Apply For A Green Card
The process of submitting a Green Card application can be very confusing and sometimes costly. You can submit a Green Card application through what is called a sponsorship from either an employer or a family member but either must be natural born citizens or citizens through naturalization. If your intention is to become a US citizen, you plan to fill out the GreenCard application and to be sponsored by an employer; there are several ways to go about that. However, the two most widely used procedures are through Labor Certification/PERM. Basically, Labor Certification is obsolete and PERM is the system that the government uses. This process requires that employers have to advertise a job to Americans and explain why this job can only be filled by a foreign national. The process is lengthy but usually always results in obtaining a Green Card.
Another way to have an employer sponsor an immigrant that is requesting legal immigration status is through a National Interest Waiver which enables you to bypass the lengthy PERM process completely and obtain a Green Card. With this waiver you must be able to demonstrate that granting you permanent residency will serve to improve the United States in a specific way. This usually requires at least a Masters degree or higher or some specific type of extraordinary skills that you may possess. There are several common mistakes that can delay your Green Card application and most of these are mistakes that could have been avoided. First, depending on the type of immigration that you are seeking and the type of sponsorship that you plan to use, the first step is to make sure that you meet the criteria for that type of sponsorship as each one is different. Remember that annually forms as well as regulations can change so never rely on outdated materials to help you when filling out the Green Card application. When you are filling out your Green Card application make sure that you submit all proper documentation. You will need to include your birth certificate, marriage licenses, and employment verifications, the more than you include the stronger your case will be. Believe it or not, many people forget to sign their completed Green Card application which results in it being discarded. Any documentation that you include that might be in any other language than English requires translation. The translation does not have to be formal but it does need to be included.
Another common mistake that many people make is caused from using outdated regulations and forms. It is making your payment out to the wrong payee, in years past people made their fees payable to the Immigration and Naturalization Service but that has since changed and fees now need to be made payable to the Department of Homeland Security or Citizenship and Immigration Services. No personal checks are acceptable and all fees must be paid in the form of a cashiers check or money order. Contrary to what many may say, unless you have a very complex immigration case, you should save yourself a lot of money by not hiring a lawyer to help with this process and fill out the Green Card application yourself.
