Can an Immigrant Get Residence in Texas?

Everyone deserves the opportunity to come into the United States to make a better life for themselves and their family. If you are an immigrant who is residing in the state of Texas and want to get residence there, you have a few options. These include the ability to get a non-immigrant visa or through a green card, which can get a person permanent residency status. There are a few ways to gain residence in Texas.

Family Sponsorship

One of the best ways to obtain a green card is through immediate family members already living in Texas. You can be any of the following immediate relatives of a citizen:

• Spouse, including a widow or widower
• Unmarried child under the age of 21, stepchild or step-parent if the marriage took place before the child turned 18
• Adopted child as long as you were adopted before age 16

Employment Sponsorship

You can receive employment sponsorship to obtain residency in Texas if you are employed in a permanent capacity in the US. Generally, if your skills are required for a specific job and the employer is unable to find local workers to fill those jobs, it gives you a good opportunity to obtain a green card. There are different categories of preference for employment sponsorship. They include the following:

• Extraordinary ability in the arts, science, business, education or athletics
• Professional with an advanced degree or degrees or exceptional ability
• Professional and skilled or unskilled workers
• Religious workers
• Investors willing to put $1 million into a US-based business or $500,000 in a local business

Refuge and Political Asylum

It is possible for some immigrants to seek asylum in the US, which can lead to a residency in Texas. If a person has a real fear of persecution in their home country based on political opinion, religion, nationality, race or membership to certain social groups, or has experienced it, they can apply for a green card one year after applying for asylum.

Special Immigrants

If you are a special immigrant, you can obtain a visa and get residence in Texas as well. Special immigrants include a wide variety of people, such as the following:

• Foreign medical graduates who came to the country prior to January 10, 1978, on a J or H visa who meet certain other conditions
• Former international US government workers
• Retired employees of international companies
• People who have served in the military who served at least 12 years of duty
• Individuals declared dependent in juvenile court

Diversity Visa Lottery

Every year, there are around 500,000 green cards available to immigrants via the diversity visa. This is also known as the green card lottery. It is limited to only citizens from a specific group of countries to apply. Applications are accepted online for only one month, typically at the end of the year. If you apply for the green card lottery, you must also meet certain educational requirements. This way of obtaining residence is very strict and only a select few people are chosen.

These are a few of the best ways to get residence in Texas. If you are looking to legally gain residency, contact the Jackson Firm. The Jackson Firm will assist you in every step of the way in your journey to Texas residence.