Getting a Family-Based Green Card

If you're related by blood, marriage, or adoption to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you yourself may qualify for a U.S. green card.

Learn when children can piggyback on a parent's right to immigrate to the U.S., and when they'll instead need a separate family relationship and petition filed on their behalf.

How permanent residents can speed up the process of bringing their foreign-born children to the U.S. by obtaining citizenship.

The long wait until a U.S. citizen child turns 21 and becomes eligible to sponsor a parent.

Not only natural-born children, but also adopted and stepchildren can immigrate through their parents if certain conditions are met.

Only someone living in the U.S. can act as financial sponsor, which complicates the matter of petitioning for a family member if the citizen still lives abroad.

How would-be immigrants in the preference categories" can track their progress toward visa availability using the Visa Bulletin."

Requesting that your green card application be considered even after the death of the U.S. petitioner (sponsor).

When official documents aren't sufficient to show that you're a child's father or mother, you may need to provide DNA or other evidence.

Facing long waits to immigrate as the married child of a U.S. citizen, some applicants wonder whether a divorce would speed up the process.

This hands-on guide provides a separate chapter on each type of qualifying family relationship, and how to apply for a green card based on it.