What Are the Ways to Get a Green Card in the USA?

There are five main ways to get a green card in the USA: through a family member, through an employer or your own professional standing, through investment in a U.S. business, through the diversity visa lottery, or through humanitarian protections like asylum or victim-based visas. A smaller sixth track, the special immigrant category, covers narrower groups such as religious workers and certain former U.S. government translators. Every pathway runs through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and each has its own eligibility rules, annual limits, and waiting periods.

Family Sponsorship

Family-based immigration accounts for the largest share of green cards issued each year. It splits into two tiers.

The faster tier is for “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizens: spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents (if the sponsoring citizen is at least 21).¹ There is no annual cap on visas in this group, which is why they move faster.

Everyone else falls into one of four numerically capped “preference” categories:

F1: Unmarried sons and daughters (21 or older) of U.S. citizens.
F2A and F2B: Spouses and minor children of green card holders (F2A), and unmarried adult sons and daughters of green card holders (F2B).
F3: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
F4: Siblings of U.S. citizens, if the citizen is at least 21.

You cannot file the final green card application until your priority date is “current” on the Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin.² For some categories and countries of origin, that wait can exceed 20 years.³

Every family sponsor also has to sign Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, and prove that household income meets at least 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (100 percent for active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or child).⁴ That affidavit is a legally enforceable contract with the federal government. The obligation continues until the immigrant naturalizes or is credited with roughly 40 qualifying quarters of work.⁵ Sponsors typically submit recent tax returns and W-2s.⁶ The family relationship itself has to be documented with marriage certificates, birth records, or adoption decrees, and for marriage cases USCIS looks closely at whether the marriage is genuine.

Employment-Based Green Cards

About 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are available each year, spread across five preference categories.² Three of them account for most professional workers.

EB-1 for Priority Workers

EB-1 is for people at the top of their fields, and it comes with a real advantage: applicants in the extraordinary ability subcategory need no labor certification and no job offer. To qualify under EB-1A, you show sustained national or international recognition by meeting at least three of ten evidentiary criteria, including major awards, published research, high relative salary, and original contributions of major significance.⁷ A one-time major internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize or Olympic medal, can substitute for the three-criteria test. EB-1 also covers outstanding professors and researchers, who need a job offer from a university or research institution, and multinational managers or executives being transferred to a U.S. office.

EB-2 for Advanced Degrees and Exceptional Ability

EB-2 covers professionals with an advanced degree (master’s or higher, or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience) and individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Most EB-2 applicants need a sponsoring employer and an approved labor certification from the Department of Labor, which requires the employer to demonstrate that no qualified U.S. worker is available.⁸

The main exception is the National Interest Waiver. If your proposed work has substantial merit and national importance, you’re well positioned to advance it, and waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States on balance, USCIS can skip the labor certification.⁹ The NIW has become a common route for researchers, entrepreneurs, and STEM professionals who want to self-petition instead of depending on one employer.

EB-3 for Skilled Workers and Professionals

EB-3 covers skilled workers in jobs requiring at least two years of training or experience, professionals with a bachelor’s degree, and “other workers” in unskilled positions. Nearly all EB-3 applicants need both a permanent job offer and an approved labor certification. Wait times run longer than EB-1 or EB-2, especially for applicants from high-demand countries.

The EB-5 Investor Program

EB-5 lets you earn a green card by investing capital in a new U.S. commercial enterprise that creates at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying workers. For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, the minimum is $1,050,000, or $800,000 if the project is in a targeted employment area (a rural area or a high-unemployment zone).¹⁰ The first inflation adjustment to those amounts takes effect for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027.

USCIS reviews the source of the money closely. You have to document that every dollar came from lawful sources, using tax returns, business records, and financial statements. Many EB-5 investors go in through regional centers, which pool capital from multiple investors into larger projects, but direct investment into your own enterprise is also possible. The green card you receive is initially conditional, and the conditions come off only after you prove the jobs were actually created.

The Diversity Visa Lottery

The Diversity Visa program makes up to 55,000 green cards available each year to people from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.¹¹ Eligibility depends on your country of birth, not your current citizenship or where you live now. Countries that have sent large numbers of immigrants in recent years are excluded entirely.

You need at least a high school diploma or equivalent. If you don’t have one, you can qualify with two years of work experience in the past five years in an occupation classified as Job Zone 4 or 5 on the Department of Labor’s O*NET database, with a Specific Vocational Preparation rating of 7.0 or higher.¹²¹³ Not every occupation qualifies, so check O*NET before entering.

Winners are picked in a random computer drawing. Being selected doesn’t guarantee a green card. You still have to pass background checks, the medical exam, and a consular interview. The registration window is short, usually about a month in the fall, and entering is free.

Humanitarian Pathways

Several humanitarian programs create a route to permanent residency for people facing persecution, trafficking, or abuse.

