Orlando Green Card Lawyers

Walking You Through the Green Card Process

Green Cards – more formally called a permanent alien registration card – can allow you to stay in the United States for an indefinite period as a legal permanent resident (LPR). Getting a Green Card and all of the benefits it brings is not as easy as it might seem, though. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) procedures can get complicated quickly and a single mistake can lead to big frustrations or denied petitions.

Figure out how to become a legal permanent resident with the help of Maney | Gordon | Zeller, P.A. and our Orlando Green Card attorneys. We take pride in making immigration processes less stressful for our clients, so they can continue the next chapter of their lives here in America with as little stress as possible.

Call (407) 630-8455 today to get more information about our legal services.

Does a Green Card Last a Long Time?

Technically, a Green Card only permits your stay in the United States for two years. It can be ended early if you fail to meet all immigration status conditions, which include staying out of legal trouble with a criminal court and maintaining positive standing with USCIS. However, Green Cards can be renewed any number of times when they expire. Each renewal will last 10 years, so someone who wants to keep a Green Card their whole life will only need to renew it once a decade, making it one of the most convenient forms of immigration.

How Can You Become Green Card Eligible?

If you get a Green Card, then you can legally live and find work in the United States. To get these benefits, you have to first be Green Card eligible, though.

People who are eligible for a Green Card meet one or more of these conditions:

• Immediate relative: If you have a spouse or a child who lives in the United States as a citizen, then they can sponsor you for a Green Card application. Green Cards granted due to a relationship with an immediate relative have no annual cap.
• Close family member: USCIS will allow a limited number of people to file for Green Cards due to their relation to citizens or LPRs living in the United States. This category can be used by siblings, parents, and cousins, for example.
• Job opportunity: People with promising job offers in a field that requires their specific set of talents can get a Green Card, too. Although, USCIS only approves 140,000 work-related Green Cards each year.
• Green Card Lottery: If your country does not have a significant number of people leaving it to come to America, then it might qualify for the annual Green Card Lottery. Countries are given a set amount of Green Card tickets, which are to be distributed randomly to applicants. “Winners” can use the ticket to get a Green Card without needing to meet any other requirement, other than being in good standing with USCIS and the law.

Green Card Versus Visa

You might have heard that a Green Card is the same thing as a visa, but this is not true. There are differences between them that you should know about.

An immigrant visa is the first step in becoming a permanent resident or citizen. A nonimmigrant visa only allows a temporary stay in the U.S. for employment, school, or leisure. Green Cards, on the other hand, are photo IDs given to people who have been approved as an LPR. For the most part, when people think of a Green Card, they are actually thinking of an immigrant visa.

Green Card Questions & Answers Made Easy

Don’t get lost in the legal jargon found so commonly in immigration procedures. Instead, come to Maney | Gordon | Zeller, P.A. and let our Orlando Green Card attorneys walk you through the process. We use 100+ years of collective legal experience to turn this process into something you might actually look forward to!

Contact us today and learn more about Green Card services.