There are four main ways to get residency in the USA: through a qualifying family member, through an employer or investment, by winning the annual diversity visa lottery, or through refugee or asylee status. Which path fits you decides almost everything else, including how long you’ll wait and how much paperwork you’ll handle. Timelines range from a few months for the spouse of a U.S. citizen to more than a decade for siblings from backlogged countries.
Family Sponsorship
Family ties are the most common route to a Green Card. A U.S. citizen or permanent resident files Form I-130 to establish the qualifying relationship. The petition itself doesn’t grant residency; it puts you in line to apply.
Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens
Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 fall into the immediate relative category. There is no annual cap here, so you can move forward as soon as the petition is processed.1U.S. Department of State. Family Immigration This is by far the fastest family-based path.
Family Preference Categories
Other relationships fall into capped preference categories: adult children of citizens, spouses and children of permanent residents, married children of citizens, and siblings of adult citizens.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Family of Green Card Holders (Permanent Residents) Demand outpaces supply, so applicants wait for a visa number before filing the final Green Card application.
Your place in line is set by your priority date, generally the date USCIS receives a properly filed I-130.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application for Family-Sponsored or Employment-Based Preference Visas The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin shows which priority dates are current. When yours becomes current, you file for adjustment of status if you’re in the U.S., or go through consular processing if you’re abroad.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application for Family-Sponsored or Employment-Based Preference Visas Waits stretch several years to several decades depending on the relationship and country of birth.
One important limit: permanent residents can only petition for spouses and unmarried children. Citizens can also petition for married children, parents, and siblings.1U.S. Department of State. Family Immigration
Employment-Based Categories
If you don’t have a qualifying family connection, professional skills or a business investment can get you there. There are five employment-based preference levels, most requiring an employer sponsor.
- EB-1 (Priority Workers). Extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years of experience; and multinational executives or managers. Extraordinary-ability applicants can self-petition without a job offer.5U.S. Department of State. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
- EB-2 (Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability). Requires a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience, or proof of exceptional ability. A National Interest Waiver allows self-petitioning if your work benefits the United States broadly enough.
- EB-3 (Skilled Workers and Professionals). Positions requiring at least two years of training or experience, and professional roles requiring a bachelor’s degree. Both EB-2 and EB-3 generally require a labor certification through the Department of Labor’s PERM process, showing no qualified U.S. workers are available.6U.S. Department of Labor. Permanent Labor Certification
- EB-4 (Special Immigrants). Religious workers, certain employees of international organizations, and other narrow groups defined by statute.
- EB-5 (Immigrant Investors). At least $800,000 invested in a targeted employment area, or $1,050,000 in a standard area, in a new commercial enterprise creating at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs. Investors must prove the capital came from lawful sources.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
After labor certification where required, the employer files Form I-140.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) Each category has its own annual quota, so backlogs vary. Applicants born in India and China often face the longest waits in EB-2 and EB-3.
Premium processing on Form I-907 guarantees an initial action on the I-140 within 15 business days. The fee is $2,965 as of March 2026.9Federal Register. Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees It does not speed up the later adjustment of status stage or make a visa number available any sooner.
Diversity Visa Lottery
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes up to 55,000 Green Cards available each fiscal year to people from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.10U.S. Department of State. DV-2026 Plain Language Instructions and FAQs Winners are chosen by random computer drawing, and the entry period usually opens in October for the following fiscal year.
To qualify you need either a high school diploma or its foreign equivalent (12 years of formal elementary and secondary education), or two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years in an occupation classified at Job Zone 4 or above by the Department of Labor.11U.S. Department of State. Confirm Your Qualifications GED certificates don’t count. If selected, you must finish the entire process before September 30 of the fiscal year, or you lose the visa regardless of your qualifications.
Refugee and Asylee Adjustment
People granted refugee or asylee status in the United States can apply for a Green Card once they have been physically present in the country for at least one year after receiving that status, measured at the time USCIS decides the case.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Clarifies Physical Presence Guidance for Asylees and Refugees Applying for Adjustment of Status For refugees, adjustment is generally expected. Asylees have the option once the one-year requirement is met.
Maintaining your underlying refugee or asylee status through the waiting period matters. If your status is revoked before adjustment is approved, the Green Card application fails with it.
A Warning About Unlawful Presence
If you have spent time in the United States without legal status, leaving the country can trigger inadmissibility bars that keep you out for years. More than 180 continuous days but less than one year of unlawful presence, followed by departure, triggers a three-year bar on re-entry. One year or more triggers a ten-year bar. The bars apply when you leave and then seek admission at a consulate or port of entry.
