How to Get a Green Card: Every Major Pathway Explained

Reviewed by: Iskra Panteva, Esq.

There is no single way to get a green card. U.S. immigration law offers several distinct pathways to permanent residence: family sponsorship (including marriage), employment or investment, the Diversity Visa lottery, asylum, and humanitarian categories such as the U visa, T visa, and VAWA self-petitions. The right option depends on your relationships, qualifications, country of birth, and immigration history, and you may qualify under more than one category at the same time. As a U.S. immigration law firm, we are regularly asked how to get a green card. This guide explains the main pathways and the key requirements, risks, and recent changes for each. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at contact@ashoorilaw.com.

What is a Green Card Exactly?

“Green Card” is the informal name for lawful permanent resident status. If you have a green card, you do not need a visa to enter the United States, and you are generally eligible to live and work anywhere in the country, although some jobs (for example, certain federal and security-related positions) require U.S. citizenship. After meeting residency, physical presence, and good moral character requirements, you can apply for U.S. citizenship (naturalization), generally after five years as a permanent resident. A shorter three-year path exists if you have been a permanent resident for three years, your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for that entire three-year period, you have been living in marital union with that spouse, and you remain married through the naturalization process. Green cards can be obtained through:

• (1) Family sponsorship (including marriage);
• (2) Employment or investment (EB-1 through EB-5);
• (3) The Diversity Visa lottery;
• (4) Asylum;
• (5) Humanitarian categories you may not have considered, such as VAWA self-petitions and the U and T visas.

Here is how the main pathways compare at a glance:

There is no catch-all category. Timelines differ enormously between pathways depending on your category and country of birth (technically, your country of chargeability). Immediate relatives face no visa-number wait, while backlogged preference categories can take many years. Timelines vary and can change; always check the current USCIS processing times and the Department of State Visa Bulletin. Because wait times differ so much, it is worth exploring every category you might fit.

Family Sponsorship: Fiance and Marriage Based Options

U.S. immigration law prioritizes “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizens: spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents (where the petitioning citizen is 21 or older). Immediate relatives are not subject to annual visa caps, so there is no visa-number waiting line for them. Who you can petition depends on your own status:

• U.S. citizens can petition spouses, children, parents (if the citizen is 21 or older), and siblings, and can sponsor a fiance(e) for a K-1 visa. Married children and siblings fall into capped preference categories with waiting lines.
• Green card holders (lawful permanent residents) can petition only their spouses and unmarried children. They cannot petition parents, siblings, married children, or fiance(e)s.

a. K-1 Fiance(e) Visa

The K-1 visa is available only to the fiance(e) of a U.S. citizen. You and your fiance(e) must intend to marry within 90 days of your fiance(e) entering the United States on the K-1 visa, and the relationship must be genuine (bona fide), not entered into solely for immigration benefits. After the marriage, your spouse can apply for a green card by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. If you are already married, the K-1 visa is not available. If your fiance(e) is already inside the United States, they cannot obtain K-1 status without leaving, because a K-1 visa is issued at a U.S. consulate abroad and requires admission to the United States in K-1 status. Depending on your fiance(e)’s immigration history, departing to complete K-1 consular processing may still be possible, or marrying and pursuing a marriage-based case may be the better route. Please see our guide on how to get a fiance visa to learn more. Important: A person who enters on a K-1 visa can generally adjust status only based on marriage to the citizen who filed the K-1 petition. Marrying someone else after a K-1 entry creates serious complications. Speak with an attorney before filing anything in that situation.

b. Marriage Based Green Card

Spouses of U.S. citizens who are inside the United States may be able to apply for a green card through Adjustment of Status without leaving the country. In general, you must show:

• A bona fide (genuine) marriage. Both spouses must be legally free to marry, meaning any prior marriages were validly terminated;
• The marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely for immigration benefits;
• For Adjustment of Status, the foreign spouse generally must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States (evidence can include an I-94 record and visa). Limited exceptions exist, such as INA 245(i) for certain beneficiaries of old petitions;
• The foreign spouse must be admissible to the United States. Certain criminal convictions (including crimes involving moral turpitude), immigration fraud or misrepresentation, and certain prior immigration violations can bar approval or require a waiver.

