Green card categories also are restrictive in who can receive permanent residency.
Family relationships are the most widely-used avenue to obtain a green card.
American immigration law is designed to keep members of the nuclear family together. Thus, spouse, parents, and children of U.S. citizens are entitled to obtain permanent residency without having to wait for an immigrant visa to become available. These same family members of lawful permanent residents are also eligible to receive permanent residency, but they are assigned a priority date and must wait until their priority date becomes current, when an immigrant visa becomes available, before they can continue their permanent residency application. Other family members like brothers and sisters are also eligible for permanent residency. However, because of their more distant relationship to the principal beneficiary filing the petition, those beneficiaries will have to wait much longer to obtain a green card.