Frequently asked questions

Green Card Guide is a bilingual guide to U.S. green card pathways. It helps you understand what broad route may fit your case, what process usually follows, and how much support this site currently offers for that exact situation.

Best next page: About this guide - How sourcing, scope, and corrections work

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer

Start with coverage and the pathway families so you can narrow the legal route first. Then read the process guide that fits your situation, such as adjustment of status or consular processing, and only use the checklist once you know the broad route and process.

Best next page: Coverage - See support levels across all pathways

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Green Card Eligibility Categories (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

Coverage means the best help Green Card Guide currently offers for a pathway. The labels describe whether the site has personalized checklist support, planning guidance, or orientation only; they do not promise that every version of the pathway is implemented.

Best next page: Coverage labels - See how each support label is used

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer

Checklist support means the repo has a public, source-backed checklist for at least one exact combination of pathway and process, and sometimes a specific interview post. It does not mean every branch of that pathway is supported the same way.

Best next page: See whether this guide has checklist coverage - See whether this guide has a source-backed checklist for your exact combination today

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer

Use the pathway page, process guides, glossary, and document library to orient yourself. Unsupported does not mean your pathway is missing from the site; it means the repo does not claim a public checklist for that exact combination yet.

Best next page: Browse pathways - Open the family and pathway explorer

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer

No. The product covers all 48 pathways, but implementation depth differs. Some pathways have supported checklist paths, some have pathway-level planning guidance, and some remain orientation-only.

Best next page: Support across all pathways - Compare support levels by pathway

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer

Use a specialized prep hub only after you know your pathway, your process, and whether that hub actually matches your case. Prep hubs are for narrow operational details, not for broad eligibility or route orientation.

Best next page: Specialized prep hub - Open specialized prep only when it matches your case

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

A pathway is the legal basis for becoming a permanent resident, such as an immediate-relative, employment, humanitarian, or diversity category. A process is the operational route the case follows, such as adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing abroad.

Best next page: Pathway explorer - Browse pathway families and route pages

Sources for this answer: Green Card Eligibility Categories (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

Adjustment of status is the USCIS route for eligible applicants inside the United States, usually centered on Form I-485. Consular processing is the immigrant-visa route abroad, usually involving NVC, Form DS-260, a medical exam, and an interview at a consulate or embassy.

Best next page: Consular processing guide - Compare the main overseas process

Sources for this answer: Adjustment of Status (USCIS) · Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

Open a pathway page when you are trying to identify the legal route, a guide when you know the process stage, a document page when you need to understand a specific record, and the glossary when the main blocker is terminology. If you still do not know which route applies, start with pathways or coverage rather than a document page.

Best next page: Pathway explorer - Start with route discovery if you are not sure yet

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Green Card Eligibility Categories (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

No. An approved petition usually means the government accepted the underlying classification, not that the person has already become a permanent resident. Many cases still need visa availability, adjustment or consular adjudication, admissibility review, and sometimes an interview.

Best next page: Petition stage guide - See what petition approval does and does not decide

Sources for this answer: Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (USCIS) · Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (USCIS) · Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

The National Visa Center usually handles the document-collection and fee stage for many consular immigrant-visa cases after a petition is approved and before the interview is scheduled. It generally does not run adjustment-of-status cases.

Best next page: NVC processing guide - See what usually happens at the NVC stage

Sources for this answer: Step 2: National Visa Center (NVC) (DOS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

Conditional residence is a temporary form of permanent residence granted in certain categories, most commonly some marriage-based cases and some investor cases. It requires a later filing to remove conditions rather than simply keeping the original card indefinitely.

Best next page: Conditional residence guide - Read the removal-of-conditions overview

Sources for this answer: Conditional Permanent Residence (USCIS) · Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (USCIS) · I-829 | Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status

A priority date is the place your case holds in a quota-controlled line. For many family-preference and employment-preference categories, the government cannot issue the green card until that date is current under the Visa Bulletin.

Best next page: Priority dates and Visa Bulletin - Read the quota and timing guide

Sources for this answer: Visa Bulletin (DOS) · Visa Availability and Priority Dates (USCIS)

The Visa Bulletin shows whether an immigrant visa number is available for quota-controlled categories. A case can have an approved petition and still wait for visa availability before adjustment approval or immigrant-visa issuance.

Best next page: Visa Bulletin guide - Understand final action dates and filing charts

Sources for this answer: Visa Bulletin (DOS) · When to File Using Visa Availability Charts (USCIS) · Visa Availability and Priority Dates (USCIS)

No. Some categories are quota-controlled and can backlog, while others are not subject to the same annual preference limits. That is why one person may move forward after petition approval while another still has to wait for visa availability.

Best next page: Priority dates and Visa Bulletin - See which categories wait for visa numbers

Sources for this answer: Family of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (USCIS) · Employment-Based Immigration (USCIS) · Visa Bulletin (DOS)

A pathway can be broadly understood while exact support still changes once you specify adjustment versus consular processing, and sometimes the post abroad. Document handling, scheduling, and interview logistics are not always universal, so the site separates broad pathway coverage from exact checklist support.

