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ALIEN RELATIVE GREEN CARD
2023 - LEGAL UPDATES

How your US Citizen or Permanent Resident relative can apply for your Permanent Residence/Green Card in 2023.

The Alien Relative Green Card can be secured by United States Citizens and Residents applying for their immediate relatives (spouse, children, parents, and siblings) to immigrate to the United States of America permanently.

Number of visas to be issued in 2023:

no cap based on the relationship

Government Fees:

In the US: $1,140 USCIS Fee + $85 Biometrics Fee

Outside the US: $535 at USCIS $325 Consulate

Attorney’s Fee:

$2,250 for the principal applicant

$695 per child (if applicable)

Normal Processing Time:

based on relationship (6-22 months)

See if you qualify.
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10 Things You Need to Know About the Alien Relative Green Card in 2023
Table of Contents:

1. Alien Relative Green Card - Overview

If you are related to a United States Citizen (USC) or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) then they can petition for you to become a Permanent Resident / Green Card holder.

The petition to become a lawful permanent resident is a two-part process:

The first step is for your relative to petition for you and your minor dependents (if applicable) to recognize your relationship.

The second step, once the petition is approved, is to apply yourself to register your Permanent Residence.

In certain instances both petitions can be filed at the same time.

2. Alien Relative Green Card - Alien Requirements

Alien Requirements

In order for you to become the beneficiary of an Alien Petition, you have to meet specific relationship criteria. The US citizen or permanent resident applying for you is called either a petitioner or sponsor. You are called an alien relative or beneficiary.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has established that only specific relatives qualify as beneficiaries. Furthermore, specific preference is given to relatives based on the proximity of their relationship.

There are 2 categories of relative aliens that can be sponsored:

Immediate Relatives
Family Preference Immigrants

Immediate Relatives

The USCIS considers you to be an immediate relative alien if you are:

The spouse, former spouse, or widow of a U.S. citizen;
The unmarried child under 21 years of age of a U.S. citizen; or
The parent of a U.S. citizen (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

Note: For relatives in the Immediate Relatives category a visa is always immediately available.

Family Preference

The following relatives fall under the Family Preference Immigrants:

First preference (F1) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of U.S. citizens;
Second preference (F2A) – spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of lawful permanent residents;
Second preference (F2B) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of lawful permanent residents;
Third preference (F3) – married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and
Fourth preference (F4) – brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age and older).

Note: For Family Preference, a visa is not immediately available and subject to preference and country of origin. The United States Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin with the wait times.

3. Alien Relative Green Card - Sponsor Requirements

Sponsor Requirements:

The sponsor or petitioner has to meet certain requirements to be able to apply for your benefits.

Age

Generally, for all petitions, except for children or spouses of immediate relatives, the sponsor has to be at least 21 years old. There is the misconception of many aliens who believe that if they will give birth in the US that they can obtain benefits from their newly born American son or daughter. They will have to wait until the child or daughter becomes 21 and if the son/daughter wishes to sponsor them.

Income

The petitioner/sponsor is required to file a sponsorship document for all petitions for the benefit of the beneficiary. The sponsorship document is called an Affidavit of Support and the sponsor takes the financial responsibility of the beneficiary for not becoming a public charge. The public charge represents the process of applying for governmental benefits such as unemployment, disability, medical expenses, social security, etc.

The sponsor has to qualify financially by a combination of assets and income to become a sponsor and assure that the beneficiary will not become a public charge.

There is a table that calculates the necessary income based on the sponsor’s total family size which will include the sponsored immigrants (you and your dependents applying with you). The sponsor’s annual income has to meet the 125% HHS Poverty Guideline. Poverty Guidelines

For 2022/2023 these figures are reflective of the 125% rule by household size:

Sponsor’s Household Size	100% of HHS Poverty Guidelines	125% of HHS Poverty Guidelines
1-2	$18,310	$22,887
3	$23,030	$28,787
4	$27,750	$34,687
5	$32,470	$40,587
6	$37,190	$46,487
7	$41,910	$52,387
8	$46,630	$58,287
	Add $4,720 for each additional person and	Add $5,900 for each additional person

Therefore, identify your household size, and the 125% value should indicate the sponsor’s annual minimum income to be able to sponsor you. If the sponsor has sponsored other aliens in the past and those aliens are not yet United States Citizens, they will be included in the family size. The sponsor will show income by attaching the last year’s tax return and an income letter.

