The process for the immigration is quite complex and need the guidance of the experienced professionals who have knowledge upto the extends and can fight for you. Sometimes it is needed to consult the immigration lawyer for the same purpose. There is a proper organisation of the lawyers who help the people and answers various questions related to the queries of immigrancy. Immigration has become an increasing topic for the debate among many surrounding activities in recent years. They are capable of handling the most difficult and all the seemingly impossible cases in no time. They provide a thoughtful and effective service to all those clients in their difficult situations. Many types of immigration forms are available where we can go for the permanent residency in the country and where ever we want.

There are many of the legal ways for the permanent residency, citizenship and the temporary visas available but only the skilled immigration attorney can safely navigate the bureaucratic process and ensure that all the processes are under the law.

A common way to apply for a green card is through family based immigration i.e. you are sponsored by a family member who is already a resident of the United States. Of course, your family member would have to show that you are closely related via documentation like birth certificates. Your sponsor must also be a willing participant in your immigration effort and to proof this, he has to fill up an I-130 form. An immigration visa number will then be assigned to you and you would have to wait for your number to be called up before taking the next step.

Once your immigration visa number is ready, you must then adjust your status to that of permanent resident before going into the United States. You can use form I-485 to adjust your status whereupon background checks will then be done on you. Once the results of the background check are out, the USCIS will then make a decision about your application. If you are already in the country at the time of your application, you might be called for an interview with the officers at USCIS who will then decide to approve or revoke your application. If approved, you – the alien – will then be considered a Lawful Permanent Resident and you will then receive your green card.

There are five different categories of those eligible for employment-based visas with the code E1 (Employee First Preference) taking precedence over the other codes; namely E2, E3, E4 and E5. Those who have extraordinary skill in different industries i.e. arts, sciences, business can be considered for this category. Additionally, professors or researchers, and/or those who are currently being employed in the branch or subsidiary of a US employer may be eligible under E1.

However, there is a clause in immigration laws of the United States whereby they reserve the right to waiver or deem ineligible certain categories of applicants. If you had previously suffered from or are currently suffering from any communicable disease, have a history of violent behavior of mental illness, are a terrorist or have terror affiliations, have previously committed violent acts, then you would not be eligible for a green card.

The Immigration Department of the United States also visas for foreign religious workers; of which there are two different visas. Religious workers include those who have been given the right by their denomination to preside over religious worship. Only those who have taken life-long vows and have been ordained into the denomination are covered under the definition of religious workers. Examples are monks and nuns.

Religious workers who are filing petitions to migrate to the United States have to fulfill an important condition – they should at least have been a member of that particular denomination for at least two years prior to the application, and who have been working for the past two years in a professional capacity. The applicant should fill up form I-130 after which if the application has been approved, he will be notified of the next step in the immigration process.

In order to achieve this goal, a Green Card or a permanent residency will be right away available to any foreign student having an advanced degree from any U.S. college/institute of higher education. Vocational student are mostly in a field of technology, science, industrial, or mathematics. India has the most number of students in these fields. They have an offer of service from a U.S. employer in a field associated to their degree after they graduate.

There is a lot of foreign immigration which are illegal although they are highly motivated and experienced worker. They are asset to the American company. The new regulation proposes to limit the present family-based immigration system that a lot of Indians prefer to join their families who live and has an occupation in the US. Simultaneously, they have planning to tighten of rules for H1B and L1 visas, which are the two most well-liked among Indian skill professionals.

Skilled labour is a must for expansion of any country.  India has a lot of skilled workers. Most people want to stay in US because of superior opportunities and extra income. For the permanent settlement for Indians in US, there is a need to get a permanent ticket to be in US permanently. This ticket is known as green card. They are recognized by the employers in US.

President Barack Obama has also called for a complete immigration modification and recognized this as one of his top priorities to the country benefits. This is to prevent the loss of American jobs to illegal foreign labour workers.

Here we will focus on first type of settlement that is the sponsorship by a family member.

