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Ways to sponsor
someone for a green card
How does someone come to
the U.S. as an immigrant?
Through family-based immigration, a U.S. citizen or LPR can sponsor
his or her close family members for permanent residence. A U.S. citizen
can sponsor his or her spouse, parent (if the sponsor is over 21),
children, and brothers and sisters. An LPR can sponsor his or her
spouse, minor children, and adult unmarried children. As a result of
recent changes in the law, all citizens or LPRs wishing to petition for a
family member must have an income at least 125% of the federal poverty
level and sign a legally enforceable affidavit to support his or her
family member.
Through employment-based immigration, a U.S. employer can sponsor a
foreign-born employee for permanent residence. Typically, the employer
must first demonstrate to the Department of Labor that there is no
qualified U.S. worker available for the job for which an immigrant visa is
being sought.
As a refugee or asylee, a person may gain permanent residence in
the U.S. A person located outside the United States who seeks protection
in the U.S. on the grounds that he or she faces persecution in his or her
homeland can enter this country as a refugee. In order to be
admitted to the U.S. as a refugee, the person must prove that he or she
has a "well-founded fear of persecution" on the basis of
at least one of the following internationally recognized grounds: race;
religion; membership in a social group; political opinion; or national
origin.
Refugees generally apply for admission to the United States in refugee
camps or at designated processing sites outside their home countries. In
some instances, refugees may apply for protection from within their home
countries (e.g. Cuba, Vietnam, former Soviet Union). If accepted as a
refugee, the person is sent to the U.S. and receives assistance through
the "refugee resettlement program."
A person who is already in the United States and fears persecution if sent
back to his or her home country may apply for asylum in the U.S.
Like a refugee, an asylum applicant must prove that he or she has a
"well-founded" fear of persecution based on one of the five
enumerated grounds listed above. Once granted asylum, the person is called
an "asylee." In most cases, an individual must apply for
asylum within one year of arriving in the U.S. Refugees and asylees may
apply for permanent residence after one year in the U.S.
The above information
is provided courtesy of AILA: American
Immigration Lawyers Association.
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