*Family Sponsored;                                                                                 

*Employment Sponsored;

The majority of persons who qualify for permanent resident status are petitioned for by immediate family-related US citizens or lawful permanent residents.

A citizen of the United States may petition for their spouse, children (minor or adult), parents, and brothers or sisters (married or unmarried). A lawful permanent resident of the United States may petition for their spouse, minor children, and unmarried adult child (ren). Widows and widowers of United States citizens married at least two years at the time of their spouse’s death may qualify for permanent resident status.

Certain individuals may qualify for lawful permanent resident status based upon an employment based immigration categories.

Employment Based First Preference : consists of the following categories: 

    a) Persons of Extraordinary Ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics;

    b) Outstanding Professors and Researchers;

Employment Based Second Preference: consists of the following categories-

    b)  Aliens of Exceptional Ability in Arts, Sciences, Education, Business or Athletics.

Employment Based Third Preference: consists of the following categories –

     b) Professionals;

     c) Other Workers (also referred to unskilled workers).

Employment Based Fourth Preference:

Individuals seeking to enter the United States to engage in a new commercial enterprise/investment. Generally speaking, an investing alien must establish and be entering the US for the purpose of engaging in a new commercial enterprise. To qualify presently, an investment of a minimum of one million dollars (five hundred thousand dollars) for designated targeted employment areas of each state). This category requires the creation of ten full time jobs.

       b) Religious Professionals;

       c) Other Religious Workers.

The Divesity Immigrant Visa Program, commonly referred to as the "visa lottery", makes available 55,000 permanent resident visas each year to individuals meeting the eligibility requirements. Applicants are chosen at random (computer generated drawing) from certain designed countries. The diversity visas are intended to provide immigration visas for individuals from countries other than main source countries of immigration for the United States for a particular year. Therefore, the list of countries that qualify for diversity program are subject to change from year to year.

Refugees are individual who are outside of the United States, whereas Asylees are physically present within the United States, who must demonstrate [past] persecution or a well- founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Once granted status as refugee or asylee, one may subsequently apply for permanent resident status.

An individual who in the United States and in a Removal Proceeding (Deportation) may be eligible for cancellation of removal and subsequently for permanent residence. The Immigration Judge may grant cancellation of removal to an individual who has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than ten years immediately preceding the date of such application; is a person of good moral character during such period; has not been convicted of certain offenses; and can establish that removal would result in exceptional and extreme unusual hardship to the alien's spouse, parent, or child, who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.