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- A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the
privilege of permanently living and working in the United States. If you want
to become a lawful permanent resident based on the fact that you have a
relative who is a citizen of the United States or a relative who is a lawful
permanent resident, you must go through a multi-step process.
Your family member that would apply for you can be:
- Wife or Husband
- Mother or Father
- Step-mother and Step-father
- Brother or Sister
- First, the USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition, I-130 Petition for
Alien Relative for you. This petition is filed by your relative
(sponsor) and must be accompanied by proof of your relationship to the
requesting relative.
- Second, the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa number
is immediately available to you, the foreign national, even if you are already
in the United States. When an immigrant visa number becomes immediately
available to you, it means that you can apply to have one of the immigrant
visa numbers assigned to you.
- Third, if you are already in the United States, you may apply to change
your status to that of a lawful permanent resident after a visa number becomes
available for you. This is one way you can apply to secure an immigrant visa
number. If you are outside the United
States when an immigrant visa number becomes available for you, you must then
go to the U.S. consulate servicing the area in which you reside to complete
your processing. This is the other way in which you can apply to secure an
immigrant visa number.
- Note: Information concerning the new K (advance admission for the spouse
and children of a U.S. citizen) and new V (advance admission for the spouse
and the minor children of a lawful permanent resident) nonimmigrant categories
is available but not yet incorporated here.
Eligibility
To be eligible to sponsor a relative to immigrate to the United States you must
meet the following criteria:
- You must be a citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States
and be able to provide documentation proving your status.
- You must prove that you can support your relative at 125% above the
mandated poverty line.
- If you are a US Citizen you may petition for the following foreign
national relatives to immigrate to the United States; however you must be able
to provide proof of the relationships:
- Husband or wife;
- Unmarried child under 21 years old;
- Unmarried son or daughter over 21;
- Married son or daughter of any age;
- Brother or sister, if you are at least 21 years old; or
- Parent, if you are at least 21 years old.
- If you are a lawful permanent resident you may petition for the following
foreign national relatives to immigrate to the United States; however you must
be able to provide proof of the relationships:
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