According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, there are four major categories of immigrant visas:

• Family Sponsored: Many people become permanent residents of the United States through family members. You may be eligible to obtain a green card as:
  • An immediate relative of a United States citizen (i.e. spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, parents of U.S. citizens over the age of 21);
  • A family member of a United States citizen fitting into a preference category. This includes unmarried sons or daughters over 21 years of age, married children of any age, and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens over the age of 21.
  • A family member of a United States permanent resident. This includes spouses and unmarried children of the sponsoring green card holder.
  • A member of a special category. This can include a battered spouse or child, a person born to a foreign diplomat in the United States, etc.
• Employment-Based: You may be able to immigrate to the United States through an employment-based visa. Below is a list of visas available through employment. Please note that the privacy form on applications for employer-based visas needs to be filled out by the employer – not the beneficiary.
  • Permanent residency through a job offer. U.S. employers can petition for individuals to obtain green cards through a permanent employment offer. Most of these categories require the employer to first get a labor certification, and then file a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. There are different preference categories under the Form I-400, based on the type of employment end experience of the individual being employed.
  • Permanent residency through investment. Green cards may be available to individuals making an investment in the United States that creates new jobs in the country.
  • Permanent residency through self-petitioning. Some categories of immigrant visas allow you to “self-petition,” or file for yourself. This option is available to “Aliens of Extraordinary Ability” or certain individuals granted a National Interest Wavier.
  • Permanent residency through special categories of jobs. There are numerous specialized jobs that may allow you to obtain a green card based on a past or current job. 
• Special Immigrant Visas: According to USCIS, a special immigrant is a person who qualifies for permanent residence under the USCIS special immigrant visa program. In order to apply for this status, an individual must complete an application documenting his or her eligibility for that petition and submit it to USCIS.
• Diversity Visas: The Diversity Visa Program makes 50,000 visas available annually, drawn randomly among individuals who have entered and are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.