Green Card Applications

Getting a Green Card (also called “permanent residency”) through a family member is one of the most common paths to a lawful status in the United States.

Which Family Members can Petition?

Not all family members can petition for their foreign relative. US Citizens can petition for their husbands and wives, parents, married and single children, brother and sisters. Lawful Permanent Residents can petition for their husbands and wives and single sons and daughters.

It Matters how your Foreign Family Member Entered the US.

If your family member did not enter the United States with permission (for example, a visa), they may not be able to apply for their residency inside the United States (the process is called adjustment of status) and have to apply for a waiver or process their case at a US Embassy in their home country (this process is called consular processing. Read more here.

How Does Petition for a Spouse work?

A family petition for a spouse is by far the most complicated of all family green card applications. The US citizen spouse first has to file Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with USCIS in order to prove that the couple married to build a life together and not to evade the immigration law. The USCIS will investigate facts and interview the couple before making a decision. If the USCIS approves the I-130 petition, the foreign spouse may then apply for his or her green card. It if important to know that the foreign national spouse will not be eligible for a green card if the USCIS determines that the marriage was fraudulent, or entered into solely to obtain an immigration status.

How to prove that your marriage is real?

Read more here.

Conditional vs. Permanent Green Card.

If by the time the foreign spouse receives the green card the marriage is less than two years, the green card is “conditional,” which means it is issued for only two years. Before the expiration of the two year conditional residency, the noncitizen spouse will need to apply for a permanent green card by filing form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. If I-751 is approved, the foreign spouse will a Lawful Permanent Resident.

How Can our Law Firm Help you?

Sophia Solovyova is highly experienced in all types of family petitions, from straightforward to the most complicated. Our Law Firm will explain the process to you, prepare your applications, and guide you through the interview. You will have easy access to the attorney with any of your questions or concerns and will never have to search for answers by yourself at anytime during your representation.