Residency/Green Cards/Naturalization
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 967-971 |
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The United States is a nation of immigrants; anthropologists believe that even Native Americans (American Indians) crossed an early land bridge from Asia into North America. Many people who come to the United States choose to keep their citizenship, sometimes as a source of connection to their native country; sometimes because they see no need to become naturalized citizens. Those who choose this option can become legal permanent residents (LPRs), identified by the wallet-sized identification popularly known as the "green card."
Many people, especially those who have made their homes in the United States, want to be able to enjoy the same benefits as native-born Americans. To do this, they can become naturalized citizens. A naturalized citizen holds all the rights and privileges afforded to any U.S. citizen, including the right to vote, the right to hold a U.S. passport, and the right to the protection of the U.S. government while abroad. The only right a naturalized citizen does not have, to all intents and purposes, is to become president or vice president of the United States. Naturalized citizens can hold Cabinet posts, however; two of the best known are former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. There are a number of steps involved in applying for temporary residence, permanent residence, and naturalization.
There is much more to obtaining permanent residency than leaving one's home country and finding housing and employment in the United States. Each year thousands of people apply for LPR status, but the United States limits the number of immigrants that it admits. It is not unheard of for an immigrant to wait several years to receive an immigrant visa number, which identifies the immigrant as an LPR.
Some people do not need to get LPR status. Students or people working on temporary projects can get temporary visas that allow them to live and work freely in the United States. Many people who enter the country on temporary visas choose not to leave after the visa runs out; people who do this are in violation of the law and subject to deportation. People who come from another country and wish to make the United States their permanent home need to go through the residency process.
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The first step in obtaining permanent residency is to have an immigrant petition approved by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). This step is usually taken by a family member or an employer. In certain cases, such as workers with special skills who have come from overseas for specific projects, the immigrant can petition INS directly. Once the application is approved, INS will contact the person who filed the petition
After the immigration petition has been approved and accepted by INS, the next step is to obtain an immigration visa number. The petitions are processed in chronological order; the date on which the original petition was filed is known as the priority date. Because so many people apply for permanent residence, the process can take a long time. People can check with the U.S. State Department to get a general idea of how long the process will take. The department publishes a bulletin that notes the current month and year of petitions currently being processed.
Once individuals are assigned an immigrant visa number, they must apply to have their status adjusted to permanent resident. If they are outside the United States when they receive an immigrant visa number, they can complete the process at the nearest U.S. Consulate office.
Immigrant visa numbers are actually awarded on the basis of a preference system. First of all, anyone who is an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen (parent, spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21) does not have to wait for a number; it is granted as soon as INS approves the petition. All other family members are ranked in the following order of highest preference:
Unmarried adult children (INS classifies adults as those 21 and above).
Spouses of LPRs and their unmarried children of any age.
Married children of U.S. citizens, their spouses, and their minor children.
Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, their spouses, and their minor children.
For those seeking LPR status based on employment there is a separate preference system; in order of highest preference it is as follows:
Priority workers (people with special skills and abilities, noted professors and...
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