Refugees and Asylees

If you were admitted as a refugee or granted asylum, you can apply for a green card after one year of continuous physical presence in the United States.¹⁴ Refugees are required to apply. The adjustment application is Form I-485, and refugees pay no filing fee.

T Visa for Trafficking Victims

The T visa gives temporary status and work authorization to victims of severe forms of human trafficking, including both sex trafficking and forced labor.¹⁵ T visa holders who comply with reasonable law enforcement requests and meet the continuous presence rules can later apply for a green card.

U Visa for Victims of Qualifying Crimes

The U visa is for victims of certain serious crimes who have cooperated, or are likely to cooperate, with law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution.¹⁶ Qualifying crimes include domestic violence, sexual assault, and kidnapping, among others. U visa holders get temporary status with work authorization and can eventually apply for permanent residency. The backlog is heavy, with the annual cap set at 10,000.

VAWA Self-Petitions

The Violence Against Women Act lets victims of battery or extreme cruelty by a U.S. citizen or green card holder spouse, parent, or adult child self-petition for a green card using Form I-360. The key feature: you can file without the abusive family member’s knowledge or consent.¹⁷ Despite the name, VAWA protections apply regardless of gender.

Special Immigrant Categories (EB-4)

The fourth employment-based category, EB-4, covers a mix of “special immigrants” who qualify through specific circumstances rather than a traditional job offer. Eligible groups include religious workers, special immigrant juveniles who have been abused or neglected, certain employees of international organizations, members of the U.S. armed forces, and several other narrowly defined groups.¹⁸ Congress has also created special immigrant visas for Afghan and Iraqi nationals who worked as translators or in other roles supporting U.S. military operations. All EB-4 applicants use Form I-360.¹⁹

How You Actually Apply Once You’re Eligible

After the petition is approved and a visa number is available, you finish the process in one of two ways. If you’re already in the United States, you typically file Form I-485 to adjust status without leaving the country.²⁰ If you’re abroad, your case goes through consular processing: the National Visa Center forwards it to a U.S. embassy or consulate for the interview.²¹

The choice matters. Adjustment lets you stay in the U.S. during processing, apply for work authorization, and renew the application before an immigration judge if it’s denied. Consular processing requires traveling abroad, which can trigger three-year or ten-year reentry bars if you’ve built up unlawful presence in the United States.²² If you’ve overstayed a visa by more than 180 days, talk to an immigration attorney before leaving the country for any reason.

Once your I-485 is on file, you can also apply for an Employment Authorization Document by filing Form I-765, which lets you work for any employer while the case is pending.²³ Advance parole through Form I-131 gives you a travel document so you can leave and reenter without abandoning the pending application.²⁴ Traveling outside the country without advance parole while your I-485 is pending usually means your application is treated as abandoned, unless you hold a visa status like H-1B or L-1 that independently allows reentry.

Conditional Green Cards

Marriage-based and EB-5 applicants often overlook this step. If you get your green card through marriage and your marriage was less than two years old when the card was approved, you receive a conditional green card valid for only two years.²⁵ EB-5 investors also start with a conditional card.

To remove the conditions and get a standard 10-year green card, you file Form I-751 jointly with your spouse during the 90-day window right before the conditional card expires.²⁶ Miss that window or fail to file and you lose permanent resident status and become removable. A conditional green card cannot be renewed. If your marriage has already ended, you can request a waiver of the joint filing requirement, but the evidence you need is heavier. Put the 90-day filing date on your calendar the moment the conditional card arrives.

Keeping Your Green Card After You Get It

Permanent residency depends on treating the United States as your actual home. If you leave the country for more than 180 days in a single trip, USCIS may treat you as seeking readmission and question whether you’ve abandoned residency. An absence of more than one year creates a strong presumption of abandonment.

If you know you’ll be abroad for an extended period, apply for a reentry permit using Form I-131 before you go.²⁴ A reentry permit is valid for up to two years and removes length of absence from the abandonment analysis, though it does not guarantee readmission. USCIS looks at the whole picture: whether you keep a home in the U.S., file U.S. taxes, keep employment or bank accounts, and where your immediate family lives. Green card holders also have to file U.S. federal tax returns each year reporting worldwide income, comply with Selective Service registration if applicable, and avoid criminal conduct that could trigger deportation.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2
9
U.S. Department of Justice. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016)
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
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U.S. Department of State. Diversity Visa Instructions
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part G Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
13
U.S. Department of State. Diversity Visa Program – Confirm Your Qualifications
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1159 – Adjustment of Status of Refugees
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status
16
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U Visa Immigration Relief for Victims of Certain Crimes
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for VAWA Self-Petitioner
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Fourth Preference EB-4
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consular Processing
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility
23
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
25
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence