Family-based Green Card Application

Family-based Green Card Application

“An Aggressive, Proactive Approach To Family-based Green Card”

Family Based Immigrant Visa:

A family-based Green Card is an immigrant visa card that allows you to join your close relatives, spouse, children, parents, or siblings in the USA. To apply for a Family Based Green Card, your closest relative must have USA citizenship or lawful permanent residency. You may need assistance from our highly experienced consultants on filing Form I-130 to help your relatives get residency status in the USA. If your relative is already in the USA with a visa, they can apply to get a Green Card by filing Form I-485. You or your relative can drop us a line or call us to apply for the Family Based Green Card without hindrance.

Our honest, dedicated, and compassionate team has been successfully handling family-based green card petitions. With multiple offices in India, Canada, and the U.S, easyILA has a growing client base from diversified backgrounds. Our clients rely on our expertise to deliver the most effective solutions and consistent results.

Our mission is to enable a seamless process to help you settle at your desired destination and open a gamut of new possibilities and new opportunities for a better tomorrow.

During the preliminary consultation, our team meticulously examines the intricacies of your case and give customized recommendations through their extensive experience and our professionally managed and integrated services. Once done, they will then review the documentation, prepare the petition, and file it with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

What are Family-Based Preference Categories?

Family members of U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) i.e., a Green Card Holder, are eligible to become lawful permanent residents (get a Green Card) based on specific family relationships, as per the U.S. immigration law.

There are two types of family-based immigrant visas:

Immediate Relative – This category of visa includes a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen, such as a spouse, child, or parent. There is no limit to the o number of immigrants in this category in each fiscal year.

Family Preference – This category is for specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident. The number of immigrants in this category is limited each fiscal year.

The family preference categories include:

• F1 Category- Unmarried, adult sons and daughters (age 21 or over) of U.S. citizens
• F2A Category-Spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) of permanent residents
• F2B Category- Unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents
• F3 Category- Married sons and daughters (any age) of U.S. citizens
• F4 Category- Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens

When a petitioner files a green card for a family member falling under the family preference category, they should be prepared for a long waiting period. However, the number of green cards issued under this category is restricted. If a petitioner files for foreign family immigration, the chances of obtaining the green card will largely depend on the type of relation the family member holds with the petitioner and the category they fall into.

Who may file a petition for family reunification?

A petition must be filed by a family member who is a United States citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident. The petitioner must provide proof of relationship and own citizenship or permanent residence right, and evidence of financial sustainability to sponsor a relative.

If the petitioner is not able to financially support their relative, then he has the privilege of adding the income of a household member or can also add up to two joint sponsors in his petition.

Following family members can be sponsored under the family preference through the I-130 petition:

• A spouse of a U.S. citizen
• An unmarried minor child of a U.S. citizen
• A parent of a U.S. citizen
• An adult (married or unmarried) child of a U.S. citizen
• A sibling of a U.S. citizen
• A sponsor of an LPR
• An un-married child (adult or minor) of an LPR

The sponsor must fill an immigrant visa petition (I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives) for the foreign national, which must subsequently be approved by the USCIS.

The Department of State will then determine if an immigrant visa number is available to the foreign national (based on relationship to sponsor, preference categories, and waiting list). A visa number is instantly available to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Once an immigrant visa number becomes available, the National Visa Centre (NVC) will notify the sponsor and the foreign national.

If the foreign national is in the United States when the visa number becomes available, they may apply to change their status to that of an LPR from within the United States. If the foreign national is outside the United States, they must go to the U.S. Consulate nearby to complete the processing.