Joint Sponsor

If the petitioner does not meet the necessary annual income, a joint sponsor or income from the petitioning alien can be used to meet the guideline. Joint sponsors have to be United States citizens, and they have to include their own family and relative aliens and meet the 125% formula.

Assets

If no joint sponsor is available or no income can be applied from the petitioner, assets can be used to meet the sponsorship criteria. Assets can be cash in the bank, stocks, royalties, retirement funds, real estate, etc. Depending on the asset category, a specific percentage will be used to compute the necessary income.

4. Alien Relative Green Card - Ascendents, Descendents, and Siblings, Alien Requirements

Ascendants, Descendants, and Siblings, Alien Requirements:

Relationship

The Relative Alien has to fit in one of the relationship categories as indicated previously. Only parents, children, and siblings (brothers or sisters) qualify. The relationship is demonstrated by birth certificates for ascendants, descendants, and siblings. The relationship with the sponsor should still exist, and the sponsor should be alive. Certain situations of deceased United States citizens may apply and are subject to complex standards for which we advise to consult us for a case-by-case analysis.

5. Alien Relative Green Card - Marriage Good Faith Requirements (Marriage Green Card)

In all marriage applications, the burden of proof is on the petitioner/alien to establish that the marriage is entered in Good-Faith or is Bona-Fide.

The USCIS distinguishes between short-term marriage applications (under 2 years of duration) and long-term marriage applications (applications filed after 2 years of marriage have passed). The burden of proof (bona-fide standard) is the same. However, aliens applying under a short-term marriage will receive a conditional (two-year) permanent residence card. Long-term marriage aliens will receive the regular, unconditional (ten-year) permanent residence card. Conditional permanent residence cards have to be reprocessed at the expiration period by a procedure called removal of condition. The removal of the condition requires the resubmission of a file similar to the relative petition but may be granted without an interview.

In all marriage immigrant petitions, an interview is required along with marriage Bona-Fide evidence (evidence that the marriage was entered in good faith).

Disclosure: It is a federal crime to marry one to secure immigration benefits, to submit false evidence, or make false statements. Both parties, the sponsor and the alien, can be prosecuted and imprisoned if found guilty. There is no statute of limitation for providing false information to obtain immigration benefits. Furthermore, the conviction of this crime can even strip someone of their falsely obtained citizenship at any point in time.

The good-faith marriage evidence or the bona-fides as some lawyers call it represents all the elements that can support the marriage is real and not entered just to obtain the green card.

There is no specific ruling with specific elements and there is no scale of specific weight given to certain pieces of evidence but rather, the case is viewed in light of the totality of elements. From this perspective, certain cases can be approved with what may be considered minimal evidence, as some cases may be subject to further review despite extended evidence being presented.

In general, we advise that you collect and organize the following pieces of evidence as they may not only be required to be submitted along with your application but also be required at the interview. For some, you will continue to collect such evidence if the green card is conditional, as the removal of condition application after 2 years will have to include it.

Short List of Bona-Fides:

Marriage License/Certificate;
Pictures of the wedding ceremony, birthdays, trips, events, where you are together;
Joint Travel or Events (confirmations, tickets, reservations, etc);
Title to joint assets (bank accounts, trading accounts, real estate, vehicles, boats, etc);
Joint merchant accounts (credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts, etc);
Joint leases if leasing (house lease, car lease, etc);
Joint bills (utilities, insurance, financing, etc);
Correspondence that lists both at the same address or several pieces listing both individually;
Sworn statements (notarized) from friends and family that your marriage is in good faith.

