Chicago Green Card Lawyer

Chicago Green Card Lawyer

Many foreign-born people dream of becoming U.S. citizens. Others simply wish to have the opportunity to permanently live and work in the United States. Having a green card is key to achieving either of these objectives, and at Sverdloff Law Group, we routinely help clients in the Chicago area to obtain green cards or to sponsor family members to obtain the same.

Eligibility for Adjustment of Status

If you live in the U.S. and want to obtain a green card, you will do so under what is known as the “adjustment of status” process. The process is initiated by someone, either a qualifying relative or employer filing a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to have you qualified to apply for your green card. If the petition is approved, then you will be eligible to apply for your green card if you meet certain requirements, which are as follows:

• You have correctly filed an appropriate for the green card and paid the fee for it,
• You have proof that you legally entered the United States through a point of entry where you were inspected and admitted or were paroled by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
• You are present physically in the United States when you file your application,
• You qualify for an immigrant visa, meaning you have an approved immigrant visa petition, you have one that is pending that is finally approved, or you are concurrently filing the petition alongside your application for a green card,
• You have an immigrant visa immediately to you both at the time you file your application form and at the time when USCIS makes a final decision on your application for permanent residency,
• You are still in a relationship with the family member who petitioned filed a petition for you to get a green card,
• There are no bars to your adjustment of status in your case; you may be barred from obtaining a green card depending on how you entered the United States or if you committed an act that renders you inadmissible or is in violation of immigration law.
• You have admissibility to the United States or are eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or another form of relief; and
• You merit a favorable exercise of discretion by an immigration officer to approve your application for a green card.

Initiating the Immigration Process

Obtaining a green card requires you first to have either an employer or qualifying family member file a petition for you. A qualifying family member is someone who falls in either of these categories:

Immediate Relative – A close family relationship between the green card applicant and a U.S. citizen, such as a spouse, child, or parent.

Family Preference – this is an immigrant category for specific, more distant family members of a U.S. citizen and some specified family members of a green card holder.

Call a Chicago Green Card Lawyer for Assistance

If you are in or around Chicago and need help to obtain a green card for you or a family member, Sverdloff Law Group can advise you of your options. Please contact us today for a consultation.