Other Permanent Residency Options
Employment-based Options
For certain categories of immigrant petitions, individuals do not need employer sponsorship. The petitions may be approved based upon the individual petitioner's own qualifications and accomplishments. The petitioners must establish that they have made significant contributions to the field of specialization, are easily employed in the field, and/or their contributions to the field are of national benefit to the U.S. Individuals who wish to "self-petition" in an immigrant category that does not require a full-time offer of employment are strongly encouraged to seek the services of a professional attorney who is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law.
Family-based Options:
Certain individuals are eligible to be sponsored for permanent residency by a family member. More information is available at the USCIS website
ISSS cannot advise or assist with this process.
Diversity Visa Lottery
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for DVs. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.
More information is available at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/