The petitioning spouse must also file an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), and the applicant needs a medical examination (Form I-693) from a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. Because spouses of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives, there is no wait for a visa number, and the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative can generally be filed together with Form I-485 (concurrent filing). Concurrent filing is not available for relatives in capped preference categories (such as married children of citizens or siblings) unless a visa number is available. After filing, USCIS may schedule an interview at the local field office; timelines vary by office and can change, so check the current USCIS processing times. Two points worth knowing before you file:

• Conditional residence: If your marriage is less than two years old when permanent residence is granted, you receive a two-year conditional green card. For the standard joint petition, you and your spouse generally must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence in the 90-day window before the card expires. Different timing rules apply if you qualify for a waiver of the joint filing requirement (for example, after divorce or abuse), which can be filed outside that window, and USCIS may accept a late joint petition if you show good cause and extenuating circumstances. Missing the applicable deadline can put your status at risk.
• Separate fees for work and travel permits: For Form I-485 applications filed on or after April 1, 2024, USCIS charges separate filing fees for the work permit (Form I-765) and travel document (Form I-131) filed with the green card application. Check the current USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) before filing.

Please see our guide on how to get a green card through marriage to learn more.

Employment Based Green Card

Employment-based green cards are generally sponsored by a U.S. employer, although some categories allow you to self-petition. The Visa Bulletin divides employment-based options into five preference categories: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5. Each category has an annual cap, and per-country limits mean applicants born in oversubscribed countries can face multi-year waits even after petition approval; recent monthly Visa Bulletins have shown the longest waits for applicants born in India and mainland China. Check the Visa Bulletin for the current dates for your category and country of birth.

EB-1 Visa

The EB-1 category is reserved for “priority workers”: people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers. It has three sub-categories: EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C.

EB-1A Visa

The EB-1A visa is for people with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. You must show sustained national or international acclaim and that you are among the small percentage who have risen to the very top of your field. A major benefit of EB-1A is that it allows self-petition: you can file your own green card petition without an employer sponsor. Please see our guide on the EB1A visa to learn more.

EB-1B Visa

The EB-1B visa is for outstanding professors and researchers. You must show international recognition as outstanding in a specific academic field, at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in that field, and a qualifying job offer: a tenured or tenure-track teaching position or comparable research position with a university or institution of higher education, or a research position with a private employer that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented research accomplishments. Please see our guide on the EB1B visa to learn more.

EB-1C Visa

The EB-1C visa is for multinational managers and executives transferring from a foreign company to a related U.S. company. The U.S. company must have been doing business for at least 1 year when the petition is filed, the beneficiary must have worked for the related foreign entity in a managerial or executive capacity for at least 1 year within the 3 years before the petition (or before entering the U.S. to work for the employer), and the U.S. role must also be managerial or executive. Please see our guide on the EB1C visa to learn more.

EB-2 Visa and EB-3 Visa

The EB-2 and EB-3 categories are employer sponsored green card routes. EB-2 covers members of the professions holding advanced degrees and people with exceptional ability; EB-3 covers professionals with bachelor’s degrees, skilled workers, and other workers. In the standard process, you need a permanent, full-time job offer from a U.S. employer, and the employer must obtain an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (the PERM process), showing it tested the labor market and could not find a qualified, able, willing, and available U.S. worker for the position. Please see our guide on how to get an employer sponsored green card to learn more.

EB-2 National Interest Waiver

Within EB-2, the National Interest Waiver (NIW) waives the PERM labor certification and the job offer requirement. Under the framework in Matter of Dhanasar, you must show that your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, that you are well positioned to advance it, and that, on balance, waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements would benefit the United States. The NIW allows self-petition, so no employer sponsor is required.

EB-4 Visa

The EB-4 category is reserved for “special immigrants,” including:

• Religious workers
• Special Immigrant Juveniles
• Broadcasters
• G-4 international organization or NATO-6 employees and their family members
• International employees of the U.S. government abroad
• Armed forces members
• Panama Canal Zone employees
• Certain physicians
• Afghan and Iraqi translators and Afghan and Iraqi nationals who provided faithful service in support of U.S. operations

Sub-categories within EB-4 have their own rules, and some (such as non-minister religious workers) depend on program authorizations that Congress must periodically extend. Recent Visa Bulletins have also shown significant backlogs in the EB-4 category; check the current bulletin.

