Obtaining Permanent Residency through Family

One avenue for obtaining permanent residency is through a qualified family member. Typically this is through a spouse, a parent, a child, or a sibling. Family-based immigration can be a lengthy process, depending on which relative serves as the sponsor and the citizenship of the beneficiary.

Immediate Relative (spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21) of a U.S. citizen

One of the quickest avenues for obtaining permanent residency had traditionally been as the husband or wife of a U.S. citizen. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to the same waiting periods and per-country quotas that other family-based green card applicants have to worry about. They are immediately elgible to submit their application for adjustment of status at the same time that their U.S. relative files the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130). These individuals do not need to worry about whether or not their priority date is current. This does not, however, mean that they do not suffer through long, bureaucratic processing delays.

The Family Based Preference Classifications (excluding Immediate Relative)

It is possible to be sponsored for permanent residency by a relative other than an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen. The classifications in the table below show what sort of relative can be sponsored for permanent residency by specific relatives. Note the limited number of green cards available each year for each of these preference classifications.

Unlike the "Immediate Relative" classification briefly discussed in the section above, individuals who may qualify for permanent residency based on a familial relationship cannot simultaneously submit the paperwork for both steps of the process. They must first obtain an approval on a Petition for Alien Relative that is filed on their behalf before they can go either for an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate abroad or before they can submit their Adjustment of Status paperwork if they seek to change from one non-immigrant classification to an immigrant. For them, the priority date - the date on which the Form I-130 is received by Immigration - is critical.

The Green Card Process

There are essentially two steps in the family-based premanent residency process:

1. Classification: The sponsoring relative submits the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service asking USCIS to classifiy the relative as being eligible for permanent residency based on the relationsahip described in the petition and documented by the supporting documents submitted with the form. This step establishes two things:
   • the the individual filing the Form I-130 holds a legal status in the U.S. makes him/jher eligible to sponsor a relative for permanet residency, and
   • that a qualifying relationship exists between the sponsor and the individual for whom permanent residency is sought.
2. Applying to be an Immigrant: This is the final stage of the process in which the relative who is the beneficiary of the Form I-130 formally applies to become an immigrant of the U.S. There are two avenues for completing this final stage of the process and the individual will need to decide which avenue is best for him/her:
   1. Immigrant Visa Interview at a U.S. consulate abroad
   2. Submission of an Adjustment of Status Application with USCIS. Individuals who qualify as "immediate relatives" of U.S. citizens and those for whom the priority date would be "current" are able to file this stage of paperwork at the same time their relative files the Form I-130.