Green Card requirements

A Green Card allows you to stay in the United States permanently. However, the hurdles for obtaining a US immigrant visa are high, and only some are eligible. Learn how to get a Green Card and what the requirements are.

The different ways to get a Green Card

There are several ways to get a Green Card. The most common routes to the US immigrant visa are:

• Winning the Green Card Lottery
• Family reunification with a closely related American
• A workplace in the United States
• Marrying a US citizen or Green Card holder Investment in a US company

Each path places different and sometimes very high demands on the Green Card applicant. By far, the easiest way to get a Green Card is to participate in the US government's annual Green Card Lottery.

Requirements for the Green Card Lottery

The Diversity Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, issues up to 55,000 Green Cards each year to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.

To participate in the Green Card Lottery, you must meet the following requirements:

• You were born in an eligible country (however, exceptions are possible in special cases).
• You meet the educational requirements for the Green Card Lottery. This includes a high school diploma equivalent to a US high school diploma or two years of work experience (within the last five years) in an occupation that requires at least a two-year apprenticeship or induction period.

These barriers to entry are very low compared to all other paths to a Green Card. Nevertheless, many Green Card applicants need help in the application process because an error-free and timely application is essential for participation in the Green Card Lottery.

Even a minor oversight (e.g., when submitting a photo for the Green Card Lottery) will result in disqualification. However, if you are disqualified by the US government for a mistake, it will go unnoticed. You will not be notified that you have been disqualified or what your mistake was.

To avoid being disqualified from the Green Card Lottery year after year for the same mistake, you should have your application submitted by a USA expert, such as the government-licensed immigration consultants at The American Dream.

Green Card requirements for families

If you have a family member who is a US citizen or Green Card holder, that person can act as your Green Card sponsor. In compliance with the respective waiting periods, you will go through the Green Card process for foreign relatives together.

Depending on the type of relationship you have, as a Green Card applicant, you must meet the following requirements:

• You are an immediate relative of a US citizen or Green Card holder (e.g., child, sibling, parent) who acts as your sponsor.
• If you are sponsored by a direct descendant (son or daughter), your Green Card sponsor must be at least 21 years old.
• Your Green Card sponsor can demonstrate their ability to provide financial support in the United States.

The biggest hurdle for family-sponsored Green Cards is the sometimes decade-long waiting period. Only a few family members (e.g., unmarried children under 21) of US citizens receive their Green Cards with almost no waiting time.

Green Card requirements for employees

The employment-based Green Card is one of the most challenging paths to obtaining a Green Card and is only open to a few exceptional talents. Depending on the category of your employment-based Green Card, you must meet one or more of the following requirements:

• The job you are applying for in the USA can only be performed by you (qualified US workers cannot be recruited).
• Your employer sponsors your Green Card and handles the application process.
• Alternatively: You have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, can demonstrate it, and your immigration would be an economic benefit to the United States.

Depending on the category of your employment-based Green Card, the process can take several years and cost your future employer a lot of money. If you are an Alien of Extraordinary Ability going through the Green Card process alone, you will pay all the fees yourself.

Green Card requirements for investors

If you invest a significant amount of money in a US company, you can use the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to obtain a Green Card. To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:

• You invest $ 1.8 million (or "only" $ 900,000 in underdeveloped regions).
• You can present a business plan that shows how your investment will benefit the US economy.
• You create at least 10 full-time jobs for Americans in your business.

Loans, cash, certificates of deposit, equipment, inventory, or treasury bills can also serve as capital for the investment-based Green Card.

Green Card requirements for spouses

For most people in love, marriage is a legitimate way to get a Green Card and immigrate to the United States. However, to prevent illegal immigration through fake marriages, the requirements for a marriage-based Green Card have become more complex over the years.

The US authorities require applicants to provide valid evidence. This can be as follows:

• The existence of a long-term relationship (presentation of documents, photos, and digital communications)
• Joint children
• Shared bills (e.g., credit cards, utilities, telephone)
• Joint bank accounts, insurance, tax returns, loan or rental agreements
• Affidavits from family or friends regarding the legality of the marriage

There are often tight deadlines for submitting these documents. You may also be subject to an unannounced visit to your home or the so-called marriage fraud interview.

In the marriage-based Green Card process, your American spouse acts as your sponsor - much like an employer would do in the employment-based Green Card process.

Additional Green Card requirements

In addition to the specific requirements within the different Green Card categories, there are some general requirements that every US immigrant must meet before receiving their Green Card. These are:

• Upon request, you can present a clean criminal record.
• You pass a medical examination with a panel physician of the US government.
• You are financially stable (in case you are not sponsored).

The easiest way to the USA

Reading about the high entry barriers to the various Green Card processes, it quickly becomes clear that for most people, the only chance to live and work in the USA indefinitely is through the US government's Green Card Lottery.

Also known as the DV Lottery, it allows 55,000 people from around the world to immigrate to the United States each year. Apply for the current Green Card Lottery today - it only takes a few clicks, and the chances of winning are excellent!