Immigration Law Questions

What is a Green Card?

What is a Green Card?

When aliens are admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents - meaning they have been approved to live permanently in the US - they receive alien registration cards. These cards are more commonly referred to as "green cards" and serve as proof of the alien's legal status as a permanent resident.

In order to be eligible to apply for a green card, an alien must qualify for one of the following categories:

• The alien must be sponsored by an eligible family member who holds US citizenship or legal permanent resident status
• The alien must be sponsored by an employer for full-time, permanent employment in the US
• The alien must be selected for an immigrant visa through the annual Diversity Visa Lottery, which allocates 55,000 visas to aliens from countries with historically low immigration rates to the US
• The alien must be in the US as a refugee or asylee

Each of these categories has specific requirements that an alien must meet in order to be approved for an immigrant visa. If the alien is living outside of the United States, he or she should apply for an immigrant visa in the appropriate category from the US embassy or consulate in his or her home country. Depending on the type of immigrant visa requested, certain forms may need to be filed and approved before the alien can apply for the visa. For example:

• For family based visas, the sponsoring family member will need to file a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) and an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the alien is already in the US legally, he or she also will need to file an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485).
• For most employment-based visas, employers will have to file an Application for Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. Once the labor certification is granted, employers then will have to file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) with the USCIS.

Once an alien immigrates to the US, they will receive a green card as evidence of their permanent resident status. The alien should keep this card with them at all times. Under current regulations, green cards only are valid for 10 years. Permanent residents must renew the cards before they expire in order to keep their status current.

Those who hold green cards have many of the same privileges as US citizens, including the right to vote in local and state elections (but not federal elections), the right to travel and the right to work (with limited for certain types of employment).

After legal residents have held a green card for five years, they may be eligible to apply for US citizenship. There are other requirements to become a US citizen, but the first step is obtaining a green card.

For more information on immigrating to the US, green cards or other immigration matters, contact an experienced immigration attorney in your area.

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