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Green Card – All permanent residents in Spokane, Washington are issued a valid Permanent Resident Card (alines), otherwise known as Form I-551 (Alien Registration Receipt Card). This identification card serves as proof of their legal status in the United States.

The only question is how to get a valid permanent resident status?

The United States through the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers several ways for an immigrant to be a Spokane permanent resident (Green Card Holder). As a more comprehensive overview of the application process, USCIS makes sure that the immigrant is informed of several choices on how to apply.

Here are some instances that an immigrant may use in securing a permanent resident status:

 

• The immigrant may qualify through employment (employment-based immigration) and through a relative (family-based immigration).  To speed up his application, it is a must for the immigrant to understand what type of application will be approved and processed faster.
• The immigrant must first have been issued a work visa (H-1B Visa) if he wishes that the application is approved through employment. In this regard, the company where the immigrant works must act as his sponsor.

 

In obtaining a permanent residency status, the immigrant has to undergo through a three-step process:

 

• Immigrant Petition – The petition is approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Such petition is conformed to a qualifying relative, an employer, or in rare cases, the applicant himself.
• Immigrant Visa Availability – There should be an available immigrant visa number through the National Visa Center (NVC) of the United States Department of State (DOS). This availability is given priority unless the applicant is an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen living in Spokane. Interestingly, the amount of immigrant visa numbers is limited per year by quotas set in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This results to the visa number not being available even if the USCIS approves the petition.
• Immigrant Visa Adjudication – Finally, the third step of the process (assuming the visa number is available) requires the applicant to either apply with USCIS in adjusting his current status to permanent resident status or to submit an application with the DOS.

 

The Green Card application process also depends whether the applicant is applying from within the United States or abroad. Thus, the course of the application is an extensive and elaborate process. This involves thorough document collection, form preparation, and literally, making the immigrant’s life revolve around a hands-on monitoring on the handling of his case.

Usually, the application does take a much longer time, anywhere from a few months to several years. But then again, the legal expertise of immigration attorneys can hasten the process and generally ease the burden on the immigrant’s shoulders. How is this so?

Since attorneys are familiar with the difficulties of the application process, the immigrant can take a time to relax. Good attorneys have all the necessary access to inside phone numbers or email addresses to use when there’s a problem.

With today’s increasing need for permanent residency status, it is recommended to learn about the different criteria of eligibility for a Green Card and to determine how the immigrant can best prepare for his application.

For your immigration related concerns, you may contact the Quiroga Law Office, PLLC, at (509) 560-7051. or email Hector Quiroga, for more information on how to obtain a green card.