How to apply for a green card?

Applying for a green card in the United States is legally called "adus adus Adustment of Status", which is different from changing identity. The former refers to changing from non-immigrant status to permanent resident status, while the latter refers to changing from one non-immigrant status to another, such as changing from F- 1 to H- 1. According to American immigration law, if you want to adjust your status in China, you must first meet the following conditions: 1. Applicants must be in the United States to apply for a green card. Although there is no need to provide evidence of the person in the United States when applying, relevant evidence, such as I-94 form, passport and visa copy, should be kept for immigration verification. Because people can only apply for a green card in the United States, separated couples generally cannot apply at the same time. For example, the husband works in the United States and applies for a green card through professional immigration, while the wife still lives outside the United States. A wife cannot apply at the same time as her husband. In this case, the husband should apply for the so-called I-824 immediately after obtaining the green card, that is, ask the relevant immigration department that approved his green card to inform the American overseas consulate to allow his wife to reunite with her husband as a green card. If the husband applies for a green card to the regional center of the US Immigration Service, the center will directly approve his green card, and the husband should immediately send the application to I-824. If the center transfers its green card application to the local immigration office, the husband should apply for I-824 immediately during the interview, which can save a lot of time. It should be noted that the husband and wife get married first, and the husband gets a green card later. In this case, the wife doesn't have to wait a long time to apply for a green card according to the so-called timetable. From a legal point of view, if the husband gets married after getting a green card, it will take a long time to apply for the so-called second priority of relatives immigration. However, if he gets a green card after getting married, the application will follow suit and there is no need to schedule. Therefore, after getting a green card in the United States, if you apply for a green card for your spouse, you must not apply for I- 130, but I-824. The above provisions also apply to unmarried children under the age of 2 1 who are overseas. 2. The applicant must enter the country legally and keep his legal status. Generally speaking, to apply for a green card in the United States, the applicant must enter the country with a legal visa and maintain his legal non-immigrant status during his stay. The situations that affect legal non-immigrant status are usually overstaying and illegal work. F- 1 students who fail to attend full-time courses are deemed to have lost their school status. H- 1 Work visa holders will also be considered as overstaying if they lose their jobs or cannot get enough wages. In this case, it is impossible to apply for a green card in the form of professional immigrants or relatives immigrants. You can only leave the United States and apply for an immigrant visa at an overseas consulate. However, it should be noted that applicants who overstay for more than 180 days may not re-enter the United States within three years after leaving the United States; Those who overstay for more than one year are not allowed to enter the country within ten years. The above provisions do not apply to the immediate family members of American citizens, that is, their parents, spouses and unmarried children under 2 1 year old. For these people, as long as they enter the country legally, they can still apply for a green card in the United States even if they fail to maintain their legal status or have worked illegally. Just don't leave the United States while waiting for a green card, even if you apply for so-called "early parole". Because once you leave the country, you may be restricted from entering the country for three or ten years. In addition, if you meet the protection of the so-called 245I law, you can still apply for a green card in the United States even if you enter the country illegally, overstay or work illegally. The legal provisions of 245I are very complicated. I wrote a detailed introduction article and published it in the World Journal. Interested readers can write to ask for it. In short, anyone who applied for a relative immigration or professional immigration or even a work permit before the end of April 200 1 year can pay a fine of $ 1000 and apply for a US green card as long as they meet the immigration conditions. Third, other restrictions on applying for a US green card First of all, immigrants must have a quota to apply for a green card. In terms of professional immigration, there are quotas for various priorities at present. Applicants can apply for a green card immediately after the work permit is approved. However, the arrangement of relatives' immigration is progressing slowly, and they can only apply after the arrangement expires. Please pay attention to the announcement of the the State Council Visa Office about the scheduling progress. Secondly, the following people cannot apply for a green card in the United States: 1, illegal immigrants (but see the provisions of 245I);

2. Crew members and flight attendants;

3. Transit visa;

4. visa-free;

5.J- 1 visa is subject to a two-year return restriction;

