How can you get permanent residence in the U.S.?

Two common routes to apply for a green card in the U.S. are through a family relationship or an employer petition.

The Family Route
There are both numerically limited and unlimited categories that U.S. citizens and green-card holders can access to petition to bring in a relative.
Immediate family of U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens can sponsor their spouses, unmarried children under age 21, and parents for a green card. This category does not have annual numerical limits.
Family-sponsored preference visas. There are 226,000 green cards reserved each year for other categories of relatives. U.S. citizens can sponsor adult children and siblings, while green-card holders can sponsor their spouses and unmarried minor or adult children.

The Employment Route
There are 140,000 green cards available each year for immigrants in five employment-based categories (formally known as “preferences”). The categories were created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, and the numerical caps were set then and have not been adjusted since, as is also the case with the family preferences.
Source: Migration Policy Institute, “Explainer: How the U.S. Legal Immigration System Works”
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