F-1 Visa to Green Card: 5 Ways to Get Your Green Card

The F-1 student visa is a single intent visa, meaning you promise to enter the US to study, and then return to your home country once you finish your studies, which impacts the transition from an F-1 visa to green card. This means that an F-1 visa is not a direct path to a green card, and you cannot enter the US on the F-1 visa with the intent to gain lawful permanent residency. However, there are a few paths you can follow after an F-1 visa that would lead to a green card, providing options for an F-1 visa to green card transition. Five of these options are discussed in detail below for those pursuing an F-1 visa to green card strategy.

1. Change status to a dual intent visa

As mentioned above, the F-1 visa is not a dual intent visa, which is a key consideration in the F-1 visa to green card process. So, if you’re looking to eventually get your green card, one of the options to do this is to change status from the F-1 visa to a dual intent visa, which would be a nonimmigrant USA work visa that allows you to later apply for a green card (including the H-1B visa). Then, once you are on a dual intent visa, you can find an employer who will sponsor you for an employment-based green card - discussed below).

2. Marry a US citizen or lawful permanent resident

Another option to get a green card if you are in the United States on an F-1 visa is for people who meet and fall in love with either a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident, which may support an F-1 visa to green card pathway. Then, your spouse can petition for your green card. However, you must remember that there is a 90-day rule that must be followed with the F-1 visa. If you enter on an F-1, you should wait at least 90 days before getting married, or there will be a presumption of immigration fraud (that you entered with the intent to marry, rather than the intent to study) and the green card will be denied. Once you clear the 90-day mark, you still must prove to the government that the relationship is legitimate, but there will not be a presumption of immigration fraud. The application process for this case will include filing Forms I-130 and I-485.

3. Receive employer sponsorship

Many students often seek employment through CPT (Curriculum Practical Training) or OPT (Optional Practical Training) while studying in the United States as part of an F-1 visa to green card plan. If you find an employer willing to sponsor you for a green card, this could be done through an EB-2 or an EB-3 employment-based green card as part of an F-1 visa to green card strategy. EB-2 visas are for people who receive an offer for a job that requires an advanced degree and holding that degree or a minimum of a bachelor's degree and five years of progressive job experience, people who possess exceptional ability in the sciences, business, or arts, or people who have a national interest waiver for the position. This process involves an employer filing Form I-140 and getting an approved labor certification from the Department of Labor. On the other hand, the EB-3 visa is reserved for skilled workers, professionals, and certain other workers. Similarly, sponsoring employers must file Form I-140 and labor certification.

4. Become an investor

The EB-5 visa is an investment visa that allows you to get a green card based on investing in a US business and hiring US workers, offering another F-1 visa to green card pathway. As a result, if you qualify, you could change your status from F-1 to EB-5, and then later adjust status to become a green card holder.  To qualify as an EB-5 investor, you must 1) make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States and 2) plan to create or preserve 10 full-time jobs for qualified US workers. One of the most common questions regarding the EB-5 is how much money is required to satisfy the necessary investment amount. The current minimum investment amount to qualify for EB-5 is $800,000. To become a green card holder after changing status from a student visa to an EB-5 visa, you will file an I-526 and I-485 to adjust your status.

5. Self-petition as a person of extraordinary ability

Another option to get a green card after a student visa is the EB-1 visa for persons with extraordinary abilities, which can support an F-1 visa to green card transition. Because F-1 visa holders are in the US gaining an education, they generally have the propensity to fit into one of the categories of people that are eligible for an EB-1. These categories are (1) outstanding professors and researchers, (2) people with extraordinary abilities in arts, science, business, athletics, or education, and (3) executive managers who have worked at a foreign branch of a US company for the past 3 years.  The EB-1 visa is unique because an applicant can either self-petition or they can find a job in their field with an employer willing to sponsor them. Evidence to show you meet the requirements for an EB-1 includes, but is not limited to, published papers or research in your field which has been recognized in journals or the media. To get a green card based on an EB-1, you must have an approved I-526 and file to adjust status with an I-485.

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My name is Michael Ashoori and I'm a U.S. immigration lawyer and the founder of Ashoori Law. As an immigration lawyer, I help families, professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs get visas, green cards, and citizenship to the United States.  If you have any questions, feel free to schedule a free consultation by clicking this link.