How can I become a permanent resident (green card holder)?

Who it may fit

This path usually fits if you are the spouse of a U.S. citizen, the unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen, or the parent of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older. It also requires that at your last entry an officer inspected and admitted you (for example, with a visa) or granted you parole. A visa is always available for these relatives, so they do not wait for a turn in the Visa Bulletin. Staying past your permitted time or working without permission, by itself, generally does not block this process for these relatives, but other issues can affect it.

What to gather

• ✓Passport with your visa or admission or parole stamp, and your I-94 arrival record.
• ✓Your birth certificate and a photo ID.
• ✓Proof of your relative's citizenship: U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate or naturalization certificate.
• ✓If through marriage: marriage certificate, prior divorces and proof the marriage is real, such as a joint lease, shared accounts or birth certificates of children you have together.
• ✓Copies of any arrest, charge or court case, even if it was closed.

Main forms

• I-130Petition for Alien Relative (filed by your U.S. citizen relative)
• I-485Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (can be filed together with the I-130)
• I-864Affidavit of Support
• I-693Immigration medical exam (if applicable)

Who it may fit

If your last entry was without passing through an immigration checkpoint (without inspection), you generally cannot get a green card inside the U.S. through your relative, even if you are married to a U.S. citizen. In most cases the path is consular processing: the petition is approved here and you receive an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Because leaving after more than 180 days here without permission can trigger a 3 or 10 year bar, many people first ask for the I-601A provisional waiver, which is decided before they leave. Some exceptions change the plan, such as section 245(i) for people with a petition or labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001.

What to gather

• ✓Dates and places of every entry to and exit from the U.S., even if approximate.
• ✓Proof of your spouse's citizenship or permanent residence, and your marriage certificate.
• ✓Evidence of the serious hardship your U.S. citizen or resident spouse or parent would face if you could not return: health, finances, children, work.
• ✓Any old petition or labor certification filed for you, your spouse or your parents.
• ✓Every immigration or court paper: notices, orders, court summonses or arrests.

Main forms

• I-130Petition for Alien Relative (filed by your spouse)
• I-601AProvisional unlawful presence waiver (filed in the U.S. before leaving)
• NVCImmigrant visa case with the National Visa Center and consular interview
• I-485 Supl. AOnly if section 245(i) applies: allows adjustment inside the U.S.

Who it may fit

This path applies if your spouse or parent is a permanent resident, or if you are the married or over-21 son or daughter of a U.S. citizen, or the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older. These categories have a limited number of visas, so you wait for a turn based on your priority date, which is the date the I-130 petition was filed. The Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin every month, showing which dates can move forward. When your turn comes, the next step is deciding whether you can finish inside the U.S. or at a consulate; unlike immediate relatives of citizens, having always kept a lawful status generally matters here.

What to gather

• ✓The I-130 receipt or approval notice (Form I-797), which shows your priority date.
• ✓Proof of your relative's status: both sides of the green card, or proof of citizenship.
• ✓Birth and marriage certificates that show the relationship.
• ✓Passport, visa, I-94 and proof that you always kept a lawful status, if you have it.
• ✓Copies of any arrest, charge or court case.

Main forms

• I-130Petition for Alien Relative (sets your priority date)
• I-485Adjustment of status, only when your date is current and you can apply inside the U.S.
• NVCIf you cannot adjust here: immigrant visa through the National Visa Center
• I-864Affidavit of Support

Who it may fit

If your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, or former spouse, subjected you to battery or extreme cruelty, you can petition on your own with Form I-360, without that person knowing or having to sign. Unmarried children under 21 abused by a U.S. citizen or resident parent can also apply, and so can parents abused by a U.S. citizen son or daughter who is 21 or older. With a VAWA petition, you do not need to have entered with inspection to apply for a green card inside the country, and most bars to adjustment do not apply. If the abuser is a citizen, you can file the I-485 green card application together with the I-360; if the abuser is a resident, you may need to wait for a turn in the Visa Bulletin.

