If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and have children who do not have permanent resident status or citizenship, you may be able to help them get green cards through the adjustment of status or immigrant visa process:
If you are a U.S. citizen and your child is a non-citizen currently in the United States…
then the adjustment of status process may be an option for your child.
Your non-citizen children who are unmarried and under the age of 21 years old are considered “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizen parents. Therefore, in many cases you may be able to help them get green cards by using the adjustment of status process if they lawfully entered the United States, even if they are no longer in a lawful immigration status. For most non-citizen children who are married or aged 21 years of age or older to qualify for adjustment of status, they must currently be in a lawful immigration status. One benefit of the adjustment of status process is that it is much faster than the immigrant visa process. But, if your children don’t qualify for the adjustment of status process, you should consider the immigrant visa process.
If you are a permanent resident and your child is a non-citizen who is lawfully in the United States…
then the adjustment of status process may be an option for your child.
As a permanent resident, the law allows you to help your unmarried children get green cards, but not your married children. You may be able to use the adjustment of status process to get green cards for your non-citizen unmarried children who are lawfully in the United States, but they will need to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available. If your children don’t qualify for the adjustment of status process, you should consider the immigrant visa process.
If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and your child is a non-citizen currently living outside the United States…
then you may be able to have your child come live with you by helping them to get an immigrant visa.
The immigrant visa process is a way that you may be able to help your children get green cards if they are outside of the United States or if they don’t qualify for adjustment of status. The length of time that your child will need to wait for an immigrant visa will depend on your status as either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, your child’s age and your child’s marital status.
