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If you are married or engaged and are planning to immigrate to the United States, you may desire to bring family with you. If your family requires permanent residency, an Aurora family-based green card lawyer may be able to provide a solution for keeping your family together.

As a seasoned green card attorney could explain in further detail, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is the federal organization that determines whether or not your loved ones will be granted permanent residency in the United States. The methods of application for legal permanent status depend on the type of family-based permit that you need and go through the USCIS for approval.

What Is a Family-Based Green Card?

A potential applicant may be eligible for family-based legal permanent resident status in several situations. Individuals who may receive a family-based green card include:

  • Immediate family to a citizen
  • A relative of a citizen
  • The intended spouse of a citizen
  • A child of an intended spouse of a citizen
  • A widow or widower of a late citizen
  • A Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioner

An attorney in Aurora could help with family-based green cards and may be able to assist with determining possible eligibility for these categories.

Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen

The USCIS defines an immediate relative as a spouse, unmarried child younger than 21, or the mother or father of a child less than 21 years old. In order to be considered under this family-based criterion, someone would need to be related to a citizen of the United States in one of these three ways.

Family Member of a U.S. Citizen

Here, the USCIS narrows the category of family member to three categories: the nonmarried daughter or son of a U.S. Citizen who is older than 21, the married child of a citizen of the United States, and the sibling of a citizen who is at least 21 years old.

Relative of a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR)

The husband or wife of an LPR, the daughter or son of an LPR who is under 21 and has no spouse, and the unmarried child of a legal permanent resident who is 21 or older all meet USCIS’s standards for this requirement.

Spouses of Citizens and Their Children

Intended spouses of United States citizens may file for a family-based green card for themselves and their children, so long as they were admitted under a K-1 visa and their children under a K-2.

Applying Under VAWA in Aurora

Individuals who have suffered from abuse may be eligible for a green card under the United States Violence Against Women Act. To be considered for permanent residency under VAWA, a person would have to have been regularly harmed by one of the following:

  • U.S. citizen spouse (current or former)
  • Parent who is a United States citizen
  • U.S. citizen daughter or son
  • Permanent resident spouse or ex-spouse
  • Legal permanent resident parent

Victims of abuse may wish to contact a family-based green card lawyer in Aurora who could help them file the necessary paperwork under VAWA.

What an Aurora Family-Based Green Card Attorney Could Do to Help

An Aurora family-based green card lawyer may offer support and information on methods of acquiring legal permanent residency for familial reasons. The USCIS has specific benchmarks for the many kinds of green cards, so contact an attorney today to discuss how you and your family may be able to meet these benchmarks and obtain legal permanent resident status.

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