6. K- 1 visa but failed to marry the applicant citizen;

7. In the process of expulsion. Of course, the above seven kinds of people may use the legal provisions on immunity, and the parties should discuss it carefully with their lawyers. Four. Procedures for professional immigrants to apply for a green card Generally speaking, professional immigrants need to apply for a green card from the service center of the US Immigration Service. Although after March 2003, the Immigration Bureau was placed under the jurisdiction of the newly established Department of Homeland Security and renamed the Citizenship and Immigration Service Bureau, the work of handling various immigration applications was still handled by the original four sub-regional centers. According to American immigration law, the professional immigration application (form 1- 140) can be submitted at the same time as the green card application (form I-485), or it can be applied separately. This provides different options for applicants. Professional immigrants are divided into five categories. The first priority includes special talents, outstanding researchers and professors, and managers of multinational companies. These three types of applicants can directly apply for I- 140 and I-485 without applying for a work permit. The second priority of professional immigrants includes national interests. Like the first priority three types of applications, such applications can also be submitted directly to I- 140 and I-485. The second priority also includes applications for master's degree or above. This kind of application and all kinds of applications with the third priority, including college graduates, applications with two years' work experience and applications without two years' work experience, must apply for a work permit first. I- 140 and I-485 applications can only be submitted after the work permit application is approved. In addition, the fourth priority (special immigrants) and the fifth priority (investment immigrants) must be approved before they can apply for I-486. The advantages of applying for I- 140 and I-485 at the same time are: 1. Speed up the application process and reduce the waiting time for green card (at least in theory); Second, you can apply for travel documents and freely enter and leave the United States; Third, you can apply for a work permit and the whole family can work; Fourth, you can keep your legal identity, which is very important for people whose identity is about to expire, such as H- 1, B- 1. The disadvantage of applying for I- 140 and I-485 at the same time is that if I- 140 cannot be approved, the application for I-485 and its related travel documents and work cards will also be rejected. In addition to the impact on identity, the application fee alone will be a big loss. Secondly, if I- 140 is refused a visa after leaving the United States with a travel document, whether I can return to the United States and what impact it will have on the applicant's non-immigrant status are all unresolved issues. Furthermore, since the Immigration Bureau allowed I- 140 and I-485 to declare together in August 2002, the approval time of I-485 has not been shortened, but has become longer. This point also needs to be considered when I- 140 and I-485 apply, at least for now. When applying for a green card, professional immigrants generally have to produce the following documents: 1, I-485 form and application fee;

2. Form I-485A (if a 245(I) application is submitted at the same time);

3. Form G-325a (not required for children under14);

4. Two photos;

5.I-693 form, that is, physical examination form;

6.I- 134/I-864, that is, economic guarantee;

7, I- 140 (or I-360, I-526) ratification;

8. Form I-94 (Proof of legal non-immigrant status);

9. Birth certificate;

10, marriage certificate;

1 1, employment certificate;

12, passport copy;

13, I- 13 1 are travel document application forms;

14, I-765 Work Card Application Form. All I-485 applications processed by the Immigration Sub-regional Center must be mailed. V. Procedures for relatives to apply for a green card In the application for immigration of relatives, parents, spouses and minor children of citizens are immediate family members, and I- 130 (application form for immigration of relatives) and I-485 can be submitted directly. Other application categories include adult unmarried children of citizens, spouses and adult unmarried children of permanent residents, married children of citizens and brothers and sisters of citizens. These types of applications can only be submitted to I-485 after I- 130 application is approved. An application for a relative's immigration green card must be made at the local office of the Immigration Bureau in the city where he lives. It can be delivered by mail or by a lawyer in person, which can save a lot of processing time. In San Diego, lawyers deliver documents, and you can get a work card on the same day. The time for applying for a US Re-entry Permit can also be shortened a lot. The green card of relative immigrants is generally approved after an interview with the immigration staff. How to prepare for the interview is particularly important for the applicants of relative immigration, especially those who apply for a green card after marrying an American citizen. I will introduce it in detail in another article. The documents required for relatives to apply for a green card are basically the same as those listed above, and only I- 130 form or I- 130 approval notice is required. In addition, different immigration offices have different requirements for medical examination forms. Some need to be provided at the time of application, and some need to be provided at the interview. Moreover, the relative immigration application needs more detailed financial guarantee (I-864 form) and supporting documents, which the applicant should pay serious attention to. Recently, the Immigration Bureau plans to set up a Missouri sub-center, and all the documents of relatives applying for immigration must be sent to this sub-center for preliminary examination, and then sent back to the local office of the Immigration Bureau for processing. We don't know how this change will affect the application for green card by immigrant relatives, especially whether it will cause a longer delay in processing. According to past experience, the most troublesome thing for immigrants is the communication between departments. In the past, when applicants moved or changed their residence, they lost their documents or the handover between the two immigration offices was unclear. 6. Applying for a green card in the immigration court If the applicant is sent to court because of overstaying, illegal work or failure to apply for political asylum, he can still apply for a green card in the immigration court if he meets the immigration conditions, but the application procedures are different from the above two types of applications. Take marrying a citizen and applying for a green card as an example. If the applicant is transferred to the immigration court for judicial proceedings and applies for immigration on the grounds of marrying a citizen, he should first apply to the local immigration office for I- 130 relative immigration. After the interview passes I- 130, submit the I-485 application to the immigration court for review. It should be noted that since the applicant has entered the expulsion procedure, the Immigration Bureau has a strict review of such marriage green card applications. Applicants should not only have full psychological preparation, but also have detailed and perfect preparation on documents and questions to ensure clearance.