Chicago Green Card Lawyers

The ultimate goal of most long-term immigrants to the United States is a green card. The US alien registration card, commonly called a green card because it used to be green, proves that an individual has been granted lawful permanent resident status in the US. Holders of a green card can live and work in the United States as long as they comply with the law and permanent residency requirements.

Getting a green card can be a long and complicated process, regardless of the way you are attempting to achieve it. An experienced immigration lawyer in Chicago can guide you through the complicated maze of US immigration and help you to avoid mistakes that can doom your application.

Applying for Your Green Card

Your first step toward a green card is determining whether you are eligible. You can become a permanent resident in several ways, including:

• Sponsorship by a spouse, another family member, or a US employer
• refugee or asylum-seeker status, or other humanitarian programs; or
• individual filing as a special immigrant such as a member of a religion coming to work for a religious nonprofit, or a juvenile in need of protection; certain Afghan or Iraqi nationals; certain international media workers, employees or family members of certain international organizations
• Victims of human trafficking or crime victims if you currently hold a nonimmigrant visa
• Violence Against Women Act applicants – victims of abuse as a spouse, child, or parent of a US citizen or, in some cases, a lawful permanent resident; other victims of abuse designated by country of origin
• Other miscellaneous categories include certain Liberian nationals, selectees under the diversity visa lottery, certain Cuban citizens, Indochinese parolees, American Indians born in Canada who are at least half American Indian and maintain a principal residence in the US, someone born in the US to a foreign diplomat, a foreign diplomat who can no longer return home
• You may be eligible to register for a green card if you have resided in the US continuously since before January 1, 1972. 

If we review your situation and determine that you are eligible, you may begin the process of filing for a green card. This undertaking is a complex, time-consuming, and often confusing process in which an attorney can greatly assist you. 

You can file many of the required forms online at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Depending on your classification, there are many different forms you must file, and you must submit identifying and biometric information. 

USCIS may use this information to run a criminal background check on you; certain criminal history can make it difficult to obtain a green card, although an attorney can help get a waiver on some criminal conduct. USCIS provides forms and instructions for seeking a green card on its website. What they can’t and don’t do, however, is make a complicated, confusing, and expensive process simpler for you. 

Speak with a Chicago Green Card Lawyer

If you’re considering applying for a green card in Chicago, contact an experienced immigration lawyer at Ahlgren Law​ today. We’ve been down this road many times and can help you avoid roadblocks.