What to gather

• ✓Proof of the abuser's citizenship or residence, only if you can get it without putting yourself at risk.
• ✓Proof of the relationship: marriage or birth certificate.
• ✓Evidence of the abuse you already have: police reports, protective orders, medical records, letters from counseling or a shelter.
• ✓Proof that you lived together and, for spouses, that you married in good faith.
• ✓Copies of any arrest or court case, to review the good moral character requirement.

Main forms

• I-360VAWA self-petition (filed without the abuser)
• I-485Green card application, with the I-360 or later, if a visa is available
• I-765Work permit (with an approved I-360 or a pending I-485)

Who it may fit

This path is for children and young people who went through a state juvenile court process related to abuse, abandonment or neglect by one or both parents, or a similar basis under state law. First, USCIS must approve the I-360 petition as a Special Immigrant Juvenile. With that approval, you are treated as paroled when you apply for a green card, no matter how you entered the country. The I-485 green card application can be filed only when a visa is available in your category, so you may need to wait for a turn in the Visa Bulletin.

What to gather

• ✓The juvenile court order and case documents.
• ✓The young person's birth certificate and an ID or passport.
• ✓The I-360 receipt or approval notice (Form I-797), if there is one.
• ✓Copies of any juvenile court matter, charge or arrest.

Main forms

• Orden juvenilState juvenile court order with the required findings (not a USCIS form)
• I-360Special Immigrant Juvenile petition
• I-485Green card application, when a visa is available
• I-765Work permit (with a pending I-485)

Who it may fit

If you have a U visa (U status) because you were a crime victim and helped the authorities, you can apply for a green card after 3 years of continuous physical presence in the U.S. since you were admitted in U status. You must still have U status when you apply and must not have unreasonably refused to help with the investigation or prosecution of the crime. USCIS must also find that your stay is justified on humanitarian grounds, to keep the family together or in the public interest; it is not automatic.

What to gather

• ✓Your U visa approval notice (Form I-797) and I-94.
• ✓Proof that you have been in the U.S. for the 3 years: receipts, work, school or medical records for each year.
• ✓Your passport and a list of trips outside the U.S., if any.
• ✓Letters or messages with the police or prosecutor about your cooperation.
• ✓Copies of any arrest or court case, and evidence of your family and community ties.

Main forms

• I-485Green card application based on U status

Who it may fit

If you were granted asylum, you can apply for a green card after being physically present in the U.S. for at least 1 year since the grant, as long as you still meet the definition of a refugee, have not firmly resettled in another country and your asylum has not been terminated. If you were admitted as a refugee, the law requires you to apply for a green card after 1 year of physical presence in the U.S. since your admission. Both use Form I-485. If your asylum case is still pending, this path does not apply yet, but there may be another option worth reviewing.

What to gather

• ✓The decision granting asylum (from USCIS or an immigration judge), or your refugee I-94.
• ✓Proof that you have been in the U.S. for at least 1 year since that date.
• ✓Your passport, travel documents and a list of trips outside the U.S.
• ✓Copies of any arrest or court case.

Main forms

• I-485Green card application as an asylee or refugee

Who it may fit

TPS is a temporary protection; by itself it does not lead to a green card. But having TPS does not stop you from applying through another path, such as a family petition, if you meet that path's requirements. If you entered without inspection, TPS does not count as an admission; however, if you traveled with TPS travel authorization and were admitted on return, that return may count as an inspected entry for adjustment, depending on the date of travel. There are other less common paths, for example through employment, the T visa for trafficking victims or the Cuban Adjustment Act, and an attorney can review which one fits.

What to gather

• ✓Your TPS approvals and work permits.
• ✓Any TPS travel authorization, with exit and return dates and the stamp or I-94 from your return.
• ✓Family or employment petitions filed for you or your relatives.
• ✓Every immigration or court paper, including orders or court summonses.

Main forms

• VaríaDepends on the path: for example I-130 and I-485 with a family petition