EXPERIENCED LAS VEGAS IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

Las Vegas Green Card Immigration Services

The steps to becoming a Green Card holder (permanent resident) vary by category and depend on whether you currently live inside or outside the United States. The main categories are:

• Green Card Through Family
• Green Card Through a Job
• Green Card Through Refugee or Asylee Status
• Other Ways to Get a Green Card

Green Card Through Family

Many people get Green Cards (become permanent residents) through family members. You may be eligible to get a Green Card as:

• an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, this includes spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents of U.S. citizen petitioners 21 or older
• a family member of a U.S. citizen fitting into a preference category, this includes unmarried sons or daughters over the age of 21, married children of any age, and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizen petitioners 21 or older
• a family member of a green card holder, this includes spouses and unmarried children of the sponsoring green card holder
• a member of a special category, this can include battered spouse or child (VAWA), a K nonimmigrant, a person born to a foreign diplomat in the United States, a V nonimmigrant or a widow(er) of a U.S. Citizen

Green Card for a Family Member of a U.S. Citizen

Is Your Family Member an "Immediate Relative?"

“Immediate relatives” of a U.S. citizen are defined as a spouse, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents. Immediate relatives always have a visa number immediately available. To learn more, see the “Green Card for an Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen” page.

Family Preference Category

If the family member of the U.S. citizen is not an immediate relative, then the U.S. citizen may still be able to sponsor them via what is called a “family preference category.”  Eligible relatives include:

• Unmarried sons or daughters over the age of 21
• Married child(ren) of any age
• Brothers and sisters (if the U.S. citizen petitioner is over the age of 21)

Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Workers Visa

In order for you to come to the United States lawfully as a nonimmigrant to work temporarily in the United States your prospective employer must generally file a nonimmigrant petition on your behalf with USCIS1. The main nonimmigrant temporary worker classifications are listed in the table below. For more information about the filing requirements for particular nonimmigrant classifications, see the specific classification links under "Temporary Workers" to the left.

Spouses and Children Seeking Dependent Nonimmigrant Classification

Spouses and children who qualify for dependant nonimmigrant classification of a temporary worker and who are outside of the United States should apply directly at a U.S. consulate for a visa.

Spouses and children requesting a change of status or extension of stay in a dependent nonimmigrant classification must file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Please see the Form I-539 instructions for further information on filing procedures for this application.

Federal U.S. Tax Information

Aliens employed in the U.S. may have a U.S. Tax obligation. See the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for more information.

The Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Workers Visa are:

• CW-1: CNMI-Only Transitional Worker
• E-1 Treaty Traders
• E-2 CNMI Investor
• E-2 Treaty Investors
• E-3 Certain Specialty Occupation Professionals from Australia
• H-1B Specialty Occupations and Fashion Models
• H-1C Registered Nurse
• H-2A Agricultural Workers
• H-2B Non-Agricultural Workers
• H-3 Nonimmigrant Trainee
• I Representatives of Foreign Media
• L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
• L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
• O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement
• P-1A Internationally Recognized Athlete
• P-1B Member of Internationally Recognized Entertainment Group
• P-2 Performer or Group Performing under Reciprocal Exchange Program
• P-3 Artist or Entertainer Part of a Culturally Unique Program
• Q Cultural Exchange
• R-1 Temporary Religious Workers
• TN NAFTA Professionals

Employment-Based Immigration

Approximately 140,000 immigrant visas are available each fiscal year for aliens (and their spouses and children) who seek to immigrate based on their job skills. If you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience and are otherwise eligible, you may be able to live permanently in the United States.

Labor Certification

Some immigrant visa preferences require you to already have a job offer from a U.S. employer. This employer will be considered your sponsor. For some visa categories, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to USCIS, the employer must obtain an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL labor certification verifies the following:

• There are insufficient available, qualified, and willing U.S. workers to fill the position being offered at the prevailing wage
• Hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers

Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1 Visa

You may be eligible for an employment-based, first-preference visa if you have an extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a multinational executive or manager. Each occupational category has certain requirements that must be met:

• Extraordinary Ability – You must be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim.
• Outstanding professors and researchers – You must demonstrate international recognition for your outstanding achievements in a particular academic field. You must have at least 3 years experience in teaching or research in that academic area.
• Multinational manager or executive – You must have been employed outside the United States in the 3 years preceding the petition for at least 1 year by a firm or corporation and you must be seeking to enter the United States to continue service to that firm or organization

Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2 Visa

You may be eligible for an employment-based, second preference visa if you are a member of the professions holding an advanced degree or its equivalent, or a foreign national who has exceptional ability. Below are the occupational categories and requirements:

• Advanced Degree – The job you apply for must require an advanced degree and you must possess such a degree or its equivalent (a baccalaureate degree plus 5 years progressive work experience in the field).
• Exceptional Ability – You must be able to show exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Exceptional ability “means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.”
• National Interest Waiver – Aliens seeking a national interest waiver are requesting that the Labor Certification be waived because it is in the interest of the United States. Though the jobs that qualify for a national interest waiver are not defined by statute, national interest waivers are usually granted to those who have exceptional ability (see above) and whose employment in the United States would greatly benefit the nation.

Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3 Visa

You may be eligible for this immigrant visa preference category if you are a skilled worker, professional, or other worker. Each occupational category has certain requirements that must be met Skilled Workers:

• You must be able to demonstrate at least 2 years of job experience or training
• You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States

Professionals:

• You must be able to demonstrate that you possess a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign degree equivalent, and that a baccalaureate degree is the normal requirement for entry into the occupation
  
• You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States
• Education and experience may not be substituted for a baccalaureate degree

Unskilled Workers (Other Workers) – You must be capable, at the time the petition is filed on your behalf, of performing unskilled labor (requiring less than 2 years training or experience), that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Employment-Based Immigration: Fourth Preference: EB-4 Visa

You may be eligible for an employment-based, fourth preference visa if you are a special immigrant. The following special immigrants are eligible for the fourth preference visa:

• Religious Workers
  
• Special Immigrant Juveniles
• Broadcasters
• G-4 International Organization or NATO-6 Employees and Their Family Members
• International Employees of the U.S. Government Abroad
• Armed Forces Members
• Panama Canal Zone Employees
• Afghan and Iraqi Translators
• Afghan and Iraqi Nationals Who Have Provided Faith Service in Support of U.S. Operations

Immigrant Investor Program: EB-5 Visa

USCIS administers the EB-5 Program. Under this program, entrepreneurs (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) if they:

• Make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and
  
• Plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

This program is known as EB-5 for the name of the employment-based fifth preference visa that participants receive. Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. In 1992, Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the Regional Center Program. This sets aside EB-5 visas for participants who invest in commercial enterprises associated with regional centers approved by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth.

Las Vegas Fiancé(e) Visas Immigration Services

If you plan to marry a foreign national outside the United States or your fiancé(e) is already residing legally in the United States, you do not need to file for a fiancé(e) visa.

Eligibility Requirements

If you petition for a fiancé(e) visa, you must show that:

• You (the petitioner) are a U.S. citizen.
• You intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States.
• You and your fiancé(e) are both free to marry and any previous marriages must have been legally terminated by divorce, death, or annulment.
• You met each other, in person, at least once within 2 years of filing your petition. There are two exceptions that require a waiver:

1. If the requirement to meet would violate strict and long-established customs of your or your fiancé(e)’s foreign culture or social practice.
2. If you prove that the requirement to meet would result in extreme hardship to you.