Green Card in the United States as a Special Immigrant or a Refugee/Asylee?

Green Card as a Special Immigrant:

The third eligibility criteria to apply for a green card is as a special immigrant. You may be eligible to apply as a religious worker (minister or non-minister) if you:

• Have been a member of a non-profit religious organization in the U.S. for at least 2 years
• Have been working for the last 2 years continuously as a religious minister or in a religious vocation/occupation in a professional/non-professional capacity
• Seek to enter the U.S. just to work as a minister or in the religious vocation/occupation of your employer’s denomination

You may be eligible to apply for a Green Card as a special immigrant juvenile* if:

• You properly file I-485 form
• You were inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the U.S.
• You are physically in the U.S. at the time of filing the I-485 form
• You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa
• You have an immigrant visa immediately available when you file the I-485 form and USCIS makes a final decision on your application
• You have no applicable bars of adjustment of status
• You are eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other type of relief, or are admissible to the U.S. for lawful permanent residence
• You merit favorable exercise of USCIS discretion

*To be classified as a special immigrant juvenile, USCIS must approve an individuals I-360 form. Once approved, special immigrant juveniles are considered paroled with the purpose of applying for adjustment of status, regardless of how they arrived to the U.S.

You may be eligible to apply for a Green Card as a Afghanistan or Iraq national if you:

• Were an Afghan or Iraqi translator or interpreter of the U.S. government
• Were an Iraqi employed by the U.S. government for at least 1 year in Iraq on or after March 20,2003
• Were an Afghan employed by the U.S. government or International Security Assistance Force

You may be eligible to apply for a Green Card as an international broadcaster through the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) if:

• Your form I-360 has been approved, filed on your behalf by the USAGM
• You are admissible to the U.S.
• An immigrant visa is immediately available to you

You may be eligible for a Green Card as an employee or family member of a recognized international organization or North Atlantic Treaty Organization if:

• You or your spouse are a retired officer or employee of an international organization
• You are a surviving spouse of a decreased officer or employee of an international organization
• You are an unmarried son or daughter of a current or former officer or employee of an international organization

For additional information and thorough criteria, visit USCIS here.

Green Card through Refugee or Asylee Status:

You may qualify for a Green Card as an asylee or refugee status if you meet the following criteria:

• Asylee
  • Properly file an I-485 form
  • Are physically present in the U.S. at the time you file the I-485
  • Have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 1 year after being granted asylum
  • Continue to meet definition of a refugee, or the spouse or child of a refugee
  • Have not resettled in a foreign country
  • Grant of asylum has not been terminated
  • Are admissible to the U.S. for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibly or other relief
  • Merit the favorable exercise of discretion