6. Alien Relative Green Card - Alien Admisibility Requirements

USCIS processing refers to an application for registration of permanent residence being processed in the United States. Consular processing refers to an application for registration of permanent residence being processed outside of the United States. Consular applications are processed by the United States Department of State and sent to the applicable consulate where the alien currently resides.

For USCIS Processing, the following requirements apply:

The alien was inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States
For aliens that have not been inspected, admitted, or paroled (illegal entry across the border) there are some limited exceptions to this eligibility requirement);
You are physically present in the United States at the time you file your application;
You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa (Family Preference Immigrants are subject to annual caps and wait periods);
A visa is always available for immediate relatives;
An immigrant visa is immediately available to you at the time you apply and at the time USCIS makes a final decision on your application;
The relationship to the family member who filed the Petition for Alien Relative, for you still exists;
None of the applicable bars to adjustment apply to you (criminal history, disease, espionage, terrorism, etc – certain exceptions exist);
You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other forms of relief; and
You merit the favorable exercise of USCIS’ discretion.
You have an approved Relative Alien Petition;
You are pending in a Relative Alien Petition for which a visa is available (immediate relatives)

For Consular Processing, the following requirements apply:

You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa (Family Preference Immigrants are subject to annual caps and wait periods);
A visa is always available for immediate relatives;
An immigrant visa is immediately available to you at the time you apply and at the time USCIS makes a final decision on your application;
The relationship to the family member who filed the Petition for Alien Relative, for you still exists;
None of the applicable bars to adjustment apply to you (criminal history, disease, espionage, terrorism, etc – certain exceptions exist);
You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other forms of relief; and
You merit the favorable exercise of USCIS’ discretion.
You have an approved Relative Alien Petition.

7. Immigration Interview for USCIS processing

To be updated as procedure has changed.

8. Alien Relative Green Card - Application Timeline

Every client’s file and situation are different, but in general terms, the following is a timeline of our office processing your case.

Initial Client Consultation
Strategy Session
Office issues checklists
Complete Client Intake Questionnaire
Client Completes Draft Forms
Client Uploads Documents on Portal
Review Supporting Documents (Vital Statistics and Bona-Fide Documents, as applicable)
Prepare together supporting Memorandum
Finalize the Final Draft
Final Joint Review
Upload/Submit to processing governmental unit USCIS or Department of State

The most crucial phase is collecting and organizing the relationship evidence vital statistics documents and bona-fides for marriage applications and ensuring it complies with the USCIS standards.

If a marriage application, we request that you prepare a short 2-3 page relationship summary, which would be the basis for our office preparing a case memorandum.

Our office will review and prepare the memorandum and finalize your application within 2-3 weeks of receiving all documents.

9. Alien Relative Green Card - Normal Processing Times and Fees

The average processing time for an EB1 Petition is 26-61 months with longer wait periods for citizens from India and China.

The processing governmental (USCIS) fee is $3,675.00 (subject to changes).

As of November 2022, there is no possibility for expedited processing.

10. Alien Relative Green Card - Government and Attorney's Fees

Depending on where you are, in the United States (USCIS Processing) or abroad (Consular Processing)these are the governmental and our office fees.

USCIS Processing:

$2,350.00 for the principal applicant
$750 per minor filing at the same time with the principal applicant
$85 for each type of applicant aged 14-78 (principal, spouse, child)

Consular Processing:

$325.00 for the principal applicant
$325 for each dependent (spouse/child)

You can also retain our firm to prepare your petition and supporting documents, which is what we advise.

Attorney’s Fees:

$2,250.00 for the principal Alien Relative
$695.00 for each dependent (spouse/child)
$975.00 (+ travel if outside Miami/Broward/Palm Beach County) for interview representation (USCIS only – no consular representation procedure exists)

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Alien Relative Green Card Do it Yourself Package

We also offer a do it yourself package which contains all the official information, forms, adjudicator manual, sample letters, documents, and memorandum should you decide to prepare your own Alien Relative Green Card application at your own risk.