EB-5 Visa

The EB-5 visa is the investment-based green card. Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the minimum investment is $1,050,000, reduced to $800,000 for investments in a Targeted Employment Area (a rural area or an area of high unemployment) or in an infrastructure project. The investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers. The statute schedules automatic inflation adjustments to these amounts beginning January 1, 2027, so verify the current figures before investing. Please see our detailed guide on the EB-5 visa to learn more.

Diversity Lottery

Each year, the Department of State runs the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery for people born in countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. DHS determines the list of ineligible “high admission” countries annually, so the list can change from year to year; in recent program years, countries such as India, mainland China, Mexico, and the Philippines have been ineligible. Eligibility is based on your country of birth (chargeability), not your citizenship, and in some cases you can charge to a spouse’s or parent’s country of birth. Key facts about the lottery:

• Registration is online during an entry window announced by the Department of State each program year (historically in the fall). Save your confirmation number: the Entrant Status Check at dvprogram.state.gov is the only way the Department of State notifies you of selection. It does not send selection letters or emails.
• New for DV-2027: Under a Department of State final rule published March 11, 2026, entrants must provide valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of the passport biographic page (or claim an exemption). A separate final rule published September 16, 2025 established a $1 Diversity Visa Registration Fee for each entry. The Department also deferred the opening of the DV-2027 entry period in connection with the passport rule. Earlier statements that registration is free no longer apply.
• Selection is random. Your qualifications are not weighed in the drawing, although selectees must meet education or work experience requirements to actually receive a visa.
• Selection does not guarantee a green card. The Department of State selects more people than there are visas, and a selectee must complete the entire process and be issued a visa or adjust status by September 30 of the program’s fiscal year. After that date, eligibility ends and unused selections do not carry over.

Asylum

The United States recognizes the right to seek asylum under federal and international law. Asylum applicants must establish a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country that the government there is unable or unwilling to protect them from, on account of one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Past persecution of the applicant, or in some cases of family or community members, can support the claim. You can request asylum at a port of entry or apply from within the United States by filing Form I-589. Generally, you must apply within 1 year of your last arrival in the United States, unless you can show changed circumstances materially affecting your eligibility or extraordinary circumstances relating to the delay, and that you filed within a reasonable time given those circumstances. Important: Under 2025 legislation (Public Law 119-21, known as HR-1), asylum applications filed with USCIS are no longer free. HR-1 established an asylum application fee, and the current USCIS fee schedule reports a $100 Annual Asylum Fee for each applicable year a Form I-589 remains pending; USCIS has explained that certain applications filed on or after October 1, 2024 become subject to the annual fee after remaining pending for 365 days, with payment due according to USCIS notice. Fee amounts and payment rules can change; check the current USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) before you file. If asylum is granted, you have asylee status, and after 1 year of physical presence in the United States as an asylee you may apply for a green card. If a USCIS asylum officer does not grant your case and you are not in a lawful immigration status, your case is generally referred to an immigration judge in removal proceedings, where you can renew your claim. Because of these stakes, careful preparation of the asylum filing matters.

U and T Visas

Congress created the T visa and U visa to encourage victims of trafficking and serious crimes to come forward and work with law enforcement without fear of removal. Both are nonimmigrant statuses that can lead to a green card through a separate Adjustment of Status application after meeting additional requirements. The T visa is available to applicants who establish that they are victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, are in the United States on account of the trafficking, and (unless exempt due to age or trauma) comply with reasonable requests for assistance from law enforcement. To apply, you file Form I-914 with a personal statement explaining your eligibility. T nonimmigrants can generally apply for a green card after 3 years in T status, or earlier if the Attorney General or designee determines that the trafficking investigation or prosecution is complete, along with other requirements. Believing the case has ended is not enough; the completion determination must actually be made. The U visa is available to applicants who establish that they are victims of statutorily listed qualifying criminal activity, including domestic violence, felonious assault, abduction, rape, stalking, torture, and witness tampering, who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and who have been, are being, or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement. Only listed qualifying crimes support a U petition. You apply with Form I-918 and Form I-918 Supplement B, a certification signed by a qualifying agency (such as police or a prosecutor’s office) confirming your helpfulness. The certification generally must have been signed within the 6 months immediately before you file with USCIS; an older certification can make the filing deficient. Without a valid certification, USCIS cannot approve the U petition. U nonimmigrants can generally apply for a green card after 3 years of continuous physical presence in U status, provided they have not unreasonably refused to assist the investigation or prosecution. Note: The U visa is capped at 10,000 principal approvals per year, and demand far exceeds the cap, so waits are long. USCIS operates a bona fide determination process that can provide deferred action and work authorization to some petitioners while they wait.