The following is the whole process to get a sponsorship:

1. The sponsor must be a U.S citizen or a lawful permanent resident of U.S and can provide document to prove the status of relationship and background.
2. The family member must be a close one and the allowed sponsors can be: Spouse, Unmarried child under 21 years old, unmarried son or daughter over 21 years old, married son or daughter of any age, brother or sister or mother or father if the sponsor is at least 21 years old.
3. The sponsor must be completely willing and he has to file a petition filling up an I-130 form.
4. The sponsor must be capable of supporting the family members and can provide resources that will bring the whole family 125% above the poverty line.
5. After this I-485 is filled this is the final step to get green card.

To get a sponsorship and green card from the sponsorship of the employer:

1. Employer must determine that the person is eligible for lawful permanent residency.
2. A labour certificate must be issued mentioning that no skilful labour is available in US for the same purpose so labour has to be hired globally.
3. If the labour certificate is issued than the petitioner can file I-140 form along with I-485 form which is the ultimate step to get a green card.
4. Immigrant visa number is issued and priority date is checked.
5. If priority is current then the resident in US can change his status to lawful permanent resident or if he is abroad then he files for immigration in embassy.

So the steps to get a green card for Indians in US are enumerated below:

1. Filling of a Petition: The process usually starts with a petition filled by a resident of US for the person who has applied for the immigrant visa and the resident may be an employer or close family member. The form is I-140 or I-130 depending on the petitioner. This is accompanied by a petition fee as applicable.
2. Immigrant Visa Availability: Filling of petition doesn’t guarantee immigration. There is a particular quota of green cards allotted per year. Every type of green card has its own quota. Once the petition is complete the case is transferred to National Visa Centre where all the cases are processed and a thorough checking of the immigrant is done by the concerned officer.
3. Grant of Green Card: Once the immigrant visa number is generated and the visa is granted in present date than the person who is living abroad can set his status to permanent resident of US and the person who is living outside US applies for the immigration in the nearest US embassy.

Some of these steps may vary as type of green card changes. Like, if there is sponsorship from the employer than a labour certificate is needed and the immigrant can fill I-140 form and the I-485 form which is final step to get a green card. If some entrepreneur is applying for visa than an investment of one million dollars shall be made and form I-526 has to be filled. But in nutshell preceding points are applicable.

To become a permanent resident of United States of America you require luck, complete documents and a clean background.

The different ways a person may get a green card varies and some of these ways are listed below:

1. Sponsorship by the employer: If you get an employment in US and the company sponsors you and consider you to have a clean background then one can get a green card.
2. Sponsorship by a family member: If some permanent resident of US sponsors some of his close one then also it is possible to get a green card.
3. Investment as an Entrepreneur: If someone invests money to open a new firm in US that would help to provide employment opportunity to residents there than green card may be granted.
4. Diversity visa: Each fiscal year as many as 55000 green cards are granted in this scheme. This is luck based grant of green card. Random applicants are selected who meet the strict eligibility criteria and a random lottery system is used to grant green card. In some cases it takes years to be the lucky one.
5. Immigration through asylum or refugee status: Sometimes it so happens that do adverse condition prevailing in native country a person do not wish to return to his country to prevent himself from race, religion and cast riots then green card may be granted giving a refugee or asylum status.

So for Indians in US the first four ways to get a Visa are the most probable ones and once granted a Visa he is no more an Indian by citizenship.

There are a million people who dreams day in and day out of immigrating to the United States. But trust me; this is just the easy part. Once you have legally immigrated to the United States then all the laws Federal laws would be applicable on you too like on any other American. You would be liable to pay all the applicable taxes which you are liable for, and some questions like the SSN, the ITIN, determining the alien tax status, and the taxation of the resident and the nonresident aliens would not take very long to steal away your sweet night sleep.

Mentioned here under are the answers to some of the questions mentioned above. Trust me these are just the starting. But eventually as you get used to these they would not be bothering you so much. So let’s move to the first topic.

