Chapter 12 Getting a Green Card as a Special Immigrant

• Library: U.S. Immigration Made Easy (Nolo) (2023 Ed.)

CHAPTER 12 Getting a Green Card as a Special Immigrant

A. Do You Qualify for a Green Card as a Special Immigrant?

1. Religious Workers
2. Foreign Medical Graduates
3. International U.S. Government Workers
4. Retired Employees of International Organizations
5. Persons Declared Dependent on a Juvenile Court
6. Servicepeople With 12 Years' Duty
7. Your Spouse and Children

B. Quick View of the Application Process

C. Step One: You File the Petition

1. Submitting the Petition
2. Awaiting Approval of the Petition

D. Step Two: You Might Need to Await an Available Visa Number

E. Step Three: You Apply for Permanent Residence

1. Adjusting Status in the U.S
2. Consular Processing

F. Step Four: Immigrant Visa Holders Enter the U.S

This chapter covers six categories of so-called special immigrants. The name is somewhat misleading—it actually refers to the employment fourth preference category (EB-4), which encompasses religious workers, foreign medical graduates, employees of the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong, former foreign U.S. government workers, retired employees of international organizations, juveniles declared dependent on a U.S. juvenile court, and more. (There are other categories of special immigrants that we don't cover in this book because they apply to so few people, such as former employees of the Panama Canal Zone and international broadcasting employees.)

Ten thousand green cards are available each year for all special immigrant categories taken together. No more than 5,000 of that total can go to nonclergy religious workers.

A. Do You Qualify for a Green Card as a Special Immigrant?

Occasionally, laws are passed making green cards available to people in special situations. Special immigrant green cards are available to the following people:

• workers for recognized religious organizations
• foreign medical graduates who have been in the U.S. a long time
• foreign workers who are or were longtime employees of the U.S. government abroad
• retired officers or employees of certain international organizations who have lived in the U.S. for a certain time
• foreign nationals who have been declared dependent on juvenile courts in the United States ("special immigrant juveniles")
• persons who served honorably for 12 years on active U.S. military duty after October 15, 1978
• Panama Canal Zone workers (a little-used category that is not discussed further in this chapter)
• Iraqi and Afghan translators/interpreters (a little-used category that is not discussed further in this chapter)
• Iraqis who have assisted the United States (a little-used category that is not discussed further in this chapter)
• NATO civilian employees and their families (a little-used category that is not discussed further in this chapter), and
• persons coming to work as broadcasters for the International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or for its grantee (a little-used category that is not discussed further in this chapter).

Key Features of a Special-Immigrant-Based Green Card

If you qualify for this type of green card, here are some of its advantages and limitations:

• Although not many green cards are available in this category, the eligibility criteria are so narrowly defined that if you fit them, you have a good chance of getting a green card.
• You must actually plan to live in the United States—you cannot use the green card only for work and travel purposes.
• Your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 can get green cards as accompanying relatives.
• As with all green cards, yours can be taken away if you misuse it—for example, you live outside the U.S. for too long, commit a crime, or even fail to advise the immigration authorities of your change of address. However, if you successfully keep your green card for five years, you can apply for U.S. citizenship.

SEE AN EXPERT

Do you need a lawyer? If you think you might fit into one of the more obscure categories that we don't cover in this chapter, you'll probably want to seek an immigration lawyer's help. In any case, a lawyer can help you prove that you fit into the category you're seeking and navigate the often difficult bureaucratic requirements.

1. Religious Workers

There are two subcategories of special immigrant religious workers: ministers and other religious workers. Minister is defined as a person authorized by a recognized religious denomination to conduct religious activities. This includes not only ministers, priests, and rabbis, but also salaried Buddhist monks, commissioned officers of the Salvation Army, practitioners and nurses of the Christian Science Church, and ordained deacons. Usually, to be considered a minister, you must have formal recognition from the religion in question, such as a license, a certificate of ordination, or another qualification to conduct religious worship.

The subcategory of "other religious workers" covers people who are in a "religious vocation" or "religious occupation" and are authorized to perform normal religious duties, but are not considered part of the clergy. This includes anyone performing a traditional religious function, such as liturgical workers, religious instructors, religious counselors, cantors, catechists, workers in religious hospitals or religious health care facilities, missionaries, religious translators, or religious broadcasters. It does not cover workers involved in purely nonreligious functions such as janitors, maintenance workers, clerical staff, fundraisers, or even singers. It also does not cover volunteers. USCIS requires that religious workers be working in a traditionally permanent salaried position within the denomination and be assigned only religious duties.

To qualify for a green card in either of the two religious subcategories, you must have been, for at least the two years preceding the filing of your petition, a member of a recognized religion that has a bona fide nonprofit organization in the United States. During those two years, you must have been employed continuously (though not necessarily full time) by that same religious group. Your sole purpose seeking permanent residence must be to work as a minister of that religion (and your denomination must need additional ministers), or, at the request of the organization, to work in some other capacity related to the religion's activities in the United States. Spouses and children (unmarried, under age 21) may apply with you.

This provision of the law has been the subject of some controversy and there have been efforts in Congress to eliminate it as a way of getting permanent residence. The nonminister religious worker classification within the law is not permanent and must be renewed by Congress from time to time. When this book was going to print, Congress had reauthorized it until September 30, 2022. Another reauthorization is expected.

2. Foreign Medical Graduates

If you are a graduate of a foreign medical school who came to the U.S. before January 10, 1978, on either an H or J visa, you qualify as a special immigrant if you can meet all of the following conditions:

• You were permanently licensed to practice medicine in some U.S. state on or before January 9, 1978.
• You were physically in the U.S. and practicing medicine on January 9, 1978.
• You have lived continuously in the U.S. and practiced medicine since January 9, 1978.
• If you came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa and were subject to the two-year home residency requirement, you got a waiver of the home residency requirement, or you have a "no objection letter" from your home government.

3. International U.S. Government Workers

If you have been employed abroad by the U.S. government for at least 15 years, you may apply for a green card as a special immigrant. Your spouse and children may apply with you. To qualify, you must have the recommendation of the principal officer-in-charge of the U.S. government foreign office in which you were employed. The U.S. Secretary of State must also approve the recommendation. In addition, certain employees of the American Institute in Taiwan can qualify under this category. The director of the Institute must recommend you.

4. Retired Employees of International Organizations

If you are a retired employee of an international organization, you qualify for a green card under the following conditions:

• You have resided in the U.S. for at least 15 years prior to your retirement, on a G-4 or N visa.
• You lived and were physically present in the U.S. for at least half of the seven years immediately before applying for a green card.
• You apply to receive a green card within six months after your retirement.

If you are the unmarried child of an officer, employee, former officer, or former employee of an international organization, you qualify for a green card if all of the following are true:

• You have a G-4 or N visa.
• You lived and were physically present in the U.S. for at least half of the seven-year period before applying for a green card.
• You lived in the U.S. for at least a total of seven years while you were between the ages of five and 21.
• You apply for a green card before your 25th birthday.

If you are the spouse of an officer or employee in this special immigrant class, you qualify for a green card as an accompanying relative. However, if you were married to a qualifying officer or employee who has died, you can still get a green card if you lived in the U.S. for at least 15 years on a G-4 or N visa before the death of your spouse, you have lived in the U.S. for at least one half of the seven years before your application, and you apply within six months after your spouse's death.

5. Persons Declared Dependent on a Juvenile Court

A foreign national child can qualify for a green card as a special immigrant juvenile if:

• The child is under age 21 and unmarried at the time the petition is filed (and remains both under 21 and unmarried up to the time the green card application is filed, meaning you

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