VAWA: Violence Against Women Act

VAWA allows certain abuse survivors to self-petition for a green card without the abuser’s knowledge or participation, using Form I-360. Despite the name, VAWA protects people of any gender. You may qualify as:

• The spouse (or former spouse) of an abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. You must show a good-faith marriage, battery or extreme cruelty by the citizen or LPR spouse during the marriage, residence with the abuser, and good moral character. The marriage does not have to have ended; if it did end by divorce, you generally must file the self-petition within 2 years of the divorce, and there must be a connection between the divorce and the abuse. Spouse-based eligibility also covers a spouse whose child was abused by the citizen or LPR spouse, even if the spouse was not directly abused;
• The child of an abusive U.S. citizen or LPR parent. A child generally must file before turning 21, but filing is allowed up to age 25 if the abuse was at least one central reason for the delay;
• The abused parent of a U.S. citizen son or daughter who is 21 or older.

VAWA self-petitions and the related Adjustment of Status filings are fee-exempt under the current USCIS fee schedule. Approved VAWA self-petitioners married to U.S. citizens are treated as immediate relatives, with no visa-number wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Can I apply for a green card while I am inside the United States?

  A: In some cases, yes, through Adjustment of Status (Form I-485). In general, you need a valid basis to adjust (such as an approved or concurrently filed petition in a qualifying category), you must have been inspected and admitted or paroled, a visa number must be available, you must meet the requirements of your category, you must be admissible or eligible for a waiver, and you must not be subject to a bar to adjustment. Some applicants, including immediate relatives and VAWA self-petitioners, are exempt from several adjustment bars. Otherwise, you would complete consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Which route is safer depends on your history; leaving the U.S. after certain periods of unlawful presence can trigger 3-year or 10-year reentry bars.

• Q: Can I get a green card if I overstayed my visa or entered without inspection?

  A: It depends on the category. An immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who was inspected and admitted can generally still adjust status despite an overstay or unauthorized work. Entry without inspection generally makes Adjustment of Status unavailable unless an exception applies, such as INA 245(i) for certain beneficiaries of old petitions or a VAWA self-petition, and consular processing after unlawful presence can trigger reentry bars. Speak with an attorney before filing or departing.

• Q: Can a green card holder sponsor their parents or siblings?

  A: No. Only U.S. citizens can petition parents (the citizen must be 21 or older) and siblings. Green card holders can petition only spouses and unmarried children.

• Q: Does winning the Diversity Visa lottery guarantee a green card?

  A: No. Selection only allows you to apply. You must meet the education or work experience requirements, be admissible, and complete the process by September 30 of the program’s fiscal year, and more people are selected than there are visas.

• Q: Why is my green card only valid for 2 years?

  A: If your marriage was under two years old when permanent residence was granted, you are a conditional resident. For a joint petition, you generally must file Form I-751 in the 90 days before the card expires to remove the conditions; waiver filings (for example, after divorce or abuse) follow different timing rules. Missing the applicable deadline risks your status.

• Q: Do I need a job offer for every employment-based green card?

  A: No. The EB-1A (extraordinary ability) and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver both allow self-petition without an employer sponsor, and EB-5 is based on your own investment.

• Q: How long does it take to get a green card?

  A: It depends on the category and your country of birth. Immediate relative cases have no visa-number wait, while backlogged preference categories can take years or longer. Timelines vary and can change; check the current USCIS processing times and the monthly Visa Bulletin rather than relying on any fixed estimate.

Conclusion

There are numerous pathways to a green card under U.S. immigration law: family sponsorship, employment categories (including self-petition options that require no job offer), investment, a lottery, asylum, and humanitarian protections for crime and abuse survivors. Because you may be eligible under more than one category, and because fees, caps, and rules have changed meaningfully since 2024, it is worth having your specific situation evaluated before you file. If you have questions about which green card pathway fits your circumstances, you can contact Ashoori Law at contact@ashoorilaw.com or request a consultation at https://www.ashoorilaw.com/schedule/. Ashoori Law is a U.S. immigration law firm focused on employment-based, family-based, business, and investment immigration. This article is general information, not legal advice; consult a licensed immigration attorney about your case.