Green Card Knowledge Base｜U.S. Green Card Museum

Employment-based immigrationEB-1 to EB-5: an overview of the five employment-based preference categoriesWho each of the five employment categories is for, whether an employer is required, and why EB-4 and EB-5 are often misunderstood.EB-1EB-2EB-3EB-4

Employment-based immigrationPriority dates and the visa bulletin: how to actually read Chart A and Chart BWhy numerically limited categories have queues, where to find the priority date, and the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing.Priority DateVisa AvailabilityVisa BulletinFamily

Employment-based immigrationPERM, I-140, and the green card: three different thingsLabor certification is issued by the Department of Labor, Form I-140 is approved by USCIS, and neither one is permanent resident status yet.PERMLabor CertificationI-140I-485

Employment-based immigrationAdjustment of status (AOS) and consular processing (CP)The same category can follow two different procedures depending on whether the person is inside or outside the United States; the last digit of a code often reflects this.AOSI-485Consular ProcessingFamily

Employment-based immigrationNIW and EB-2: The National Interest Waiver Is Not Limited to Ph.D. HoldersThe two basic eligibility routes for EB-2, the three NIW criteria, and why “you must have a Ph.D.” is a misconception.NIWEB-2Advanced DegreeExceptional Ability

Employment-based immigrationHow to Read Visa Allocations and Statistics: I-140 Approvals Do Not Equal the Number of Green Card RecipientsAnnual caps, statistics on actual grants of status, and petition approval counts are three different sets of numbers; this website makes no promises about visa wait times.StatisticsVisa NumbersI-140Codes

Employment-based immigrationPrincipal Applicants, Derivative Family Members, and Category CodesWhy one category may correspond to multiple codes, and how to read code groupings such as RR6/RR7/RR8.Principal applicantDerivative Family MembersCodesEB-5

Family-Based ImmigrationImmediate relatives of U.S. citizens vs. family preference categoriesImmediate relatives are not numerically limited; F1–F4 require waiting in line. One table makes clear who belongs where.Family SponsorshipImmediate RelativesF1F2A

Family-Based ImmigrationSpouses, Children, and Applicant Status: Sponsors, Beneficiaries, and DerivativesAlthough all are “family members,” their status differs completely between the immediate relative and preference categories.Family SponsorshipSpouseChildrenDerivative Family Members

Family-Based ImmigrationFrom Form I-130 to a green card: the full family-based processForm I-130 establishes the relationship; after that, the case proceeds to Form I-485 or consular processing according to the visa bulletin.Process and SponsorshipI-130I-485Consular Processing

Family-Based ImmigrationMarriage-Based Conditional Residence and Removal of Conditions (I-751)Why a green card obtained when the marriage is less than two years old is “conditional,” when to file I-751, and what the card’s expiration means.Family Changes and ChildrenConditional ResidentI-751Marriage

Other Green Card PathwaysAsylum and Refugees: Two Different Routes to Permanent ResidenceBoth require at least 1 year of actual physical presence in the United States, but their starting points, legal obligations, and codes differ; neither is related to investment-based immigration.AsylumRefugeesAS6RE6

Other Green Card PathwaysDiversity Visa (DV) Basics: The Lottery, Annual Eligibility, and Filing TimingUp to 50,000 visas each year, with random selection; country eligibility is determined under each year's rules, and selection does not mean approval.Diversity VisaDVLotteryDV1

Other Green Card PathwaysOverview of Special Immigrant, Humanitarian, and Special Legislation CategoriesEB-4 special immigrants, T/U, VAWA, the Cuban Adjustment Act, LRIF, and others fall into different groupings; they cannot all be classified as EB-4.Special ImmigrantsEB-4VAWAT Visa

Other Green Card PathwaysHistorical Codes and Current Pathways: Do Not Mistake Archival Records for Options Available TodayCodes in historical tables show that people obtained status in those ways in the past. They do not mean that applications can be filed today, nor do they mean that previously acquired status has been revoked.Historical CodesArchivesXB3Registry

Employment-based immigrationEmployment-Based Immigration Glossary: EB, Charts A/B, PD, ROW, SO, and Upgrading/DowngradingAn explanation of the community’s most common abbreviations, one by one, with corrections to outdated or inaccurate claims.TerminologyGetting StartedPDROW

