Family-Based

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

Practice Alert: Temporary Changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in Response to COVID-19

01/06/2021

This practice alert provides a brief summary of temporary changes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made in response to COVID-19. Changes include plans for reopening USCIS facilities after suspending all in-person services, including interviews and biometrics appointments, from March 18 to June 3, 2020; automatic extensions for Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notices of Intent...

Community Alert: New Immigration Relief for Liberians

01/04/2021

Enacted on December 20, 2019, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LIRF) act began a program that will allow many Liberians living in the United States to apply for permanent residence. The statute originally had a one-year application window that ended on December 20, 2020, but Congress extended the application period another year to December 20, 2021 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act...

Public Charge Exemptions and Considerations

12/17/2020

Individuals applying for admission to the United States or adjustment of status are subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility unless they fall into categories that are exempt from public charge or are not subject to this ground of inadmissibility. This advisory provides an overview of the statutory and regulatory exemptions to public charge inadmissibility and the forms of relief a...

ILRC Opposes November 2020 USCIS Changes to the Policy Manual on Discretion in Adjustment

12/16/2020

ILRC filed comments opposing USCIS’s changes to discretion in adjustment because they violate existing case law. The changes represent an attempt to impose new eligibility requirements that are also a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because they went into effect without the required regulatory notice and comment process. The agency has provided no explanation for this abrupt...

Medi-Cal in California: Addressing Community Concerns about Public Charge

11/11/2020

People with various immigration statuses, and in some cases without any immigration status, qualify for Medi-Cal in California. California provides Medi-Cal health insurance through state funds to many California residents that would not qualify for the federal Medicaid program. When considering applying for immigration status, many noncitizens worry that using Medi-Cal in California will harm...