Best next page: Check your exact support - Confirm the specific combination you need

Sources for this answer: Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS) · Step 2: National Visa Center (NVC) (DOS)

The medical exam usually happens late enough in the process that the result will still be valid when USCIS or the consular post needs it. The exact timing depends on whether you are using a civil surgeon for Form I-693 or a panel physician for a consular case, and current operational instructions can change.

Best next page: Medical exam guide - Compare civil-surgeon and panel-physician rules

Sources for this answer: Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (USCIS) · CDC Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians · Medical Examination for U.S. Visa Applicants (DOS)

Treat anything tied to visa availability, medical operations, post security rules, appointment logistics, or local evidence handling as potentially dynamic. Broad concepts age more slowly, but operational instructions should be rechecked close to filing or travel.

Best next page: Coverage and trust - See how broad guidance and exact support differ

Sources for this answer: Visa Bulletin (DOS) · NVC Processing Timeframes (DOS) · Medical Examination for U.S. Visa Applicants (DOS) · Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS)

Form DS-260 is the immigrant-visa application used for many consular-processing cases abroad. Form I-485 is the application used to adjust status inside the United States, so the two forms usually correspond to different process tracks.

Best next page: Adjustment of status guide - Compare USCIS filing with consular processing

Sources for this answer: Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS) · Step 2: National Visa Center (NVC) (DOS)

The Affidavit of Support, usually Form I-864, is used mainly in family-based immigration and some closely related contexts. It does not automatically apply across employment, humanitarian, diversity, or special-statute pathways, so you should not assume every green card case has a sponsor packet.

Best next page: Affidavit of Support guide - See the families and stages where it appears

Sources for this answer: Affidavit of Support (DOS) · Form I-864, Affidavit of Support (USCIS) · Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member (USCIS)

It depends on the stage. Filing packages, NVC uploads, and interviews often ask for different formats, so you should not assume that one version of a document works everywhere. Many processes eventually require originals or certified copies of key civil records even when copies or uploads are used earlier.

Best next page: Civil documents and translations - Read the broad civil-documents guide

Sources for this answer: Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS) · Step 6: Complete Online Application and Submit Documents (DOS)

Translations matter when the filing or interview instructions require documents in English or another accepted language and your evidence is in a different language. Acceptance rules can vary by stage and sometimes by post, so translation requirements should be treated as instructions to recheck rather than assumptions.

Best next page: Translation guidance - See when translated records are usually needed

Sources for this answer: Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS) · Step 6: Complete Online Application and Submit Documents (DOS) · Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country: Mexico

Police certificates commonly matter in consular processing and can matter in some other contexts, but the countries covered, recency rules, and availability exceptions are fact-specific. Use the broad guide to understand the concept, then confirm the current official instructions that match your residence history.

Best next page: Police certificate entry - See the reference page for this document

Sources for this answer: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country: Police Certificates (DOS) · Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS)

Many documents recur across the green card process even when the repo does not yet claim a full checklist for your exact case. The library helps you recognize those records, understand where they usually appear, and see which ones are dynamic or context-specific.

Best next page: Document library - Browse documents by use case

Sources for this answer: Step 5: Collect Financial Documents and Other Civil Documents (DOS) · Maintained Source Policy

Use the review date, source references, and coverage posture together. Stable orientation and terminology usually age well, while post-specific instructions, timeframes, and visa-availability questions can change quickly and may need live official rechecking.

Best next page: About sourcing - See how review dates and source references are handled

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS)

Each surface shows its own last reviewed date. Broad orientation pages can remain useful longer, but dynamic topics such as post instructions, NVC timeframes, medical logistics, and visa availability should still be rechecked against current official sources before you act.

Best next page: Review dates and trust - See how freshness and corrections are handled

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer · NVC Processing Timeframes (DOS) · Visa Bulletin (DOS)

No. This site is informational only. It is meant to explain official processes, terminology, and common evidence patterns, but it does not replace case-specific legal advice, official instructions, or professional review where the facts are sensitive.

Best next page: About this boundary - How Green Card Guide handles scope and risk

Sources for this answer: Repository Disclaimer · Trust and Safety Policy

Process guides explain the broad sequence, major forms, and common evidence patterns that usually apply to a stage such as adjustment of status, NVC processing, or the medical exam. They help you orient yourself without pretending your exact case is fully checklisted.

Best next page: Process guides - Open a broad process guide

Sources for this answer: Adjustment of Status (USCIS) · The Immigrant Visa Process (DOS) · Step 2: National Visa Center (NVC) (DOS)

You should treat a guide as insufficient when your case involves inadmissibility, criminal history, prior immigration violations, waivers, adoption or custody complexity, age-out risk, removal proceedings, or any fact pattern where eligibility itself is uncertain. The site can orient you, but it should not decide close legal questions for you.

Best next page: Waivers and inadmissibility guide - Read the boundary overview for sensitive issues

Sources for this answer: Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (USCIS) · I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver · Trust and Safety Policy

Support labels describe what Green Card Guide currently supports, not whether the government considers you eligible, whether your facts are low-risk, or whether a live post instruction has changed since the last review. Use the label as a routing signal, not as a substitute for official instructions or case analysis.

Best next page: Coverage - See what each support label does and does not mean

Sources for this answer: Maintained Source Policy · Repository Disclaimer · Green Card Eligibility Categories (USCIS)