Permanent residency sounds like a difficult status to obtain, with only a few — at best — options for those who want to legally achieve a permanent move to the U.S. However, this is not the case. While the process isn’t necessarily an easy one, there are many different ways that someone can earn permanent residency. Let’s look at a few of the ways that someone can achieve this treasured status.
Skills and labor constitutes a major reason that someone could become a permanent resident of the United States. Highly-skilled individuals, teachers, researchers, those with labor certification, and those people who qualify under a national interest waiver are just a few examples of those who can garner permanent residency through various skill and labor-related means.
There are also ways for you to manage your immigration status. This can be done if you go to a U.S. embassy or consulate, or if you alter or change your status while you are in the U.S. under a different visa.
In addition to these paths, there are also various other means to achieve permanent residency. Religious workers can be given a path to permanent residency, as can those people who make substantial business investments in the country. Certain provisional waivers and “the lottery” are also ways that an individual could permanently live in the U.S.
As with most, if not all, of these options, the individual will want to consult with an experienced immigration attorney to ensure they are going about the process correctly.