Issued by the USCIS to citizens of foreign countries, green cards are official identity documents. People can live and even work in the US for a limited period of time courtesy of a visa however, if they intend to live there permanently, they should definitely consider applying for a green card. US green card application for foreigners is among the best routes they can take to acquiring US citizenship. It is important to note however that getting a green card is often a very difficult process however, once acquired there are numerous benefits to it. Below are some of the benefits of having a green card.
A green card holder is empowered to sponsor his/her relatives. A person may apply for a US green card under various categories. The number of green cards issued in each category are often limited. Therefore, to enhance one’s chances of obtaining a green card, applying to the right category is a must. Immediate family members of green card holders are allowed to apply for permanent US residency via a family-based green card category. People categorised as immediate family members include parents, unmarried children and spouse. Siblings and married children alike can be sponsored to apply for permanent US residency via the preference family category.
Having a US green card significantly reduces the paperwork you have to deal with. There are plenty of limitations to the period of time you can spend in the US on a visa. Even though people can renew their visas, it often involves plenty of effort. Not to mention the likelihood that your Visa may also not be renewed. On the other hand, after obtaining your green card, you will only be required to renew it once every 10 years. The renewal only involves submitting an I-551 form to the USCIS, six months prior to green card expiry. Hence, compared to people that rely on visas, green card holders endure less paperwork.
By having a green card, you inherently enter a world of more job possibilities. Immigrants holding work visas are generally limited with regard to the job opportunities they can take advantage of. The reason for this limitation is that most employers are required sponsor that visa. However, by having a green card, you automatically get an upper hand in the job market. This happens since plenty of jobs in the market are open to only green card holders or US citizens, because the employers are not required to sponsor them.
People may work in the US for a long time on visas however, they will still not have eligibility for Social Security benefits. Green card holders on the other hand are entitled to these benefits after a certain period of time.