Employment-based immigrationThe Supply-and-Demand Model of Visa Backlogs: Why Reliable Predictions Are Not PossibleUnderstanding visa backlogs as a “queue”: revisiting the assumptions behind the community formulas from 2020 and why they cannot serve as predictions today.Visa AvailabilityForecastsSupply and DemandHistorical Discussions

Employment-based immigrationUnused Numbers and Per-Country Limits: What 8 U.S.C. 1151–1153 ProvideStatutory shares, transfers between categories, the 7% per-country limit, quarterly unused-number rules, and the limitations of community allocation examples.SpilloverPer-Country LimitsLawVisa Numbers

Employment-based immigrationHow to Read USCIS I-140 Data and Inventory TablesApproval counts, inventory awaiting visa availability, principal beneficiaries and family members, duplicate petitions—and why a fixed multiplier cannot be used to convert petition counts into numbers of people.I-140StatisticsInventoryFamily Members

Employment-based immigrationA Brief Legal History of Employment-Based Immigration: INA 1952, IMMACT 90, AC21, and the 20,000 Slots Established in 2004Check each year and attribution in the community’s “history of immigration legislation,” correcting errors such as attributing per-country limits to AC21.LawHistoryAC21IMMACT 90

Employment-based immigrationS.386 and H.R.1044: Proposals to “Eliminate Per-Country Caps” in the 116th CongressThe official legislative records of the two proposals, and why the community’s 2020 projections under “passage” and “non-passage” scenarios cannot be treated as current projections.S386H.R.1044LegislationHistorical Discussions

Employment-based immigrationGreen Card Pathways for Entrepreneurs: H-1B Controlling-Interest Rules, L-1/EB-1C, NIW, and EB-5H-1B and L-1 are not the only two routes; it is also important to distinguish nonimmigrant work statuses from green card categories.EntrepreneurshipH-1BL-1EB-1C

Employment-based immigrationH-4 Employment Authorization: Current Eligibility and Rumors That It “Will Be Eliminated”Which H-4 spouses may apply for employment authorization, and how to evaluate rumors of its elimination.H-4EADFamily MembersRumors

Employment-based immigrationPriority Date Retention and EB-2/EB-3 Upgrades and DowngradesWhether an earlier priority date can be retained when filing a new I-140, which date to use when there are multiple petitions, and which grounds for revocation result in loss of the priority date.Priority DateUpgrading and DowngradingI-140PD

Family-Based ImmigrationWho Can Petition for Whom: Relatives U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents May Sponsor and the Age-21 ThresholdU.S. citizens must be at least 21 years old to petition for parents or siblings; permanent residents may petition only for spouses and unmarried children.Family SponsorshipI-130Age 21F2A

Family-Based ImmigrationHow Categories Change When Family Circumstances Change: Marriage, Divorce, Turning 21, the Petitioner's Naturalization, and the F2B Option to Opt Out of ConversionThe automatic conversion rules under 8 CFR 204.2(i), priority date retention, and the option for F2B beneficiaries to opt out of conversion to F1 after a parent's naturalization.Family Changes and ChildrenCategory ConversionPriority DateF2B

Family-Based ImmigrationI-751 Removal of Conditions: Joint Filing, Death of a Spouse, and Three Types of WaiversThree types of waivers—extreme hardship, termination of the marriage for reasons other than death, and battery or extreme cruelty—and individual filing upon the death of a spouse.Family Changes and ChildrenConditional ResidentI-751Waivers

Family-Based ImmigrationVAWA Self-Petition Overview: Who Can Petition IndependentlyPeople abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, as well as parents abused by an adult U.S. citizen child, may self-petition using Form I-360.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAI-360Self-Petitioning

Family-Based ImmigrationVAWA Eligibility Elements: Relationship, Good-Faith Marriage, Shared Residence, Good Moral Character, and DerivativesThe requirements enumerated in the Policy Manual, and why the parent category does not allow derivative family members.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAGood Moral CharacterDerivative Family Members

Family-Based ImmigrationVAWA and Life Changes: Divorce, the Abuser’s Death or Loss of Status, Remarriage, and Children Turning 21Two-year time limits, deadlines that cannot be extended, and the different consequences of changes occurring before versus after filing.Protection and SurvivorsVAWATime LimitsDivorce

