Issued by the USCIS to citizens of foreign countries, green cards are official identity documents. While visas allow people to live or even work in the US for a stipulated period of time, green cards allow the holders to permanently live in the US. US green card application for foreigners is among the best routes they can take to acquiring US citizenship. Even though getting a green card is no easy task, once acquired, the green card holder can experience a lot of its benefits. Read on to discover some of the benefits of having a green card.
Once obtained, a holder of a green card is in a better position to sponsor his/her relatives. US green card applications often involve several categories. The number of green cards allocated to each category is usually limited. To increase the likelihood of being awarded a green card, people should practice due diligence by applying in the right category. The family-based green card category allows immediate family members of US green card holders to apply for permanent residency. People categorised as immediate family members include parents, unmarried children and spouse. Under the preference family green card category, married children and siblings can also be sponsored to apply for permanent US residency.
Obtaining a US green card means less paperwork for you. A visa generally limits the amount of time a person can spend in the US. While people are capable of renewing their visas, it usually involves plenty of effort every time. Not to mention the possibility of having an unsuccessful Visa renewal. With a green card however, renewal only happens once every 10 years. Green card renewal is also much easier since it only involves submitting to the USCIS and I-551 form six months prior to expiry. Therefore, this significantly reduces the amount of paperwork involved during renewal.
A green card automatically implies more job possibilities. Job opportunities are relatively scarce for immigrants holding work visas. Since employers are required to sponsor visas of immigrant employees, immigrants holding work visas have less job opportunities. However, by having a green card, you automatically get an upper hand in the job market. The reason why plenty of jobs are only open to green card holders or US citizens is because the employers do not need to sponsor their visas, hence being more open to hiring them.
Regardless of how long a person works in the US with a visa, 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.