As an immigrant looking to work or live in the United States, a green card is one of the potential options available to you. But in order to obtain this, you must go through the proper process to apply for one.
What does this process look like? What are the steps you must go through in order to apply for your green card?
Filing for a visa petition
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes into detail about the application process for green cards. First, you need to discover what your immigration category is. Are you a refugee or crime victim? Or are you looking into family immigration or employment based immigration? The latter two require your family member or the sponsoring employer to fill out the application for you.
By filing a petition, you will end up on a waiting list for a visa. You will receive notification when a visa is available. Note that only so many visas are available for each category of immigration. When this is available, you then submit an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. This includes a number of documents as well as a $1,225 fee for filing.
Your Application Support Center appointment
You then get an appointment at an Application Support Center near your residence. This includes a background check and a security check. You must bring all of your required documents and submit your fingerprints. In some cases, you will also go through an interview. You will either get an approval or a denial at the end of this appointment. Note that the entire process can take up to three years to complete, depending on the backlog in the system.