The Green Card is a permanent resident card . The Green Card, commonly known as the “Green Card” in US, is a document which gives its holder the right to reside permanently in the United States. Yellow in reality, it offers its beneficiary all the privileges that a US citizen can enjoy. In other words, the right to “live”, in every sense of the word, in the United States.
This includes:
– The right to study .
– The right to work .
– The right to move.
– The right to enter and leave American territory and borders as it sees fit.
– The right to retire in the United States.
– Etc.
Note that the Green Card does not however give you the right to vote in the United States.
How to get the green card?
Obtaining the Green Card can be done with or without US VISA. Without Visa, you can get it in four different ways:
– By bona fide marriage process
– By family ties
– By investment
– By lottery
Note that it is of course impossible to apply for a green card by having a simple ESTA USA authorization !
With Visa, there is only one way to acquire it: through work .
How to get the Green Card by marriage?
It is indeed and very common to obtain the Green Card through bona fide marriage process. Nevertheless, this procedure is so popular and abused by applicants that the immigration services have become very suspicious and very strict about it.
If you opt for this alternative therefore, please note that at the request of your spouse, you will initially only get a temporary Green Card , valid for a maximum of two years. At the end of these two years, if you are still married, the validity will increase to 10 years.
How to get the Green Card thanks to family ties?
You can also apply for the Green Card through relatives permanently residing in the United States. If a member of your family is a U.S. citizen, be it your spouse, child, father, mother, brother or sister, they can indeed apply on behalf of the family reunion “.
To do this, they must complete the I-130 form and gather all the necessary documents, which will be sent to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) once the registration fees have been paid. Depending on the family relationship, you can obtain a Green Card valid for 2 to 15 years .
How to get the Green Card by investing?
One of the safest ways to get the Green Card is to invest in the United States through the EB-5 permanent residence procedure . How to proceed ? To keep it short and simple, you have two options to choose from:
– Apply as an active investor : in which case you will need to invest at least a million dollars in a business that will require you to hire at least ten people. If your project meets these conditions and if you prove that it is viable for at least two years, you will have a Green Card for this period, renewable at the end of the latter.
– Apply as a passive investor: in which case, you will have to invest at least $ 500,000 at least in a disadvantaged center and accredited by the State.
How to obtain the Green Card by the lottery?
Since 1994, the United States has organized the famous “Diveristy Visa Lottery Program”, to allow everyone to have access to the Green Card more easily. The lottery for the green card attracts more than 13 million participants each year and allows 50,000 of them (of which around 10% are French), to benefit from it.
To participate, all you have to do is register for free by filling out the form available at this address: DVLottery.state.gov . You will usually get the answer within a year, so to find out your status, check the site regularly. Please note that if you live in Canada, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland, you will not be able to participate in this lottery.
