Other Green Card Options

For simplicity’s sake, the more unique and less-popular paths to permanent residence have been included in one “catch-all” group: Diversity Visa, Cancellation of Removal, VAWA recipients, and other special immigrants. 

Diversity Visa: Each year, the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes 50,000 permanent residence visas available to applicants drawn at random. To be eligible to enter this lottery, the foreign national must be a native of a country with low rates of immigration to the United States. Applicants must also have a high school diploma (or equivalent) or have two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation which requires at least two years of training to perform.

Cancellation of Removal: Foreign nationals with no lawful status may be able to qualify for a green card while in removal proceedings under Non-LPR Cancellation of Removal. To qualify, one must have good moral character and no serious crimes, have been physically present in the U.S. for at least ten years, and their removal would cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, or child. Even if these requirements are met, the actual grant of cancellation of Removal remains at the discretion of the immigration judge.

Special Immigrants – VAWA: Spouses, parents, and children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have been subjected to domestic abuse may be eligible to file for permanent residence under the Violence Against Women Act (abused men are afforded equal protection under this Act as well). 

Special Immigrants – SIJS: Applying for permanent residence under “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status” requires a series of findings by a state family or juvenile court, namely that the individual be declared a dependent of the court, that it would not be in the individual’s best interest to return to their home country, and that reunification with one or both parents is impossible due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other similar circumstances. The individual applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status must be under twenty-one at the time of filing and unmarried.

Other Special Immigrants: Broadcasters, NATO-6 employees, G-4 employees, international medical graduates, Panama Canal Treaty Zone employees, certain U.S. servicemembers, and Iraqi and Afghan allies and interpreters.