One of the most common processes for foreigners to live and work legally in the United States is through a family-based Green Card application. The Green Card, also known as a permanent resident card, is a document that grants foreigners the right to permanently reside and work in the United States.

How do I obtain a green card through family members?

How to get a Green Card through family members? This is an important topic that many people interested in obtaining a green card want to fully understand. In this process, a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) can sponsor certain family members to obtain their own green card and, in this way, live together in the United States.

Green Card Application Process and Eligibility Requirements

What is the process required to obtain a green card? Age requirements, deferral periods, opportunities for adjustments of status, and the inclusion of additional dependents on a single application depend on the degree of relationship between the petitioning U.S. citizen or resident alien and the beneficiary noncitizen.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services classifies family relationships into two categories:

  1. Immediate family members
  2. Priority immigrants

Immediate relatives are spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens who want to get a green card. Immediate relatives aren’t subject to a waiting period, and they can apply for U.S. residency through a U.S. Embassy or adjust their status in the U.S. right away. Getting a green card through immediate relatives is an important process for those who want to live and work legally in the United States.

“Priority immigrants”,on the other hand, fall into the priority category based on kinship. Annual statutory limits apply to apartments assigned to these categories.


The configuration categories are grouped as follows:

  • First Preference: Unmarried children over the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen.
  • Second Preference (2A): Permanent Resident spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21.
  • Second Preference (2B): Unmarried children over 21 years of age with permanent residence.
  • Third Preference: Married children of U.S. citizens, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.
  • Fourth preference: U.S. citizen brothers and sisters, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.

For more information or to request help with immigration processes, you can call us at Tel. (832) 305-6560. Or schedule a consultation by clicking here.

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