Author: cintia

Immigration legislation is very rigid in the US. Attempts to cross the border illegally are persecuted, the perpetrators are deported. The main goal of all immigrants is a PR Card which allows living in the US for an unlimited time, empowers a foreigner with extensive rights.

What is a Permanent Resident Card?

A PR Card is a permit to live in the US. It has a greenish color. Hence its other name Green Card appeared. Officially, it is called the United States Permanent Resident. It is issued in form of a plastic card, contains personal info of the immigrant, his fingerprints, a digital photo, other data about the holder.

PR Card gives the foreigner almost equal rights with the Americans, except the following details:

• the possibility to participate in voting and elections is absent;
• it’s forbidden to leave the US for a long time (6-12 months) without important reasons;
• cancellation of the card and deportation from the state is possible in case of laws violation;
• restrictions on receiving privileges and aids have been established.

What advantages does PR Card grant

The holder of this document receives a number of advantages:

• possibility to visit and leave the country without additional documentation;
• a lifelong right to reside in the US. Although every 10 years card needs to be extended, you don’t have to give up your citizenship;
• saving on training owing to special discounts for immigrants, receiving of various grants financed by the authorities;
• the possibility of employment in any American company except structures related to state secrets where only Americans are hired;
• registering your own business in the US or buying an already operating company;
• social benefits for pensioners provided that they have worked in the US for more than 10 years;
• the right to bring your relatives (spouse, minor children) to the US;
• the ability to receive loans, register mortgages at low interest;
• more rapid resolution of many social and medical issues;
• free movement within the state;
• the possibility of buying firearms and real estate;
• reduced interest rates on taxes;
• the prospect of entering into US citizenship after 5 years.

Obligations and limitations of the PR Card owner

In addition to a variety of rights, the immigrant receives a number of duties failure of which leads to a loss of status. You’ll have to:

• observe the American laws;
• declare your income annually and pay all taxes;
• support the US state administration system, do not commit actions aimed at changing the state structure of the country;
• men aged 18-25 should have the military records (they will not have to serve in the army, there is no conscription system in the US)

Ways of application for PR Card

A candidate must have grounds for Permanent Resident Card application. Foreigners can use one of the following ways:

1. Reunification with the family provided that your direct relative with an American passport resides in the US.
2. Marriage with a US citizen. Documents confirming close relations between spouses will be required. It is necessary to pass the interviews with experienced psychologists before officials are convinced that marriage is not fictitious. Applicants can use family photos from a personal archive, information on common children as evidence.
3. Employment in an American company. If an immigrant officially works in the US with a visa, and the company is interested in his services, the employer can apply to the immigration department for a residence permit for his employee.
4. Receiving asylum. A foreigner can count on protection from persecution at home. Evidence of this fact will be required.
5. Investments in the US economy. Their sum should exceed 500 thousand dollars.
6. Studying in the USA. Such a path is a long but at the same time the most reliable option. First, a foreigner enters any American university, receives a diploma and finds a job on the basis of H-1 visa, then applies for a PR Card.
7. Lottery. US authorities annually grant 55,000 PR Cards to citizens of countries with low-intensive immigration. In the autumn of each year, participants registration starts. Winners are selected randomly using special software.

When is it impossible to apply for PR Card?

Firstly, it concerns the state of health. A migrant can’t obtain a document if he has medical contraindications:

• presence of diseases or mental disorders dangerous for surrounding people;
• drug addiction;
• the absence of necessary vaccinations;
• the presence of a serious illness (because of the risk that the person will be on the state’s maintenance).

Secondly, problems with the law and migration legislation will call into question the move to the United States. This means that the applicant:

• committed a dangerous intentional crime;
• in the past, he was in the United States on illegal grounds for more than 180 days;
• he was deported from the country during previous trips;
• false documents were presented for visa registration, the fictitious marriage was fixed.

Where to get a Permanent Resident Card

You can fill in the PR Card application form in the embassy of the United States. Package of docs varies depending on the reason for receiving the card. The candidate passes an interview and a medical examination.

After the request is accepted, the candidate must travel to the US within next 6 months. At the border, a foreign passport with a visa is presented. After that, a temporary document is issued for 1 year. A permanent option with 10-year validity will be sent to your home address in the US.

If the document’s receipt took place in the US, you have to contact the immigration department where the applications are reviewed.

Documents needed for PR Card application

The main papers needed are:

• Online questionnaire. The document is printed, signed and submitted for an interview.
• International passport.
• A photo corresponding to the established requirements.
• Certificate of criminal records absence.
• Receipt for fee payment.
• Medical certificates.

Additional papers which may be required:

• documentation of financial solvency;
• certificates of birth, marriage or divorce;
• documents confirming family ties;
• invitation letter.

Permanent Resident Card validity and renewal

There are 2 types of cards: conditional and permanent. The first document may be used for 2 years. A person should meet some rules to get a permanent card for 10 years.

Six months before the end of a period, the holder must renew PR Card (application form I-90). Violation of this condition does not lead to a loss of status but will cause difficulties in finding a job, traveling abroad, buying a house, an apartment or a car, preparing a driving license. There are no fines for delay of application to renew PR Card in state law.

