- Aspiring immigrants will have to fill out a petition that can be downloaded from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) website (see Resources below) to establish basic eligibility for immigration. Those being sponsored by a relative who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident will need to have the relative complete USCIS Form I-130. Those being sponsored by a U.S. employer will need to have the employer complete USCIS Form I-140. The USCIS Form G-325 (Biographical Information) also will need to be completed in most cases.
- Applicants will need to submit police reports from every place they have lived for at least one year since they turned 16. If they have no criminal record, the police will need to issue a statement verifying this. They will not necessarily be denied entry to the United States if they have a criminal record--it depends on the severity of the offense and the number of offenses.
- Applicants will have to have a medical examination conducted by a USCIS-approved clinic in their home country, and the doctor will have to fill out USCIS Form I-693. If they have any chronic communicable disease (HIV, for example), they may be denied entry to the United States.
- To enter the United States for immigration purposes, applicants will have to establish that they will not become destitute while in the United States. If they are being sponsored for immigration by an employer, this should serve as sufficient evidence. Otherwise, they will either have to prove that they have sufficient personal assets or will have to find a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to guarantee their support in case they become destitute. This is accomplished by having their sponsor complete USCIS Form I-864 (in certain cases other forms are used). There are limitations on who can sponsor them--in most cases their sponsor must be a relative.
- Once the USCIS approves their immigration petitions, applicants will need to appear at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate (listed in their initial immigration petition from Section 1 above). They must bring their passport and certain other documents listed on the website of that particular embassy or consulate (birth and marriage certificates, for example). They will have to complete Form DS-230, Form DS-156 and, if they are a male between the ages of 16 and 55, Form DS-157 (these can all be downloaded from the website of the U.S. State Department; see Resources below). Their U.S. visa will be stamped onto their passport. U.S. immigration authorities retain the right to deny them entry to the United States even with a valid visa, if they determine that the applicants are ineligible for entry for some reason. They will be fingerprinted and photographed. Once they make it through immigration, however, they will be entitled to enter and remain in the United States.
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