As a citizen of the United States, you may help a relative become a lawful permanent resident of the United States by obtaining what is often referred to as a “Green Card.” To do so, you need to sponsor your relative and be able to prove that you have enough income or assets to support your relative(s) when they come ...
Can a U.S. citizen sponsor a non-family member for immigration? Unfortunately, no, you can't petition for a foreign national's visa or green card if they aren't a family member.
All sponsors must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, be at least 18 years old, and be living in the United States (including territories and possessions) when they file the affidavit of support.
As proof of that status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants a person a permanent resident card, commonly called a "Green Card."
Many clients have asked me about sponsoring their friends. Unfortunately, the only way that you can sponsor a person's visa or green card application is if you are the non-citizen's employer, relative, or fiancé(e). The U.S. immigration laws do not allow you to sponsor someone just because they are your friend.
The law gives special consideration to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes a U.S. citizen's spouse, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and parents. There is no waiting list to immigrate these relatives.
Income Requirement to Become a Sponsor
You must meet certain income requirements to become a sponsor. The most common minimum financial requirement is an annual income of $22,000. This figure is calculated to be at least 125% above the Federal poverty level based on the ASPE.
Marriage to U.S. Citizen
This is the fastest way to immigrate. Typically, the process lasts from six to nine months, after which a temporary Green Card is received. Within the next two years, you must contact the USCIS again with proof of the validity of the marriage.
The simplest way to get a Green Card is through the Green Card Lottery. The U.S. Department of State gives away 55,000 Green Cards through the Diversity Visa Program every year.
Risks of sponsoring an immigrant after signing an affidavit of support appear from the contractual relationship between the sponsor and the government. This contract will be enforceable in the court of law and the government may sue the sponsor for failing to provide support to the immigrant.
If, for instance, that shortfall is $5,000, you must include at least $25,000 in assets on your Affidavit of Support. If the sponsor is a U.S. citizen, then any assets that are equal to three times the difference between the sponsor's income and applicable Federal Poverty Guidelines is typically enough.
Having a child in the United States won't give a mother the right to remain in the U.S. permanently. She will still need to complete an application for a Green Card or other visa.
Even without marriage, you may be able to get a green card if: You are an unmarried child of a United States citizen under the age of 21. You are a parent of a citizen over the age of 21 years old. You are a widow or a widower of a United States citizen.
How Much Does It Cost to Sponsor a Visa? In general, a visa sponsorship costs approximately $4000 but may cost $8-9,000 if a company has more than fifty employees and 50% of those employees are foreign nationals.
You can stay in America for up to 90 days if you don't have a visa under The Visa Waiver Program, which lets most nationals or citizens of participating countries travel to America for business stays or tourism for that amount of time.
Any immigrant who entered the U.S. on some sort of temporary visa and then submitted a green card application (for U.S. lawful permanent or conditional residence) is allowed to remain in the United States while the application is "pending." In other words, they can wait until their application has been decided upon by ...
The standard minimum investment amount has increased to $1.8 million (from $1 million) to account for inflation. The minimum investment in a TEA has increased to $900,000 (from $500,000) to account for inflation.
The key hurdle for any US immigrant: you need a residence and work permit. Therefore, if you want to live in the United States indefinitely, you must apply for a Green Card.
The bottom line is, the supply of visas often fails to meet the demand, and waiting lists develop in most visa-preference categories. The waits are especially long for people attempting to immigrate from China, Mexico, India, and the Philippines, due to the high demand from those countries.
It may take up to 90 days from the date you entered to receive your permanent resident card. You entered the U.S. using your immigrant visa, You paid the immigrant visa fee AFTER you entered, It may take up to 90 days from the date you made your payment to receive your permanent resident card.
Immigration officials want to know that you have the financial fortitude to support the immigrant in the United States so that they do not become a public charge and financial burden to the government. That is why they want to see how much money you have in the bank to support yourself and any visa recipients.
Many extended family members — cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents — do not qualify. They may apply for a permanent resident card only if they, too, have a closer relative who is a U.S. citizen or current green card holder (or qualify for one of the other types of green cards below).