Many foreign nationals seek permanent residence in the U.S. as it allows them to work and live in the U.S. without limit and eventually to become citizens. There are three primary avenues to becoming a permanent resident in the United States; through a family relationship, through employment or investment in the U.S. and through a lottery application.

Family based immigration

Spouses, fiancé(e)s, unmarried children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens are all eligible to become permanent residents without delay and without any numerical cap.

Other relatives of United States Citizens and existing permanent residents are eligible to be become permanent residents but are subject to cap and waiting periods. Those family relationships that are subject to a cap and a backlog are separated into four different preferences (or groups), where each preference is allotted a certain number of immigrant visas. The preferences are:

1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (over 21 years);

2) spouses or children of permanent residents and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents;

3) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and

4) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, if the citizen is at least 21 years of age.

Employment based immigration

Up to 140,000 employment based permanent residence visas are available each year. To be eligible for permanent residence a foreign worker should show that the worker is one of the best in the field or that there are no qualified U.S. workers available to fill the position.

Five categories of workers are eligible for employment based immigration, they are:

1) “priority” workers, that includes workers with outstanding ability, outstanding professors and researchers and multinational executives and mangers;

2) members of the professions holding advance degrees or their equivalent and workers because of their exceptional ability in the science, arts or business that will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare of the United States;

3) skilled workers with at least two years experience, professionals who hold baccalaureate degree and other workers performing unskilled labor with less than two years of experience;

4) “special immigrants”, which includes religious workers, U.S. Government employees with fifteen years service, workers with twelve years of active service in the U.S. Armed Forces and other particular types of workers;

5) investors who have invested $500, 000 to $1000,000 in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. that employees at least ten United States citizens or immigrants.

The process to become a permanent resident

Becoming a permanent resident is generally a two step process. The first step, is the filing and approval of a petition for permanent residence and the second step, is the actual admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident.

Immigration through the diversity lottery

Up to 55,000 immigrant visas are allocated each year through a diversity lottery (DV).

All Foreign nationals are eligible to participate, except for 2005, foreign nationals born in Canada, China (mainland), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), and Vietnam. There is a requirement that the foreign national have at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years training or experience.

The only way for a foreign national to enter the DV is to fill out the Electronic Diversity Visa (EDV) Entry Forms on the Department of State website at www.dvlottery.state.gov, during the registration period designated by the department. Outside of the registration period the site will state that the "lottery is over". An important consideration is that a “winner” must still apply and receive the immigrant visa in the same fiscal year which the application for the lottery was submitted. More information on the DV lottery Visa can be found at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants_types_diversity3.html