Greencard and Visas

[bpatient]

Hi, I am a Canadian with no immediate family in the US. I was wondering if there was anyway I still could get a greencard. I am thinking about applying now since it will take several years, which hopefully by the time I am done my undergrad, it will go through. Can I still apply if i have no family, work, etc...?

[Mashmetoo]

Hi, I am a Canadian with no immediate family in the US. I was wondering if there was anyway I still could get a greencard. I am thinking about applying now since it will take several years, which hopefully by the time I am done my undergrad, it will go through. Can I still apply if i have no family, work, etc...?

 

lol... if only there was a way to get a green card simply by "applying during undergrad, so it'll go through when you are done"... It's not like applying for a blockbuster dvd rental card you know . The US won't just allow anyone to "apply" for their green card. There are categories, rules, regulations, reasons for getting a green card. NOT everyone is eligible to get it.

 

As far as I know, there are a few ways to get a green card:

 

1) Marriage to a US citizen - you get the green card (but you have to stay married for something like 2 - 5 years). If you are divorced during that time, your green card is revoked, and you can booted out of the country.

 

2). Get the H1B work visa, then slowly transition into a green card over the course of 10+ years. Getting an "advanced US medical degree" i.e., DO or MD, will help in this regard.

 

3) win the US green card lottery. Around 50,000 people win this lottery each year. However, major countries are barred from this lottery - these countries include Canada, China, Russia, Indian, Australia, England, etc etc etc. Basically, if you have Canadian citizenship, you can forget about it.

 

4). Open up your own business. You'll need to invest 500,000 US dollars in the states, and hire 8 US citizens that can work for you in long term jobs. Then you and your family will be eligible to receive the US green card.

 

Other than these 4 reasons, you really have no business being a permanent resident of the US, and you cannot get the US green card.