One of the most common ways for people to get a green card is through a family member. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can help certain family members immigrate to the United States. This is a two-step process. First, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files a family visa petition. Second, the foreign national relative files an application to become a permanent resident. Each step involves different legal and factual issues.

As a national expert on these issues, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides ongoing trainings on the family-based immigration process, answers case-specific questions from practitioners, authors a comprehensive manual, Families & Immigration: A Practical Guide, and advocates locally and federally in support of immigrant families.

Latest in Family-Based

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An Overview of Public Charge

08/06/2018
Family-Based
Immigrant Youth
U Visa/T Visa/VAWA
Citizenship and Naturalization
Since the inauguration of President Trump, three separate documents related to “public charge” have been leaked. The most recent document was a draft proposed regulation circulated in the press in March 2018. A proposed regulation seeking to make major changes to existing public charge law is expected to be published this summer in the Federal Register, yet no new regulation has been implemented...
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Living in Limbo: A Guide to Understanding Your Rights, Benefits, and Obligations When You Have No Immigration Status

07/20/2018
Citizenship and Naturalization
DACA
Enforcement
Family-Based
Immigrant Youth
Removal Defense
Policy Advocacy
Every year, millions of people wait for Congress to advance a solution that would provide stability for undocumented persons and their families. The numbers left waiting and worrying without a pathway to citizenship, protection from deportation, or the ability to work under the Trump Administration has only increased with the limitations on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...
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Consular Processing Practice Alert on Public Charge and Affidavit of Support Issues

07/02/2018
Family-Based
The purpose of this practice alert is to summarize changes practitioners are starting to see in how public charge inadmissibility is being evaluated in consular processing immigrant visa cases, following the January 2018 revisions to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) on assessing public charge, and to provide recommendations for how to prepare clients who will be consular processing in light of...
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The CSPA and Children of Permanent Residents

06/29/2018
Family-Based
This advisory discusses how the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) protect children of permanent residents in their applications for permanent residency. We discuss how a child’s age is calculated and how they might move through different preference categories through their process to become residents.

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