The practical effect is severe for people who overstayed a visa and now have an approved petition. If your case requires consular processing abroad, departing can lock you out for a decade. Waivers exist but require showing extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative, and approval is not guaranteed. Get legal advice before leaving the country if any period of unlawful presence applies to you.
The Application Itself
Once you’re eligible under one of the pathways above, the actual Green Card application follows a common shape. If you’re already in the United States, you file Form I-485 to adjust status. If you’re abroad, you use the DS-260 electronic immigrant visa application through the National Visa Center.
Both tracks require detailed personal histories: every address, every job, and any interactions with law enforcement. You’ll need a valid passport and long-form birth certificate. If you’re 16 or older, provide police clearance certificates from every country where you lived more than six months.13Travel.State.Gov. Step 7: Collect Civil Documents
The Medical Exam
Every applicant completes a medical examination on Form I-693, performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in the U.S. or a panel physician abroad.14Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons It checks for communicable diseases of public health significance and confirms required vaccinations, including measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, tetanus, and seasonal influenza. The base exam typically runs $150 to $500 depending on location, with required vaccinations adding roughly $100 to $600 more. These costs are not included in any government filing fee.
The Affidavit of Support
For most family-based and some employment-based cases, the sponsor files Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support. It’s a legally enforceable contract in which the sponsor promises to maintain the applicant’s income at 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.15Travel.State.Gov. Step 4: Complete Affidavit of Support Active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or minor child need only meet 100%.
For 2026, the 125% threshold for a two-person household (sponsor plus one applicant) is $27,050 per year in the 48 contiguous states.16HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines The threshold rises for each additional household member. The sponsor submits their most recent federal tax return, and the form asks about the prior three years of income. Sponsors must prove their own U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status.
If the primary sponsor’s income falls short, a joint sponsor can step in. The joint sponsor must independently meet the income threshold, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be at least 18, and live in the United States. They file a separate I-864 and take on the same legally binding obligation.17Travel.State.Gov. I-864 Affidavit of Support (FAQs) Up to two joint sponsors can be used per family unit immigrating under the same petition.
Fees, Biometrics, and Interview
The Form I-485 filing fee is $1,440 for applicants 14 and older, and $950 for children under 14 filing concurrently with a parent. Biometrics costs are included.18Federal Register. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Fee The I-485 fee also covers the initial filing of Form I-765 for work authorization and Form I-131 for advance parole, so you won’t pay separately for those.
After USCIS receives your application, you’ll be scheduled for a biometrics appointment for fingerprints and a photograph. The final step is an in-person interview. Expect questions about your background, the basis for eligibility, and the consistency of what you wrote in your application. Bring originals of every document you submitted.
If approved, USCIS mails a welcome notice followed by your physical Green Card, usually within about 30 days of approval.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. After Receiving a Decision A denial notice explains the legal reasons and whether you can appeal or file a motion to reopen.
Conditional Green Cards
Not every approval produces a 10-year card. Two groups receive conditional permanent resident status, valid for only two years:
- Spouses married less than two years at the time of approval. To remove conditions, you must jointly file Form I-751 with your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse during the 90-day window before the two-year anniversary. If the marriage has ended, a waiver is available but requires proving the marriage was entered in good faith.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Resident Spouses and Naturalization
- EB-5 investors. File Form I-829 within the 90-day window before the two-year anniversary, proving the investment created the required jobs and the capital remained committed.21U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 7 – Removal of Conditions
Missing the filing window is one of the most preventable ways to lose permanent residency. Set a reminder well in advance.
After Approval: What Can Cost You the Card
Getting approved is not the finish line. A few obligations decide whether you keep your status.
Staying outside the United States for more than one year without a re-entry permit can be treated as abandoning your residency. If that happens, you’d need to apply for a special returning resident visa (SB-1) and show your extended absence was beyond your control.22U.S. Department of State. Returning Resident Visas Even shorter absences can raise questions at the border if they form a pattern. A re-entry permit filed on Form I-131 before you leave covers absences of up to two years.
Permanent residents are taxed on worldwide income, the same as U.S. citizens.23Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens Failing to file returns can create trouble with both the IRS and future immigration applications, because tax records get reviewed at multiple stages.
A Green Card also does not shield you from removal. Convictions for aggravated felonies, fraud, drug offenses, and certain crimes of moral turpitude can all trigger deportation proceedings. Offenses that look minor under state law can qualify as deportable under federal immigration definitions. Any permanent resident facing criminal charges should understand the immigration consequences before accepting a plea.
The physical card is valid for 10 years. Your status does not expire when the card does, but you’ll need a current card for employment verification and re-entry after international travel. Renew through Form I-90 about six months before expiration.