What are the requirements for a non-US citizen to become a legal resident in the USA?
Executive summary
Becoming a lawful permanent resident (LPR), commonly called getting a “green card,” means a non‑U.S. citizen is granted the right to live and work in the United States permanently and must meet statutory eligibility, procedural, and admissibility requirements administered by DHS/USCIS and the State Department [1] [2]. Paths include family sponsorship, employment-based petitions, refugee/asylee adjustments, certain humanitarian or special‑immigrant programs, and consular or in‑country adjustment when a visa number is available [3] [2] [1].
1. What “legal resident” means — LPR status and its effects
A green card holder is a lawful permanent resident authorized to live and work in the U.S., whose permanent resident card is proof of that status and who gains benefits like employment authorization and ability to apply for citizenship when eligible [1] [4] [2].
2. The principal legal pathways to lawful permanent residence
Most green cards derive from family‑sponsored petitions (immediate relatives and family preference categories) or employment‑based petitions (including PERM labor certification and I‑140 approvals), while other routes include refugee/asylee adjustment, investor visas, certain special immigrant categories, and diversity or humanitarian programs — each pathway has distinct eligibility rules and numeric limits that can create backlogs [3] [2] [5].
3. Sponsor, petition, and immigrant‑visa number — the gatekeepers
Except in limited self‑petitions, an eligible sponsor (U.S. citizen or LPR employer/family member) must file an immigrant petition; when the petition is approved an immigrant‑visa number must be available under the Visa Bulletin before an applicant may adjust status in the U.S. or pursue a consular immigrant visa abroad [3] [2].
4. Adjustment of status versus consular processing — where the application happens
If physically present in the U.S. with lawful entry, an applicant may apply to adjust status with USCIS (Form I‑485); otherwise the approved petition leads to consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas — both routes require medical, biometric, security checks, and final admission as an immigrant [2] [3].
5. Conditional residence, maintenance, and travel rules
Certain green cards (most commonly marriage‑based grants under two years) are issued conditionally and require a subsequent petition to remove conditions; permanent residents are expected to reside in the U.S. and risks to status include prolonged absence or relocating abroad without proper travel documents such as re‑entry permits, which can be treated as abandonment of residence [2] [6].
6. Admissibility, bars, and the security vetting that decides eligibility
Beyond qualifying category rules, applicants must clear admissibility standards (criminal, security, and other INA bars), medical and background screening, and visa‑suspension or policy changes can affect whether nationals outside the U.S. may receive visas — for example recent presidential proclamations can suspend issuance to certain foreign nationals who are outside the country and lack valid visas on an effective date [2] [7].
7. From lawful permanent resident to citizen — timing and continuous residence
Holding a green card is the typical first step toward naturalization: the general rule requires five years of LPR status before applying (three years for certain spouses of U.S. citizens), and USCIS enforces continuous‑residence and physical‑presence rules — extended absences (typically over six months) can disrupt the statutory period needed for citizenship [8] [9] [10].
This account relies on official USCIS, DHS, and legal‑practice sources that detail statutory categories and procedures [10] [2] [1]. It does not attempt to list every special‑immigrant subclass or temporary policy nuance; where sources did not provide specifics, that gap is noted rather than filled with conjecture.