If you weren’t a U.S. citizen, with your current qualifications, would you be able to meet the requirements for long-term residence in the United States?

33 comments

1. not at all

2. Yes

3. No I’m too old

4. Yes, my field is experiencing a labour shortage.

5. No idea what the requirements are.

6. This is a weird question. Permanent residency in the US requires a petition of either a US citizen who’s your immediate relative with spouses being top priority or US-based employer. Otherwise, you could make an investment of billions of dollars and practically buy your green card. The last category fits your question best, which is self-sponsorship—you’re basically convincing the US government that youre of high value and its worth keeping you in the US.

   Most (married) Americans on this sub, I assume, are married to an American. They all qualify for a green card by default.

7. I would bet most US citizens aren’t aware of the requirements for long-term non-citizen residency

8. No idea what the requirements are. But likely not.

9. Based on occupation, H1B visa is a strong possibility, and depending on which of the ancestral countries, probably likely to get a green card. Side note: green cards are allocated by county on a very of of date scheme, so easier for someone from Ireland or Norway vs. India.

10. How would I know?

    Americans who are born American don’t really know what it takes to become American

11. Yep. I have advanced degrees in engineering and management and I could qualify for an H-1B visa.

12. Probably. Out of curiosity, I checked to see if I’d be accepted for immigration to Canada. I would be. If Snow Texas will take me, I’m sure America would.

13. They’d throw my application straight into the trash.

14. I’m going to go with yes, not because I know the requirements but because I have a friend who is on the exact same career path as me who has done this

15. What are they? List them, plz, and I will tell you if I meet them

16. Assuming we pretend my family isn’t here and all that, nope

    At least according to the Green Card Game https://www.thegreencardgame.com/factor/welcome

17. Idunno, probably. I’m a truck driver, and I see a lot of non-natives, immigrants and foreign nationals, out here doing this, so I assume there’s enough of a demand for folk with a Class A that I’d probably be able to get a work visa at least. But I’d have to do some substantial research into how all that works before I’d know for sure.

18. The US generally prioritizes family reunification over certain employment categories.

    If I could find an employer to sponsor me? Sure. If I had a relative who was already here? Much more likely.

19. As someone else observed, since I’m married to an American, I’d qualify.

    That said, it’d be pretty hard for me to move elsewhere as my career isn’t in demand to speak of and I’m almost sixty.

    Which is too bad. I’d move to Canada or New Zealand in a heartbeat.

20. After school is done in a month or two, maybe. But as it stands now? No. We’ve got more than enough bartenders here as it is

21. Yes, I got an MBA in Europe. Several of my classmates became Americans.

    Based on my that, I’d say yes I would.

22. I don’t know what the qualifications are, but I doubt I’d be eligible.

23. Probably depends on where i was born to some extent if not the US?

    But knowing people I’ve known, yeah i could. It’d be a pain in the ass, but I could.

    After reading comments I’m not changing my answer but i am adding that I’d likely need to have like family or friend sponsorship since I’m not in a high demand field. Though if i was born in plenty of other countries I’d actually be able to afford a decent education

24. nothing helps me except for the fact that i’m also a Canadian citizen (jus soli)

25. Yes, because my Mom and Dad are citizens.

    I got my citizenship through jus soli, if we wanna get technical about it. But my parents are also natural-born citizens so even if I hadn’t been born on American soil, I’d still qualify for it via parents. 😀

26. Yeah I could totally find some sucker to 90 day fiance me

27. I would as I have an RN-BSN and am in high demand.

28. If the number of Mexican colleagues I’ve had is any indication, then yes, I’d wager I could figure something out.

29. Never looked into it but I have an in demand job in technology and paid attention in history class so I like my chances

30. “I have many guns!”

31. I doubt it.

32. I’m not sure if it would be whether or not I would qualify. I think some of it would be if anyone gave me the chance. Like I went to a college that accepts international students so I would need to be one of the lucky ones to get accepted. And I have job skills so I would need to apply for a job willing to sponsor me.

33. Yes, that is how I immigrated here to begin with.

    Most natural born Americans wouldn’t qualify because they wouldn’t be able to find an employer willing to sponsor them. They would have to depend on family sponsorship of some kind, including marriage, but that’s not an option for most non-Americans.

    It’s not their fault though. Education, opportunity, and wealth all come into play and are all very unequal here.