A green card, or Permanent Resident Card, allows a person to permanently live and work in the United States. How one goes about requesting one is determined by individual circumstances.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lists eligibility categories on its website. Here are answers to questions dealing with personal situations.
Q. I became a permanent resident through marriage. Now that I have my permanent green card, can I petition for a green card for my brother?
A. No. Only a U.S. citizen age 21 or older can petition for a brother or sister. You can apply to become a U.S. citizen after you have been a permanent resident for two years and nine months. You count from the time you first became a conditional permanent resident.
Immigration laws limit which relatives a U.S. citizen or permanent resident can sponsor. Included are the spouse of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, all children of U.S. citizens no matter their age or marital status, the unmarried children of any age of a permanent resident, and the brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.
Once you petition for your brother, it could take many years for him to get his green card. If your parents are alive and want to immigrate to the United States, you may be able to get your brother here faster by bringing them first and then having one of them petition for your brother.
Q. I am married to a permanent resident. I applied for asylum in 2015 and my application is pending. What’s the best way for me to get my green card? U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services interviewed me in February 2018, but I am still waiting for a decision. My wife became a permanent resident in April 2014 and I have a U.S. citizen daughter.
A. Have your wife apply to naturalize and also petition for you for permanent residence. She can apply to naturalize now. She needs five years permanent residence to naturalize, but the law allows her to file her application three months early. Once she becomes a U.S. citizen, she can upgrade your case to the spouse of a U.S. citizen category.
You can have both your asylum and family immigration cases pending simultaneously. If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services grants you asylum, you can apply for your green card one year later. If it denies your claim, having a U.S. citizen spouse may keep you out of deportation court.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