However, the issue of timely re-registration should be taken responsibly. Serious difficulties may appear when entering the US. Border guards will demand confirmation of your status and may prohibit entry into the country.

The last phenomenon is extremely rare but such cases occur sometimes. If the border guards will allow entry, you will have to pay a commission. So don’t forget to use the application form for PR Card renewal in prescribed time.

We hope that it was useful for you to find out what the PR Card is, what are the ways of its acquisition and when to fill in the PR Card renewal application.

Are there some questions about US permanent residence? Ask everything you want to know in comments.

Those people, who are applying for green cards within the United States can track the status of their applications through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by phone or online, reports the Department of Homeland Security. Those, who are applying through consular processing, can track USCIS application status in monthly U.S. Department of State visa bulletins.

Tracking a green card status APP

Worth to know — that in nowadays there is NO Tracking Your Green Card Status APP! Just be aware and try not being the caught by fraud. You can check your green card status ONLY on the official website of the USCIS.

The ability to change status from nonimmigrant to immigrant while living in the United States of America is known as adjustment of status, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Eligibility is usually based on family, employment, humanitarian needs or other special considerations. Applicants typically file forms, provide photos and fingerprints, and appear for the personal interview. They are notified of final decisions by paper mail in writing. To track their case status by phone or online, applicants must provide information such as the application receipt number.

The process of obtaining a green card from outside of the United States is known as consular processing as reported by the Department of Homeland Security.

Criteria for eligibility are the same. Applicants usually show a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which passes approved petitions on to the Department of State’s National Visa Center. Because there are a limited number of visas available in some categories, potential immigrants must wait in queues based on their visa numbers, and the monthly visa bulletins inform them of their position in the queue.

Method №1: tracking a green card status online

There are several ways to track your green card status or track the case status as well. The online system permits to track the green card status immediately if you have a confirmation number of registered entry. You can track if you were granted a green card via the electronic system on the official site of the Immigration Department of the United States of America.

Video — How to track your green card status?

There is another possibility to track your green card status. If you have been registered for a DV Lottery for a getting green card as a national lottery, which is settled up every year.

If you have a confirmation number for the Diversity Lottery of Green Card you need to go to the link and fill all the required information.

1. A confirmation number. The confirmation number was given to you at the end of the process of registration you as a person who wants to apply for a green card during the lottery time. The confirmation number consists of letters and numbers and include four numbers at the beginning which are the year of getting your green card in case if you win it. For example: 2019P6758N6Y0JNM.
2. Full name or last name/surname/family name. You need to type it correctly as well as you did it when you have been completing the data during the process of applying a green card lottery sections.
3. Date of birth. You need to fill up the month, day and year of your birth as well too.

As soon as you fill this data into the correct lines on the official site system which is for the tracking your winning status as a green card lottery member, you will get the notification. It may be written in two ways. You can win your green card immediately or your entry won’t be selected at all by the system.

Important! Don’t be frustrated if your entry won’t win for the first time. You will be able to track your confirmation lottery number again if your tracking green card number win or not within next six month.

Also, you can track your case status too. There is a special page for it. You can track your case status of your application online.

If you still have any questions about your application status or you can’t track the information, or have troubles with finding your case number, you can dial the customer service center by 1-800-375-52-83.

If you already set up all the application, know the number of your visa case as well or simply want to track your application status, you can see it on the site of Department of State, at Consular Electronic Application Center.

Choose the link and then pick up the visa status check availability. Choose the visa application type. There are two of them. Immigrant visa IV and Nonimmigrant Visa NIV. After it, type correctly the immigrant visa case number that was given to you previously. At the final step, make sure for the system you are not a bot, by typing the code which is the system proposes to you at a shown picture. Press a submit button to see the result

Method №2: tracking a green card status with CEAC Status Check

There are some other ways to check your green card visa status. You can track your visa application by using the Department of State’s Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) Status Check.

You may also contact the National Visa Center at phone number (603) 334-07-00 to receive an update on your case.

To use the CEAC Status Check, you just need to enter your CEAC Barcode and the interview location for nonimmigrant visa (NIV) cases and the case number for immigrant visa (IV) cases.

Also, you can check your application or petition as it moves through the immigration process by visiting official web resource www.uscis.gov and select the feature “check your case status”.

You will need your 13-character receipt number which can be found on your receipt notice. It begins with three letters such as (EAC, WAC, LIN, or SRC). You can register for automatic case status updated by email and text message by “creating an account” via the “check your case status” feature on the same official site as was mentioned before.

Moreover it, you can always contact with official persons from the Department of State’s Consular Electronic Application Center for your status tracking and other questions. There is an online help also available. You can start the live conversation with the consultant and ask any questions you need to know answers on.

Basically, you have many chances not only to get to know your status as an applicant but to get to know more useful information for the future. You will definitely need an additional information just because no matter what type of visa you asking for, you will need to get to the United States personally. That is why, the more information you will get, more you will know how to behave when you will get your visa to the U.S.

The procedure of tracking your green card status is not difficult at all. But don’t hurry up to track it again and again. The system is working properly and there is no need to recheck it too often for any changes in your visa case.

It is possible that you can find out your entry wasn’t selected this year for a green card lottery. Don’t be frustrated. As you already understood there are many possible ways to become a green card holder.