field;
• Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
• Evidence that the alien's work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases;
• Performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations;
• Evidence that the alien commands a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field;
• Evidence of commercial successes in the performing arts.

Outstanding professors and researchers are recognized internationally for their outstanding academic achievements in a particular field. In addition, an outstanding professor or researcher must have at least three years experience in teaching or research in that academic area, and enter the U.S. in a tenure or tenure track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. If the employer is a private company rather than a university or educational institution, the department, division, or institute of the private employer must employ at least three persons full time in research activities and have achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field. Evidence that the professor or researcher is recognized as outstanding in the academic field must include documentation of at least two of the following:

• Receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement;
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  Membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievements;
• Published material in professional publications written by others about the alien's work in the academic field;
• Participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field;
• Original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field;
• Authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field.

Some executives and managers of foreign companies who are transferred to the U.S. may also qualify. A multinational manager or executive is eligible for priority worker status if he or she has been employed outside the U.S. in the three years preceding the petition for at least one year by a firm or corporation and seeks to enter the U.S to continue service to that firm or organization. The employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer.

Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) for aliens with exceptional abilities or holding advanced degrees

The EB-2 classification includes aliens who are "members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent" and aliens who "because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural, or educational interests or welfare of the United States." 

A petition for a foreign professional holding an advanced degree may be filed when the job requires an advanced degree (beyond the baccalaureate) and the alien possesses such a degree or the equivalent. The petition must include documentation, such as an official academic record showing that the alien has a U.S. advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree, or an official academic record showing that the alien has a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree and letters from current or former employers showing that the alien has at least 5 years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty.

In order to be classified as having exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business, the individual must provide documentation of three of the following:

• An official academic record showing the alien has a degree, diploma, certificate or similar award from a college, university, school or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability;
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  Letters documenting at least ten years of full-time experience in the occupation being sought;
• A license to practice the profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation;
• Evidence that the alien has commanded a salary or other remuneration for services which demonstrates exceptional ability;
• Membership in professional associations;
• Recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, government entities, professional or business organizations.

If the above standards do not apply to the petitioner's occupation, other comparable evidence of eligibility is also acceptable.

Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) for certain skilled workers and professionals

EB-3 classification includes:

• Aliens with at least two years of experience as skilled workers;
• Professionals with a baccalaureate degree; and
• Other workers with less than two years experience, such as an unskilled worker who can perform labor for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

While eligibility requirements for the EB-3 classification are less stringent than the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications, you should be aware that a long backlog exists for visas in this category.

Skilled worker positions are not seasonal or temporary and require at least two years of experience or training. The training requirement may be met through relevant post-secondary education. The Form ETA-750 (Labor Certification) states the job requirements, which determine whether a job is skilled or unskilled. Professionals must hold a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign equivalent degree that is normally required for the profession. Education and experience may not be substituted for the degree. Other workers are in positions that require less than two years of higher education, training, or experience. However, due to the long backlog, a petitioner could expect to wait many years before being granted a visa under this category.

Above: Immigration reception counter at Ellis Island in New York. Around 1907. At that time, getting a green card was as easy as showing up at Ellis Island and asking for one.

Above: During World War II, the immigration center at Ellis Island transformed primarily into a detention center. Very few immigrants were cleared to leave the island and many others were detained here for a very long time.

A National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition falls into the employment-based immigration second preference category.  Normally, to file an employment-based second preference petition, a job offer and approved labor certification is a pre-requisite.  However, a National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition requests that the otherwise required U.S. job offer requirement, and thus the labor certification requirement, be waived for the sake of the "national interest."  In order to file an NIW petition, the candidate must be able to demonstrate that he is seeking work in an area of substantial intrinsic merit to the US, that the benefit from the candidate's proposed activity will be national in scope, and that such national interest would be adversely affected if a Labor Certification were required for the alien applicant. Since the requirement of a job offer is waived, an individual, even if he/she has no employer, may file an NIW petition on behalf of himself/herself, while a U.S. employer may file an NIW on behalf of the alien as well.

After the September 11th terrorist attack, the current economic slowdown, and the tightening of U.S. immigration policy, NIW petitions are now harder than ever. Nonetheless, an NIW petition's clear advantage over other regular employment based immigrant petitions (i.e., no need of labor certificate and permanent job offer) still makes it an attractive choice for scholars, researchers, and Ph.D. students. After all of the factors that have made it more difficult to be granted an NIW, the approval rate of well-prepared NIW cases remains very high.

Since October 1994, there has been an annual permanent lottery program in place (Diversity Visa Lottery Program). India and Pakistan, however, are excluded because they are over-represented among immigrants in the U.S. Certain other narrow exceptions may also apply. Lottery visas are distributed among six geographical regions.  A greater proportion of visas goes to those regions with lower immigration rates in the U.S.  The regions are:

• Africa: All countries on the continent of Africa and adjacent islands.
• Asia: From Israel to all North Pacific Islands, including Indonesia.
• Europe: From Greenland to Russia - includes all countries of the former Soviet Union.
• North America: Tends to include only one qualified country, The Bahamas.
• Oceania: Includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and all countries and islands in the South Pacific.
• South America: Includes Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean countries.

To qualify as an EB-4 special immigrant religious worker, you must be a member of a religious denomination that has a non-profit religious organization in the United States.  You must have been a member of this religious denomination for at least two years before applying for admission to the United States. You must be entering the United States to work:

• As a minister or priest of the religious denomination;
• In a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization (a professional capacity means that a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign equivalent is required to do this job); or
• In a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization or its nonprofit affiliate. (A religious vocation means a calling or devotion to religious life. Taking vows can prove that you have a calling to religious life. A religious occupation is an activity devoted to traditional religious functions. Examples of religious occupations include (but are not limited to) cantors, missionaries, and religious instructors.)

This visa category is designed for those people who invest either $1,000,000 in a new enterprise that employs ten U.S. workers (exclusive of the immigrant, his/her spouse, and any sons and daughters) or $500,000 in a new enterprise located in certain rural areas with an unemployment rate of at least 150 percent of the national average.  Investor visas for those investing in rural or high unemployment areas are limited to a maximum of 3,000 every year.  EB5 investors obtain permanent resident status on a conditional basis for two years and then must apply to remove the condition.