A Permanent Visa, or "green card", gives you official immigration status (Lawful Permanent Residency) in the United States. Before a foreign national can apply for admission into the U.S. as an immigrant (if outside the U.S.) or to have status adjusted to permanent residence (if inside the U.S.), that foreign national must first be approved as eligible under one of the authorized immigrant categories established by Congress.

The immigrant categories are divided below into four groups:
1. Family sponsored immigrants
2. Employment based immigrants
3. Diversity immigrants
4. Refugees and Asylees

1. Family sponsored immigrants

Immediate relatives
Spouse of a US citizen
Child under 21 years old of a US citizen
Parent of a US citizen over the age of 21

Preference categories
First Preference – Adult unmarried child of a US citizen
Second Preference a – Spouse or under 18 child of a green card holder
Second Preference b – Adult unmarried child of a green card holder
Third Preference – Married child of a US citizen
Fourth Preference – Brother or sister of a US citizen

2. Employment based immigrants

EB-1-1 – Persons of Extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics

EB-1-2 – Outstanding Professors and Researchers 

EB-1-3 – Multinational Executives and Managers

EB-2 – Members of the Professions Holding Advance Degrees or People With Exceptional Ability

EB-3 – Skilled Workers, Professionals and Other Workers

EB-4 – Special Immigrants – Religious Workers

EB-5 – Investor Employment Creation Visa

Alien Labor Certification is a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor that there are no qualified U.S. workers available for a specified position. Alien Labor Certification is an often difficult process, which can take several years to complete. It requires proof that the employer has engaged in active recruitment to fill the position with an American worker and that the employer was not able to locate sufficient minimally-qualified U.S. workers. Alien Labor Certification is required in employment-based immigrant petitions for beneficiaries in the EB-2 category, unless the foreign national’s work is found to be in the national interest. It is also required in all EB-3 category petitions.

3. Diversity immigrants

DV Visas – Green Card Lottery

The US government allocates 50,000 visas a year for people to receive through a random computer drawing. Entry applications are submitted online. The application is linked at travel.state.gov.

 4. Refugees and Asylees

There are certain protected groups of aliens in the US. Most common are the asylee and refugees. Under the 1980 Refugee Act, a refugee is defined as “any person who is outside of any country of such person’s nationality...who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Both refugees and asylees must satisfy this definition. Indeed, in almost every way, the requirements for refugee status and asylum are the same. The most important difference is that an asylee makes their application while in the US, while the refugee applies outside of their home country, but also outside of the US.

Asylees and refugees are eligible for employment authorization and have special paths to permanent residency.

For more detailed information about immigration and a list of immigrant categories, visit http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/imm_visas.htm#imm

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