News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Sept. 1, 2017: This week we conclude our series on getting Permanent Residency or a Green Card in Trump’s America with Option 8 – Green Card Through Registry.
Getting permanent residence or a green card through registry is a rarely known or used part of the law as it only applies to undocumented immigrants have been present in the United States since January 1, 1972.
If you entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972 and have resided in the United States continuously since then and are a person of good moral character and are not deportable under the law, you may be eligible to receive a green card (permanent residence) under the registry provision.
Application Process
To apply for a green card under the registry provisions, you need to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status and the Supporting Evidence for Form I-485. You must also submit the following evidence with your Form I-485:
Two passport-style photos
Form G-325A
Biographic Information, if you are between 14 and 79 years of age
Copy of government issued photo identification
Copy of a birth certificate
Copy of the passport page with nonimmigrant visa you entered with (if applicable)
Copy of the passport page with admission (entry) stamp you received upon entry (if applicable)
The Form I-94, Arrival/ Departure Record (if applicable)
Evidence that you entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972 and
Evidence to establish continuous residence since entry. This includes a lease to your apartment or business, rent receipts, or, if you owned your own home, title to your home, mortgage contract, and deed of sale bills showing use of gas and electricity, telephone, and other utilities for each of your home addresses during the years you have been living in the United States; bank statements, bank book, deposit box agreement, or credit union savings account; pay stubs, job identification card, union membership, W-2 forms, letters of recommendation from previous employers, daily attendance sheets, and job memos addressed to you or subscriptions to magazines and newspapers or cable and Internet service.
Any individual applying under the registry provision is not required to undergo a medical exam. You will submit your application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by mail. Then you will wait several months for an interview. During those months, you will be called in for biometrics (fingerprinting), and the prints will be sent to the FBI for a check of your criminal and immigration record.
When you have a pending Form I-485, it is possible for you to apply for authorization to work in the United States and to seek advance parole (advance permission to travel and be admitted to the United States upon your return).
As usual, for more information see the US CIS website at USCIS.gov for more details.
The writer is CMO at Hard Beat Communications, Inc. which owns the brands: NewsAmericasNow, CaribPRWire and InvestCaribbeanNow.
