Green Card

Green card allows Lawful Permanent Residence for a beneficiary alien. A green card is a symbol of official recognition of the alien entitled to live and work permanently in the United States of America with the exception of voting benefits and Federal Bench rights.
Green card can be sought by immigration laws via an already existing US Citizen or a green card holder by virtue of being a family member; immediate relatives are given most priority. Green card can also be obtained by virtue of being a qualified employee.

Green card should be replaced by due application process if it is lost and should be renewed in events of expiry without which the alien may not be able to prove his permanent residence status. Though due official records can still prove it, such is time consuming. So, it is always better to have an updated green card with the correct information in it. Any name change or address change or credential change should be duly amended in the green card. It is always advisable to have duplicate copies of the green card in events of loss of card the same can be attached as a proof for documentation needs.

Already existing non-immigrants can qualify to apply for green card with Adjustment of Status or in cases where they have left the United States of America, consular processing can be done form the home country of the alien beneficiary. However, such applicants should have already signed up for a time extension parole during travel back to the United States from their Citizenship country, failing which they may not fulfill the minimum physical presence requirements criteria. The Lawful Permanent Residence was originally given as a green colored card, though the card is not currently of that color the name has continued to be in use.

Green card by labor can be obtained with or without labor certification; however labor certification can be excluded in special cases and that is up to the discrimination of the immigration law. Most green cards are valid for 10 years and require renewal beyond that. Green card via marriage is likely to be cancelled in case the alien beneficiary fails to marry or the citizen who did sponsor the green card. The children of such beneficiaries may not be able to continue enjoying merits of such in the event of an immediate failure of the couple to marry. When the sponsoring spouse does not have enough funds a co-applicant may be required to show sponsorship strength when applying for a green card.