Immigration Green Card

Not so many will doubt the difficulty that non U.S. citizens face in acquiring a green card. This may not be unconnected with the high rate of illegal entry and residence of individuals in the country. Although, it is more expensive and time consuming to complete the process necessary for non-citizens to naturalize, it is however easier compared to gaining entry into the U.S. the common items required of visitors into the U.S. like tourists, medical patients, students, and business executives among others are a photo ID card or a birth certificate, a valid national passport and an entry visa if applicable. A stamp on a passport document grants permission to anyone entering a foreign country. In other words, a visa document simply shows that an individual has the permission to legally enter an alien country. The costs of obtaining a border crossing card, a passport, and a non-immigrant visa totals sums up to $300.

Two types of visa exist: immigrant and nonimmigrant. While a non-immigrant visa is described above, an immigrant visa is presented by non-citizens who wish to live and work in the United States. The non-immigrant visa, widely known as the green card, used to be called the Alien Registration Receipt Card until it was recently renamed the Permanent Resident Card. The green card, which used to be green, now has only green printing behind it but generally white in color. Valid for only 10 years, holders of this green card must always carry it along with them because it serves as an ID card. Either a relative of a non-citizen or an employer of such an individual must officially request the issuance of a green card to an applicant. The Citizenship and Immigration Service laws allow non-citizens into the country.

This qualifies the individual as a legal employee and permanent resident within the U.S. Note that either of the relative or employee petitioner must be a U.S. citizen. The processes of visa acquisition are involved. First, the Immigration Service approves the request from the employer or relative upon reviewing all necessary documents. Thereafter, it sends the certified documents to the National Visa Center where a visa number is given. Petitions take long before numbers are awarded because not many visa numbers are usually available each year. The last process entails sending such requests to the U.S embassy or consulate in the non-citizen’s native city or country. These 3 processes are not as easy as they seem because the time, resources and paperwork involved make it difficult and frustrating.