A U.S. Permanent Resident Card (LPR Card or Green Card) grants lawful permanent residency in the United States. There are several paths to LPR status.

Applications for LPR status are generally based on family, employment, or special categories. The two most common routes are family sponsorship and employment sponsorship, but other categories exist.

• Family-based Green Cards: Eligible relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents (spouses, parents, children, siblings) can be sponsored. Immediate relatives (spouses, minor children, parents of U.S. citizens) have immigrant visas available immediately; other family members are in other preference categories with worldwide annual limits and additional waiting times for immigrant visas to become available.
• Employment-based Green Cards: Divided into preference categories for workers, depending on factors such as education/experience level. Most categories require employer sponsorship and a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, however select categories allow self-sponsorship.
• Other categories: Include Diversity Visa lottery, special immigrants, and humanitarian status.

Many immigrant visa categories are subject to numerical limits, so wait times vary greatly. U.S. Legal Permanent Residents can live and work permanently in the U.S., travel abroad (with some conditions), and may eventually apply for U.S. Citizenship/Naturalization if the eligibility requirements are met.

For U.S. permanent residency, contact our office. We help determine the best Green Card category for your situation, prepare and file petitions and applications with the USDOL and/or USCIS, and navigate deadlines, visa backlogs and procedural requirements.