Attorneys

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.

1. 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.
2. 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 is available, it means you can apply to have one of the immigrant visa numbers assigned to you. You can check the status of a visa number in the Department of State's Visa Bulletin.

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 to 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, 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 to secure an immigrant visa number.

Immigration Sub-categories