What a green card is
A green card is the document that proves lawful permanent resident status in the United States. With it you can live and work anywhere in the U.S., change employers freely, travel abroad and return, and sponsor certain relatives. After a qualifying period, usually five years, you can apply for U.S. citizenship.
A green card is not the same as a visa. Most visas, such as the E-2, O-1 or H-1B, are temporary and tied to a specific purpose. A green card is permanent, although it can be lost through long absences or certain criminal convictions.
The main ways to get a green card
Family and marriage
U.S. citizens can sponsor their spouses, unmarried children under 21 and, if the citizen is at least 21, their parents. These are called immediate relatives, and their category has no annual limit, so there is no waiting line beyond normal processing. Citizens can also sponsor married children, adult children and siblings, and green card holders can sponsor spouses and unmarried children; these preference categories have annual limits and waiting times. See family-based green cards and check current waiting times with our Visa Bulletin checker.
Extraordinary ability and employment
People with sustained national or international acclaim can petition for themselves in the EB-1 category, without a job offer. Many of our O-1 visa clients later follow this route. Other employment-based paths, such as EB-2 for advanced degree professionals (including the National Interest Waiver) and EB-3 for skilled workers, usually start with a U.S. employer or a strong national interest case.
Investment
The EB-5 program offers a green card to investors who make a qualifying investment in a U.S. business that creates jobs. It requires a substantially larger investment than the E-2 visa, which is temporary but often the faster first step for entrepreneurs from treaty countries such as Poland.
Other routes
Green cards are also available through the Diversity Visa lottery for nationals of eligible countries, through asylum or refugee status, and through several special immigrant categories. We tell you on the first call whether one of these could apply to you.
Adjustment of status or consular processing
If you are already in the United States and eligible, you can apply without leaving the country through adjustment of status (Form I-485). While the case is pending you can usually apply for a work permit and travel permission. If you are abroad, or not eligible to adjust, the case goes through the National Visa Center and ends with an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate; your green card is mailed after you enter the U.S.
Which route is better depends on your status, your travel plans and processing times, and choosing wrongly can cost months. We decide this with you before anything is filed.
How long it takes
Processing times depend on the category, the USCIS office or consulate handling your case and the demand in your category. Immediate relatives move without a quota. Preference categories move according to the monthly Visa Bulletin, which you can check in seconds with our Visa Bulletin checker.
Common mistakes that delay green cards
- Filing in the wrong category, or adjusting status when consular processing would have been safer.
- Weak evidence of a genuine marriage, or of the sponsor's income in the affidavit of support.
- Missing civil documents, translations or police certificates.
- Travelling abroad while an adjustment application is pending without travel permission.
- Overlooking past immigration problems, such as overstays or prior refusals, that need to be addressed in the application.
How Totu Legal helps
Marcin Podskarbi is licensed in California and admitted to the Warsaw Bar, and works with clients in English and Polish. We assess your options, choose the path, prepare every form and piece of evidence, and stay with you through the interview. Not sure where you fit? Take the free U.S. visa quiz or book a free case evaluation.
