When a person enters the United States of America for reasons of tourism, medical aid, education or for business, they need to present their valid passport along with a photo ID or birth certificate and in most cases an entry visa. The visa is only a permit to travel and enter a foreign country. In the above cases of short trips, it is known as the nonimmigrant visa. But, if a person is entering the United States for purposes of employment and residence, he or she would need an immigrant visa, also known as the Green Card. Previously, it was known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card and today it is known as the United States Permanent Resident Card.
Although the checks put in place by the United States Government are quite stringent, illegal immigrants do cross its borders and prey on its resources. The Government is unwilling to simplify the processes to kept eh illegal immigrants out and the opposition view is that if the compliances are relaxed, many of these immigrants could come the legal way. This is a myriad circle and coming out of it is not going to happen in the near future until the illegal immigrants are driven out.
A Green Card is a document issued to aliens in the United States as a proof of their permanent-resident status. An alien holding a green card is legally a permanent resident of the United States and is officially granted the immigration benefits along with a permit to live and work in the United States of America. The green card is issued by the Department of Homeland Security through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. A recipient of a green card is required to carry it at all times and it is valid for a period of 10 years.
Obtaining a Green Card is a three step process but can take years to culminate. This depends on the category of the immigrant and the country of birth. The process begins with filing a immigration petition which is approved by the employer or a qualifying relative. Immigrants in the United States are categorized into three groups – employer based immigrants, family based immigrants and immediate relative immigrants. The paperwork and processes involved for all these three types of immigrants is different and quite complex. There are several other categories under which a green card can be granted to an alien –
Special Immigrants – Green cards can be issued to certain people under special circumstances.
Political Asylum – Green cards can also be issued to people who seek political asylum in the United States Of America.
Amnesty – As a special case, if you are living in the United States since January 1982, you can be eligible for a green card under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
Special workers in agriculture – Green cards can also be granted under this category as special cases,
Special Cases – In extraordinary cases or under humanitarian circumstances, members of the United States Congress can help an individual to get the green card.
The Immigration and Nationality Act sets the number of visas that can be allotted to the immigrants. Qualifying for one of these is the next step. Once the visa becomes available, the alien applicant needs to pay the visa fee (approx. $1000) and can apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to change their status to a permanent resident.
The above is the normal method of applying for a green card. In addition to it, a green card lottery held annually. This lottery offers about 50,000 green cards to people emigrating from countries that have low immigration rates vis-à-vis USA. In this lottery the eligibility is the country of birth and not citizenship. The eligible countries are short-listed every year. This eligibility is based on the number of emigrants form the country to the US in the last five years. If the country has sent less than 50,000 emigrants from the country to the Unites States in the last five years, its citizens are eligible to participate in the lottery.
While the validity of the green card is 10 years, a green card holder, after five years of continuous residency in the United States is eligible to become a naturalized US citizen. In addition to this, the immigrant should be able to write, read and speak English fluently and understand US government and history. He or she should also have a good moral character and should be willing to abide by the US constitution. If the alien passes through these qualifications, he or she can become a full United States citizen by taking the Oath of Allegiance.
However, obtaining permanent residency in the United States of America is not as simple as it sounds. It requires a very large commitment of determination, resources and time. While the process itself is quite complicated and takes years to complete, the US has a proud history of successful immigration owing to it. Many are of the opinion that simplification of the paper work and procedures would result in easier emigration and will reduce the number of illegal immigrants.