US Green Card

Permanent residency visaor Green Card, allows US immigrants to live, work and study in USA without obligations. With US Green Card, immigrants have to pay less tuition fees for study courses; have more job opportunities open to them; can own property in the US, and get access to several other privileges that only US citizens get.

There are various channels through which a Green Card can be obtained. However, for which channel an applicant is eligible to apply depends upon various factors, including his current location – whether he is in the US or outside.

Let’s review some of the top channels for obtaining a Green Card

Green Card through Family

To become eligible through this channel you must meet one of the following requirements:

•    An immediate family member of yours is a US citizen. This includes spouse, unmarried children below 21 years of age or parents of age 21 years or older.

•    If you are a family member of a US Green Card holder.

•    If you fall under a special person category, such as you are born to a foreign diplomat in the United States or a widow(er) of a US citizen.

  
Green Card through a Job

•    You can get permanent residency in the US if you are offered a permanent job, for which you have to first get a labor certification from the US Immigration Department.

•    If, as a businessperson or entrepreneur, you are making a huge investment in the US that will create new jobs in US then you can apply for the green card. Usually, it is expected that you will invest $100,000 -$500,000 in a sector of choice and create at least 10 jobs for US citizens.

•    Immigrants with extraordinary abilities can also get Green Card through self-petition. However, extremely few applicants like Olympic level sport persons and noble laureates  are eligible to apply under this category
Green Card through Refugee or Asylee Status

If you were admitted in the US as a refugee or a family member of an asylee, then after an year’s stay you can apply for permanent residency visa. Those who are granted an asylee status can apply for Green Card after 1 year from the date they were granted the asylee status.

Other Ways to Get a Green Card

Apart from these categories there are many other ways to get a US Green Card. A couple of them are mentioned below.

•    Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which annually selects 5,000 potential immigrants for Green Card.

•    Specialized jobs, which include occupations like Afghan/Iraqi translator, broadcaster, religious worker, and international organization employee.

Although there is no cap on the number of green cards issued, however, given the ever-increasing pile of applications, there is always a queue of applicants, especially those applying for the green card through job.
Whichever way you choose to apply for the green card it is important to fill in the right form and put in all the details accurately. And if required, you should take help from a visa expert or lawyer.

HOW TO GET SKILLS ASSESSMENT DONE IF YOU ARE AN ENGINEER?

The Australian Migration system proposes an established criteria for the different occupations and level of qualifications needed for skills assessment in a particular field. Engineers Australia is the designated assessing Authority for majority of the engineering occupations. For better chance of an assessment of your qualification, it is recommended to do an initial check on the 'Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL) to determine whether your skilled occupation is listed for being assessable by Engineers Australia. However, if not, there are some engineering occupations such as Engineer Managers that are assessed under different Assessing Authorities like Australian institute of Management.

The most common confusion to the migrants is that the qualification assessment to be entitled for Migration visa and for membership of Engineers Australia are two separate procedures. It is quite probable that one might secure visa for migration but a refusal for membership of Engineer Australia. Conversely, it can be likely that you secure member but fail to be accepted for a skilled migration visa. Engineers Australia is the chief body for engineers in Australia, with over 80,000 members.

Skill Assessment

For skilled migration purposes, Engineer Australia is the prime authority for assessment of professional and para-professional qualifications. It has designed two pathways for recognition of your qualification - a) Recognized engineering qualifications and b) A competency demonstration report (CDR). It is highly required to assess your degree before an application is made. Recognition is necessary to determine if the course of your completion at an overseas education institution is equivalent to an Australian four-year engineering course. If none of the signatory body recognizes your engineering qualifications equivalent to any accredited course in Australia, you may have an option to request recognition through a competency assessment process. Through the Competency Demonstration Report, you have an occasion to showcase that the engineering knowledge and competencies are corresponding or equal to those of the appropriate occupational category within Australian Engineering. You can provide detail work and training documents that you have done to acquire these skills and knowledge equivalent to an engineer with Australian qualifications.

The Engineers Australia website provides an insight into The Migration Skills Assessment Kit, through which you determine occupational category and preparing your CDR submission. To know a course is accredited you need to have details about the university, particular course, the start and finish dates too. It needs to be done by you as a part of preparing your application for migration skills assessment to Engineers Australia. It is also recommended to avail services of a qualified migration agent.

GO FOR VISA is one of the best visa consultancies, around the globe. From assessment to lodgment of your visa, GOFORVISA caters to all your issues and tries to find best possible solution for your application.