Immigration

Visas are temporary immigration documents that provide legal permission to non-American citizens to live in the United States.

• Immigrant visas are legal documents that allow people to permanently live in the United States. These documents are commonly known as green cards.
• Non-immigrant visas are legal documents that allow people to live in the United States temporarily for specific reasons. Non-immigrant visas are commonly granted to non citizens who are in the United States on vacation, for school, for work purposes or to receive medical treatment.
• Religious worker visas are granted to non-American citizens, so they can perform religious work in the United States. The organizations they are working for must be registered U.S. not-for-profit groups. Religious worker visas are typically granted to preachers or those who are officially employed as religious workers.

Under certain circumstances, the U.S. government will allow family members living outside the United States to become U.S. residents. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens may apply to become U.S. residents. These immediate relatives include husbands and wives, unmarried children younger than 21 years old, parents, brothers and sisters, married children and unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens. Spouses, unmarried children who are minors and parents are typically approved for permanent residency in short order. Unmarried adult children, married minor children and siblings may have to wait to be approved for permanent residency.

People can become citizens of the United States in one of several ways:

• Those who are born in the United States, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico are automatically citizens of the United States.
• Those who are born in countries other than United States but whose parents are both U.S. citizens are automatically citizens of the United States.
• Those who have lived in the United States for at least five years may apply to have their status changed from resident to citizen of the United States.
• Those who are legally married to a U.S. citizen and living in the United States for at least three years may apply to become citizens.

There are other ways to legally become a U.S. citizen. For example, individuals who were born outside the United States to parents who include one U.S. citizen and one non-U.S. citizen are sometimes automatically considered citizens and sometimes not. These individuals should consult with a U.S. immigration official to determine their statuses. Those who question whether they may or may not be legally allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship should contact an immigration attorney or a representative of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

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