I live in MD and am applying for the green card after living here for 9 years.  My father and mother currently work legally in the US and my father has worked here legally for 9 years.  We are legal immigrants.
215844
http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm
179937
I'm a LEGAL Permanent resident who came to the USA in 1998, and YES it is that difficult! In theory there are a number of ways to get residency: \n Family sponsorship - only immediate family members are eligible, such as Father, son, brother.\n Employer sponsorship - useless in practice because a)they don't want to bother with the paperwork, they have to show 6 months worth of advertisements and explain why they didn't/couldn't hire a US citizen b) they become liable (as sponsor) for refunding to the State any benefits etc that may get paid out should the Resident be out of work, injured etc.\n Asylum - only available if you can prove your life is at risk if you return home\n Start your own business and employ locals - not sure on the full details of this one...\n Marry a US citizen - the route most legal resident immigrants end up taking. I tried this but my wife complained I only married her to get residency, wouldn't sign the paperwork (she said she didn't have the required 3 years of income records to prove that you're not going to be living below the poverty line) and then bitched that I wasn't working - catch 22! In the end I got it through another and definately NOT recommended route - \n File as an abused spouse - no sponsor required, you need to show records, photos etc to prove the marriage was in good faith, a police report of an arrest for domestic violence against you, and show that return to your home country would cause hardship - in my case all the Pilot's Licences I'd studied and paid for in the US would be useless in UK and I had no money to get them changed to European licences!\n I hope this helps explain - all Americans I've spoken to about my experiences are amazed at just how difficult it is - the laws don't need tightening, just enforcing, and if they're unenforcable then it makes sense to reword them so that those who are here anyway can at least pay taxes and contribute fully to society! Tightening them will just have the opposite effect to that desired, ie MORE illegals!!
529436
Not a problem, proof of residential alien with be fine. As for income, you could go "stated" in which case they don't ask for any documentation, just a verbal verification of employment. i do aliens from mexico all the time.\n  You can't use your parents house as an asset. Ask yourself how your credit is, don't run it on your own for free.\n  Good luck, you may contact me with further information.\n\nSabrina_dawson5@yahoo.com
284059
I can tell you 100% you are still an American citizen and you are also a Canadian citizen - you have dual citizenship.  You did not need a green card to go back to the USA to work.  You can freely live and work in either country and will never lose either citizenship unless you officially renounce either one to the government.  \n\nI know this is a fact.  I also was born in the USA with both of my parents being US citizens.  We moved to Canada when I was 10 years old and when I was 21 I took out Canadian citizenship.  I, too, thought that I had lost my American citizenship automatically at the time of becoming a Canadian citizen, until about 10 years later when I was travelling over the border to the USA from Canada and a US customs officer asked me my citizenship when I handed him my driver's license, my US birth certificate, and my Canadian naturalization certificate.  I told him I was Canadian.  He asked my why I said that, since I was born in the USA.  I told him that I thought I had automatically lost my US citizenship when I took my Canadian citizenship.  He told me that unless I have either renounced my American citizenship or have ever received a letter from the US government telling me that I am no longer an American citizen, then I am still American.  He told me to contact the US Embassy in Canada to enquire, but from now on he told me to claim only my US citizenship when I enter the USA.  He said the US does not recognize my Canadian citizenship and so I should only report that I am a US citizen when asked at the border in the future.  However, I need to hand both pieces of ID because they want to see what my status is in Canada, as well.  Ever since then, I hand both pieces of ID and my driver's license and when asked my citizenship, I say, US citizen, when travelling into the USA.  I never have any problem whatsoever and, in fact, I am told, "Ma'am, you can stay in the USA just as long as you want to!"  Ha!  In fact, at the time, I had my 2 children in the car with me who were both born in Canada.  The customs officer also told me to check with the US Embassy regarding them, as well, as they may also have US citizenship.  I did contact the Embassy.  They sent me forms to complete regarding my children and then they sent me a letter stating that my elder child also has US citizenship, based on the citizenship laws at the time of his birth; however, my younger child does not, based on the citizenship laws at the time of her birth.  As well, they sent me a letter stating that I was a US citizen, even though I also now had Canadian citizenship.  \n\nIt is very nice, actually, as you have the best of both worlds.  I never have a problem coming either way over the border and I travel back and forth a couple times a month.  \n\nSo, contact the US Embassy in Canada if you are in Canada now, or the US Immigration if you are presently in the US - they're in the phone book or you can look them up on the internet.  If you have children, also, check out their citizenship status.  If you do not have children yet, but plan to, as soon as they are born, whichever country they are born in, notify the other country of their birth to register it and they will have both citizenships, automatically.  I should have done this with both of my children at the time of their births but, because I didn't know this at the time, I didn't.  Now, my son just has to apply for his US passport and that is what will be his proof of his US citizenship, as he already has his Canadian birth certificate. \n\nThis is not necessarily the case with other countries in the world, but between Canada and the USA, you do not have to renounce one to have the other.  It is a wonderful thing and we are very fortunate.