Family-Based ImmigrationFrom VAWA Approval to a Green Card: Adjustment Requirements, Exemptions and Waivers, Confidentiality Protections, and Distinctions from Related ProceduresI-485 requirements, exemptions from adjustment bars and two grounds of inadmissibility, no I-864 requirement, confidentiality under 8 U.S.C. 1367, and distinctions from VAWA cancellation of removal and the I-751 waiver.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAI-485Confidentiality

Family-Based ImmigrationWidows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens: I-360 Self-Petitions and Automatic Conversion of I-130 PetitionsThe two-year marriage requirement was eliminated in 2009; the two-year self-petition filing deadline, prohibition on remarriage, accompanying children, and exemption from the affidavit of support requirement.Protection and SurvivorsWidowI-360Death

Family-Based ImmigrationAfter the Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary Dies: Section 204(l) Relief for Surviving Relatives and Humanitarian ReinstatementWho the two forms of relief cover, the distinction between pending and approved petitions, U.S. residence requirements, discretion, and substitute financial sponsors.Protection and Survivors204(l)Humanitarian ReinstatementDeath

Family-Based ImmigrationSurviving Family Members of Military Personnel: Naturalization under INA 319(d) and Immigration Benefits under Pub. L. 108-136 §1703Cross-topic overview: 319(d) governs naturalization for surviving family members of military personnel who died during honorable service; the immigration benefits under §1703 are listed separately based on two official USCIS explanations.Intersecting PathwaysMilitary MembersNaturalizationProtection and Survivors

Family-Based ImmigrationAdoption-Based Immigration: Three Pathways—Hague Convention, Orphan, and Family-Based I-130When I-800/I-800A, I-600/I-600A, and I-130 apply, and the age-16 requirement, two years of legal custody, and sibling exception for adopted children.Family Changes and ChildrenAdoptionI-600I-800

Family-Based ImmigrationStepchildren, Legitimation, and Children Born Out of Wedlock: Which Relationships Qualify as “Child” Relationships?The marriage creating the stepparent relationship must occur before age 18; legitimation must occur before age 18 and while the child is in legal custody; and a child born out of wedlock must have a bona fide parent-child relationship with the biological father.Family Changes and ChildrenStepchildrenBorn Out of WedlockLegitimation

Family-Based ImmigrationK-1/K-2, K-3/K-4, and the Historical V Visa: Bridge Status Is Not a Green CardThe 90-day marriage rule for fiancé(e)s, why K-3 visas are rarely issued, and the V category, which applies only to pre-2000 petitions.Process and SponsorshipK-1I-129FK-3

Family-Based ImmigrationCSPA (Child Status Protection Act): How Age Is Calculated, When It Is Frozen, and Why Chart B Is Not UsedTwo different formulas for immediate relatives and preference categories, Final Action Dates, the one-year “sought to acquire” requirement, and different guidance before and on or after 2025-08-15.Family Changes and ChildrenCSPAChild's AgePriority Date

Family-Based ImmigrationI-864 Affidavit of Support: Who Must Submit It, Income and Assets, Joint and Substitute Sponsors, and When Obligations End125% of the poverty guidelines (100% for active-duty military personnel), with links only to official tables; divorce does not end the obligations; the current edition and the archived I-864W.Process and SponsorshipI-864Affidavit of SupportJoint Sponsorship

Family-Based ImmigrationBarriers to Adjustment of Status Within the United States and Waivers of Inadmissibility: 245(c), Entry Without Inspection, 245(i), I-601AThe immediate-relative exemption from status-violation bars does not waive the unlawful-presence bars to admission; the 245(i) grandfathering provision; qualifying relatives for I-601A do not include children.Process and Sponsorship245(i)I-601AUnlawful Presence

Family-Based ImmigrationI-360 Map: Which Are Family-Based Pathways, and Which Are Special Immigrant or Other CategoriesWidows/widowers and VAWA fall under family-based pathways; SIJ, Amerasians, religious workers, Afghan/Iraqi nationals, and others fall under other categories.Intersecting PathwaysI-360SIJAmerasians

Employment-based immigration

Family-Based Immigration

Other Green Card Pathways

All41articles