How to Get a Green Card in USA without Marriage
Published February 20, 2023
The most common way to get a green card in the United States is to get married to a US citizen. Not only is it the most common, but it’s also the best way as it often has the highest chances of success.
That’s because there’s usually a limit to the number of visas the government can issue to immigrants. However, there’s no limit to the number of visas they can issue to immediate relatives. As such, it makes sense that most people would go for the marriage route to obtain a green card.
Unfortunately, though, that’s not a viable option for everyone. After all, marriage isn’t something you can accomplish overnight, and there are restrictions relating to marriage-based naturalization.
With that said, in this article, we’ll look at your other options to get a green card or visa, the steps you must follow, and how likely you will succeed. Let’s start by enumerating your alternatives.
Other Ways to Get a Green Card in the US
There are over a dozen ways to get a green card in the US without marriage.
But most of them aren’t viable to the bulk of immigrants. For example, one way to get a green card is to prove that you’re a human trafficking victim, and of course, that’s not applicable to most people.
If you’re looking for more feasible methods, here are your options:
- Family-Based Green Card Application
- Employment-Based Green Card Application
- Registry-Based Green Card Application
- Application as a Diversity Visa Lottery Winner
Read on to learn more about the application process for each of these four methods.
Let’s start with the second most common method aside from marriage—family-based green card application.
1. Family-Based Green Card Processing
An Overview of the Process
To get a green card through family, you must have a familial connection to a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident (LPR). This familial connection, which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency likes to call family preferences, is divided into five subcategories:
- First preference (F1) includes unmarried adult (21 years of age or older) children of US citizens.
- Second preference (F2A) includes unmarried minor (under 21 years of age) children of LPRs.
- Second preference (F2B) includes unmarried adult (21 years of age or older) children of LPRs.
- Third preference (F3) includes the married children of US citizens.
- Fourth preference (F4) includes the brothers and sisters of US citizens, assuming the US citizen is an adult (21 years of age or older).
Family-based green card application is one of the most common methods to get an immigrant visa, second only to marriage. That’s because it has the highest limit for the number of green cards USCIS can issue—226,000 per year. However, this number is divided into five according to family preference.
Here’s how 226,000 visas are divided into the five family preferences:
- First preference (F1) - 23,400 green cards
- Second preference (F2A) - 87,934 green cards
- Second preference (F2B) - 26,266 green cards
- Third preference (F3) - 23,400 green cards
- Fourth preference (F4) - 65,000 green cards
Once the number of green cards issued in that year reaches the annual limit, USCIS can no longer issue any more green cards to applicants under this category. Simply put, it’s quite literally first come, first served.
That’s why you’ll often hear about immigrants waiting for years to get their green cards.
What You Need
To apply for a green card through family preferences, here’s what you need, as noted on the official website of USCIS.gov:
- Two passport-style photographs
- A copy of a government-issued document with your photograph as proof of your identity
- A copy of your birth certificate
- A copy of your passport page
- A document proving that you’ve been maintaining lawful status in the US
Any of the following applies:
Your beneficiary (the US citizen or LPR connected to you) will have to submit these documents as well. But on top of that, they must also provide a copy of documentation that shows their relationship with you, the applicant, such as:
- a marriage certificate,
- a birth certificate, or
- an adoption decree.
How to Apply for a Green Card
Once you have all the requirements, here’s what you need to do to apply for a green card:
- Wait for your beneficiary to file Form I-130.
- Once you get word that they have submitted the form, you must at the same time submit Form I-485.
- Submit the other documentation mentioned earlier along with the form.
2. Employment-Based Green Card Application
An Overview of the Process
The third most common method to get a green card is through employment.
In this method, you’re applying for an immigrant visa as someone who intends to contribute to the country using their skills, abilities, and talents. This method, too, has several subcategories:
- First preference (EB-1) includes priority workers or individuals with extraordinary ability in education, sciences, businesses, and other fields. Examples of individuals under this category include researchers, professors, and multinational executives and managers.
- Second preference (EB-2) includes workers who hold advanced degrees or who have exceptional abilities. In the case of the latter, USCIS will have to judge your ability.
- Third preference (EB-3) includes skilled workers who are able to demonstrate at least two years of experience in a specific field. Again, the USCIS may have to judge your ability.
Similar to the family-based green cards, there’s also a limit for the number of green cards USCIS can issue to applicants under this category—140,000 per year, a bit lower than family-based visas.
What You Need
To apply for a green card through employment, here’s what you need to gather:
- Two passport-style photographs
- A copy of a government-issued document with your photograph as proof of your identity
- A copy of your birth certificate
- A copy of your passport page
- A document proving that you’ve been maintaining lawful status in the US.
Any of the following applies:
The beneficiary (the US citizen or LPR petitioning for your naturalization, typically your employer) will have to submit these documents as well. They must also provide additional documentation, though what kind of document those will be will depend on the specific case. For that, refer to this page.
How to Apply for a Green Card
The application process for this method is quite similar to that of family-based green card processing. Here are the steps you must follow:
- Wait for your beneficiary to file Form I-140.
- Once you get word that they have submitted the form, you must at the same time submit Form I-485.
- Submit the other documentation mentioned earlier along with the form.
3. Registry-Based Green Card Application
An Overview of the Process
The “Registry” is a section of immigration law that allows individuals who have been in the US since January 1, 1972, to apply for a green card even if they currently reside in the country unlawfully.
That being said, you will only be eligible for this method if you’ve been in the US since 1972.
What You Need
You need to submit the same documents as any other applicant, which are as follows:
- Two passport-style photographs
- A copy of a government-issued document with your photograph as proof of your identity
- A copy of your birth certificate
- A copy of your passport page
- A document proving that you’ve been maintaining lawful status in the US.
Any of the following applies:
However, on top of these, you must also prove that you have been in the US since 1972 and that you’ve been residing in the country and have not left once since entry.
How to Apply for a Green Card
Once you have the necessary documents, simply file Form I-485 and the documents.
Then, you need only wait for the results.
Unlike the previous methods, there’s no numerical limit to the green cards for this category. That’s most likely because there are not that many applicants under this category in the first place.
4. Application as a Diversity Visa Lottery Winner
An Overview of the Process
Every year, there’s a Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program in which around 50,000 immigrants are chosen randomly. These immigrants don’t need to have a family relationship with a US citizen or LPR, nor do they need to be immigrant workers. They are eligible for a green card regardless.
Of course, these 50,000 immigrants are chosen from a list, and to get on that list, you must submit an entry yourself. Otherwise, you will never be chosen as a diversity visa lottery winner.
What You Need
The requirements are the same as with the previous methods. You need to gather the following:
- Two passport-style photographs
- A copy of a government-issued document with your photograph as proof of your identity
- A copy of your birth certificate
- A copy of your passport page
- A document proving that you’ve been maintaining lawful status in the US.
Any of the following applies:
You must also get documentation that proves that
- you completed high school education, or
- you have two years of work experience in the last five years in specific occupations.
How to Apply for a Green Card
To apply for a green card as a diversity visa lottery winner, you just have to follow the standard process, which you must already be familiar with by now. You fill out and submit Form I-485 along with the documents. But in addition, you may also have to participate in an interview.
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About The Author
Lenard Arceo is an experienced blogger and writer who enjoys learning to code in his spare time. His commitment to delivering factual content is what has helped him create hundred of helpful articles that have reached millions of people.