531301
You will have to apply for the green card through the lottery. Good luck, they only give out about 50,000. The number of people applying is in the millions. So there is a slim chance. Best chance to get a green card is marrying an american citizen. Go to www.uscis.gov to find out other ways of getting into the country, for example work visa etc. Once you get a green card your spouse and children will receive one, too.
450224
Well seeing how there are many people who have waited years before you you it could take a long while. That's if they don't get the ball going and start the process of getting those the green cards they need to become legal. You could always try to get a work visa.
634787
legal residents have the right to get their citizenship after being a legal resident for 5 years.  i personally do not get mad if they choose not to become a US citizen.  what makes me mad is when they don't assimilate and speak spanish all the time.
596853
you have to contact the immigration department in washington dc and ask for an application...\n\nthey send it to you..you fill it out and send it back...\n\nthey in turn send you your greencard back which is good for like 25 or 30 years (something like that) and voila!\n\nyour a greencard holdin immigrant!
326812
Generally, because you have a child who has the US citizenship due to the birth in the US, does not grant you the US citizenship at all.  I have not heard any cases due to a sole reason that a parent was granted the permanent residency status, because the child was the US citizen.  (I caution you that I do not practice immigration law full time, however)\n\nHaving said that, your status as being a student (assuming legally student for 5 years) should not affect your green card application status, barring some unknown facts.   I suggest you apply for the permanent residency through the work permit (H-1) or apply for the lottery program (50,000 slots every year for qualified applicants).
219541
Way to copy and paste up there.\n\nI am Mexican, Native American, and Italian.  My dad entered this country illegally over twenty-five years ago; my mother entered it as a visitor but overstayed her visa.  She became a U.S. citizen ten years after she did so.  It took my dad nearly fifteen years to become a permanent resident and is now working his way toward becoming a citizen.  Even as I am getting older, I remember spending days with him at immigration offices so he could live here with his kids without the fear of having to leave us behind if he ever was deported.\n\nMy parents had their five children here; one is currently serving in the U.S. Army, and I am working my way toward a degree in journalism.  My younger siblings are in middle school and the fifth grade.  My sister is working toward going to Stanford for her college education, and my little brother has his hopes set on marine biology. \n\nThese are opportunities we would not have had in a country such as Mexico.  Even though I love my heritage, that country is in a severe state of turmoil [politically], so even visiting is difficult.
142671
because to become legal it cost over 10,000 and you need proof that you have like 98,000 in the bank for a family of three (to live off of for three years while looking for work).  not to mention that if you aren't related to someone, then you just have to wait for a random draw for your visa.\n\nillegals definitely should not stay, but it should be a lot cheaper to get into our country.
629743
If you are an immigrant and have not become a naturalized citizen and commit a crime, you can be deported. This has been in the immigration laws since the 1880s. You're father sounds like a very ignorant bastard and so do you.
10399
getting a greencard takes long (I heard up to three years too). Don't know if you can get one before you go. Usually you have to find somebody who hires you under a H1B worker (the job has to require at least a bachelors degree). Only big companies will even know how to do that and be willing to do that (and universities would fall under big companies)
562002
Unfortunately if you are waiting for the laws to change for your husband status to change, then you might find your husband on the opposite side of the law. If you are married to him and you are a citizen or a resident why not file for him. Depending on the state that you live in, he could get his green card in 9 months or 2 years. Before he receives his green card, he will receive an EAD card which will allow him to work. This card is given to him within 90days depending on where you live. Isn't this the very reason why you want him to become a US resident? To work. Consider contacting uscis.gov or www.emichoice.com for assistance. At, emichoice, I know that the rates are fair and you dont have to pay anything until you get your documents. It cant get any easier. You do have the option of holding your breathe to see if he get's permission to work in the US for a period of time according to the laws that bush is trying to push on congress, or whether congress decides to make all persons here, who are illegal; felons, which was also suggested. Being married to you as a US citizen or resident does not make him legal and it does not give him any rights, if his I-94 is out of status.
405195
Not so,Mr.Tiggleman\nIf you marry an American you get a green card which allows you to work in the states.\nAfter 3 years you can become a citizen,unlike 5 years for unmarried immigrants.\nWhen you have become a citizen , only then are you eligible for a passport.
605213
if i understand what your question is my answer is it depends if they have there green card or was born in america.
471643
Are you referring to people who enter after we have sealed the border? If so, those people should be deported and made to apply properly but the process of legalization should be made easier and shorter, people who are desperate to make a better life for themselves and their families cannot afford to wait 10 - 15 yrs for this to happen.  Ive known families where the father has applied when the children are young and by the time their approval appt has come up the kids are now adults and they have been denied for this.  Those beginning the application process from whatever country they are from should be allowed some type of work visa where they can come work for several months and then go back, they should have to renew this each year until their appt comes around to become permanent residents.  So much can be done that can go in favor of both sides, but it seems that our gov doesnt know where to start so opts to do nothing at all.