1. SSN Application – SSN or the Social Security Number is very important for a person living in the United States. Though we are not going to dig much in to it but let’s just keep it limited to the fact that your eligibility to file for an SSN depends on whether or not the DHS has granted you permission to work in the United States.
2. ITIN – You can call the ITIN as a substitute for the SSN to some extent. In other words if you are required to file for the federal tax return and in case you do not have the SSN in that case you would require an Individual Taxpayer’s Identification Number”.
3. Determining Alien Tax Status – Chances are that the IRS guys would deem you to be a resident alien in the United States even if you are not a lawful permanent resident of the United States, or you do not hold a Green Card. A detailed peek in to the IRS would help you understand how the mechanism works and the status of your alien tax.
4. Taxation for the NR Aliens and the Resident aliens in the United States – As far as the taxation is concerned, for a typical non resident alien; they are just subjected to the income tax part only, to the extent of their income source only in the United States. However when we look in to the situation of a resident alien the story changes a lot. These people are subjected to the normal federal taxes as is done for any other United States citizen.

These are just the beginning and trust me there is a lot more than that meets the eye, related to the above mentioned topics. Thus your best bet for the above mentioned questions would be to dig in to the IRS. Or wait till we happen to talk about each one of these in details later.

Compared to Indians programmers and software engineers who come with other visas such as L1 and B1, their visas is not so flexible for changing jobs, which is the best fact of H1 visa. Most Indians obtain their work visas from company such as Wipro, Infosys, Satyam or TCS. But there are some who got their visas from Desi consultants.

There many advantages of H1 Visa.  When you are working, you are able to change your employer, meaning that you can easily change your work at any time. Besides, if you get your H1 visa, it is valid and legal for 3 years and you can easily lengthen its validity for 3 years more.

Other advantage of H1 visa is after you get it, you can apply for US Green Card that starts with Labor certification after few months you join the company. But, you also need to know that H1 visa also has disadvantages.

The first one is, if you plan to switch your job, your new employer has to pay for the transfer fee but this is not a problem as if you are working with big companies, they will surely do not mind in paying the transfer fee for you. But, somehow, there are also some Indian companies that take money from you indirectly or claim a bond.

You should act fast to get this visa. This is because, there are a maximum number of quota of 65 000 H1 visas that get filled up rapidly and always done by lottery system. Always remember to be well prepared to file your H1 visa.

Lastly, put in mind to apply for your visa one year earlier so that you will not have problems getting your visa.  Get everything ready, your US offer letter, passport and other documents by December.

Nevertheless, there are limitations for those who wish to leave the country for quite a long time, whether it is for work purpose or vacation. They need to know how long they can stay outside the country without losing their Green Card or permanent resident status.

So, in order for them to avoid the risk of losing the status, they need to get a document called “Reentry Permit” from the USCIS before traveling.

It is not so easy for Indians to get their US Green Card. This is because they need to undergo some processes which sometimes may take years to obtain it.

Many Indian software engineers who hold H1B or any H1 visa think that they need not to worry about applying for Green Card since they have a total of six years and only worry about it until their third or fourth year.

This is wrong as you should apply as early as you can since many Indian immigrants suddenly change their mind to stay in US after three years working. You should start applying within the first year. Do keep your English version of your birth certificate, education degrees and experience letters in hand.

One more thing, if you are planning on getting married, it is advisable for you to get married while you are holding your H1 visa and before the approval of your Green Card.

This is because, your wife/husband-to-be will enter the United States using H4 visa which is the spouse visa. Therefore, the time before your application of I-485 (final step to get Green Card) is the best time to get married.

For your information, the process of obtaining Green Card involves three stages which is Labor Certification, I-140, and I-485. So, you can add your wife/husband-to-be the application of your I-485 so that you and her/him will obtain the Green Cards together.

Nowadays, it is quite hard to get a Green Card. So, you have to apply for your Green Card as early as you can. After you already got your Green Card, you can start applying for US citizenship after five years of the approval of your Green Card. Lastly, you might also want to consider for the application of Indian overseas citizenship.