There are several ways to become a legal permanent resident. Your employer or family member may apply for you, or you may have an independent basis to gain Legal Permanent Resident status. The most common way is through a family member who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. U.S. citizens can file petitions to sponsor their spouses, parents, children and siblings for permanent residency. Legal permanent residents can file petitions to sponsor their spouses and children.

After the petition is approved, the beneficiary of the petition must apply for his or her green card or immigrant visa. Many people have grounds of inadmissibility that must be waived or pardoned in order for them to become a Legal Permanent Resident. A new provision that began in 2013 and expanded in August 2016 allows certain applicants who previously would have had to leave the country for an extended period and apply for the waiver abroad to have their waivers decided before they leave the U.S., greatly reducing their time apart from their families before returning to the U.S. on their immigrant visas.This waiver is the Provisional Wavier Program (I-601A) Unlawful Presence Waiver for Aliens with Citizen and Legal Permanent Resident  Immediate Relatives. Contact our office for more information.