Foreign nationals have the chance to lawfully obtain a green card, or permanent resident status, through the family-based immigration avenue. In order to meet the criteria for permanent residency, foreign citizens shall have a relative who is either a US citizen or permanent resident petition on their behalf.

Family of Green Card Holders Pathway
Green card holders can petition for eligible family members to immigrate to the US as permanent residents. The following include:

• Spouses
• Unmarried children of any age
• Unmarried children under the age of 21

The petition process will require a permanent resident to fulfill the necessary paper work and applications, additionally as provide evidence of status and familial relationship to the applicant. The process may be completed if the applicant is currently in the US on a non-immigrant visa or if they are outside of the US.

Family of U.S. Citizens
Additionally, Citizens of the US can file petitions for eligible family members. This is unlike family members of green card holders, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens do not have to wait for a visa to become available. Immediate relatives of United States citizens include the following:

• Spouses
• Parents
• Children, unmarried and under the age of 21

However, if a family member does not qualify as an immediate relative, United States citizens must use the preference categories when filing for family-based immigration. These preference categories can also apply to relatives of green card holders. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department restricts the amount of visas for each category per year, and applicants must wait until a visa is available for their preference category previous to immigrating to the U.S. The preference categories are listed below:

First Preference: Unmarried, children over age 21 of United States citizens

Second Preference (2A): Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of green card holders

Second Preference (2B): Unmarried children of green card holders

Third Preference: Married children of United States citizens

Fourth Preference: Siblings of United States citizens age 21 or older

Visas are restricted by the amount available for each category, the supply and demand of visa numbers and the percentage of visas available to a particular country.

File a Petition for Your Relative with the Assistance of Our Law Offices

At The Law Office of Adam Franzen, LLC , our Florida immigration lawyers are dedicated to assisting United States Citizens and permanent residents complete all the necessary paperwork and fulfill the procedural requirements they need to file a USCIS petition on behalf of their family member. United States immigration law has made family-based immigration one of the main pathways for entering the U.S. because our country values the significance of the family unit, however, it is not made it an easy experience.

Please contact our passionate and experienced legal team to assist you and help navigate through the difficult application process. Contact our law office today to set up a free case consultation and learn more about the ways in which we can be of assistance.