What Is the Fastest Way to Get a U.S. Green Card?

Many foreign nationals know that they want to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. In many cases, they have work or personal reasons driving their need to get Green Cards quickly.

However, some routes to a Green Card can take longer than others, and understanding the range of available options and the processes connected to each can be difficult.

This article helps you find the fastest way to get a U.S. Green Card. We’ll describe the various routes available so you can pick the one that’s best for your situation.

5 Ways to Get Green Card Approval Fast

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program requires foreign nationals to invest at least $800,000 in a U.S. company in exchange for a Green Card.

For those who can afford the investment capital, an EB-5 visa is currently the fastest route to U.S. lawful permanent resident status. We’ll provide an overview of it later in this post.

However, this program may not suit everyone. Alternative options may be a better fit for some individuals.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ways to get a Green Card quickly.

1. Have a Close Connection to a U.S. Citizen or Resident

Foreign nationals with family members in the United States who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents may be eligible for family-based Green Cards through sponsorship by the relative.

For certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, this can be one of the fastest paths to permanent residency. However, processing times vary depending on the family category, visa availability, and the applicant’s country of chargeability.

Family-Based Visa Requirements

Family-based visas fall under two categories:

• Immediate relative visas: For the spouse, parents, or unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen.
• Family preference visas: For other qualifying children or siblings of a U.S. citizen or the spouse and unmarried children of a legal permanent resident (Green Card holder).

Downsides of Family-Based Visas

Before you apply, be aware of these drawbacks to applying for a family-based or marriage-based Green Card:

• You are only eligible if you have an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder.
• You may face criminal penalties if USCIS determines that your marriage to a U.S. citizen took place solely to obtain a Green Card.
• Several countries face extensive visa backlogs, which may require applicants to wait for many years before a visa becomes available.

Those who lack a family connection to a U.S. citizen or resident can explore employment-based Green Cards.

2. Have an Extraordinary Ability

The employment-based, first preference (EB-1) visa is intended for priority workers. It allows someone who is widely recognized to be at the very top of their artistic, athletic, business, educational, or scientific field to move to the United States.

EB-1 Visa Requirements

To qualify, you generally must demonstrate that you meet at least three out of the 10 criteria listed below:

• Receiving a national or international award.
• Belonging to an association in your field that requires outstanding achievement.
• Recognition in professional publications or significant media outlets.
• Having written articles published in significant media outlets.
• Being asked to critique the work of others in your field.
• Making original and significant contributions in your field.
• Having work displayed at exhibitions.
• Performing a key role in reputable organizations.
• Receiving high monetary compensation relative to others in your field.
• Achieving commercial success in the arts.

Alternatively, those in management roles may be eligible to receive an EB-1 visa. Multinational companies can relocate their managers or executives from a location outside the United States to a related U.S. company branch or affiliate on U.S. soil under the EB-1 program.

Downsides of the EB-1 Visa

The main downside to this Green Card route is that very few people can prove they have an extraordinary ability or fulfill the qualification criteria for managers or executives.

There are other employment-based Green Card options you may wish to consider.

3. Get Company Sponsorship

The EB-2 and EB-3 visa categories are other ways to get lawful permanent residence. It usually takes several years from start to finish to get a Green Card via one of these pathways.

EB-2 Overview

EB-2 visas are meant for professional individuals who meet the following requirements:

• Have an advanced degree in a field.
• Show exceptional ability in a field.
• Have a job offer from a U.S. company.
• Have a labor certification showing that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the position.
• Receive USCIS approval of their Form I-140.
• Receive USCIS approval of their Form I-485 (if applying from within the United States).

A select few may qualify for an EB-2 National Interest Waiver. This waives the standard job offer and labor certification requirements. They must prove they have worked and will continue to work in an area of critical importance to the U.S. government.

EB-3 Overview

EB-3 visas are intended for skilled workers, professionals, and some unskilled workers. To receive one, an applicant must meet the following requirements:

• Have applicable training, experience, or job education if applying as a worker.
• Have a bachelor’s degree or the foreign equivalent if applying as a professional.
• Have a job offer from a U.S. employer.
• Have the employer complete the labor certification process and show that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the position.
• Receive USCIS approval of their Form I-140.
• Receive USCIS approval of their Form I-485 (if applying from within the United States).

Downsides of EB-2 and EB-3 Visas

The downsides of this approach include:

• You must either have an advanced degree or fulfill a skill requirement that the company cannot fill through its usual recruitment channels.
• Your employer needs to sponsor you and file the I-140 immigrant petition on your behalf.
• Some countries face significant backlogs.

4. Win the Green Card Lottery

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, sometimes called the “Green Card Lottery,” allows residents of countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States to apply for immigrant visas.

The major downside is that winning a Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Green Card comes down to luck.

Furthermore, the program was suspended in December 2025, with no indication of when it would be continued.

5. EB-4 Visa

The EB-4 visa is a U.S. employment-based immigrant visa for “special immigrants.” It is designed for specific groups of people, such as religious workers, certain employees of the U.S. government abroad, broadcasters, Iraqi or Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. military, and some international organization employees.

People approved under the EB-4 category can apply for a Green Card. Each group has its own eligibility rules and requirements.

The EB-5 Program: The Fastest Way to Get a Green Card for Qualified Investors

For decades, the EB-5 program has used foreign investment capital to create jobs for U.S. workers. In exchange, the investor and their eligible immediate family members can receive Green Cards. These come with access to many immigration benefits.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for an EB-5 visa, a foreign national must invest the required minimum amount, place the capital at risk in a qualifying project, create the required jobs, and document that the investment funds were lawfully obtained.

Overview of the Application Process

These are the main steps of the EB-5 application process.

• Decide whether to invest directly or via a regional center.
• Choose an EB-5 project.
• Fill out the required paperwork with the help of an immigration lawyer.
• Transfer investment funds.
• File Form I-526E to apply for an EB-5 visa.
• Participate in a consulate interview or file Form I-485 to adjust immigration status. Eligible investors who already reside in the U.S. can file this form concurrently with their Form I-526E.
• When the time comes, submit Form I-829 to remove conditions on permanent resident status.
• Receive your investment funds back (if your investment has been successful).
• Apply for U.S. citizenship by naturalization after five years of residency.

How Long Does It Take to Get an EB-5 Green Card?

EB-5 Green Card applications haven’t always been approved as swiftly as they are today. In part, that’s because of issues like processing disruptions, visa backlogs for certain applicants from high-demand countries, and inexperienced individuals choosing to go it alone with direct investments instead of regional center investments.

In many cases, it used to take several years to obtain an EB-5 Green Card. However, you can now do a few things to speed up the process.

The Benefits of Investing Through a Regional Center

Investing in a regional center is the best choice for nearly all EB-5 applicants. Since its inception, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has been a simpler option than the direct investment model, with more safety features and easier job creation requirements.

Regional center investors also have fewer management responsibilities than direct investors.
Thanks to the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), the investment process is now faster, easier, and safer.

Avoid Backlogs by Choosing a Set-Aside EB-5 Visa

Visa backlogs can significantly delay how quickly an investor receives their Green Card.

Each year, USCIS limits the number of Green Cards issued. For example, 140,000 employment-based Green Card visas are allocated annually. This is divided by country and visa category.

Backlogs occur when the number of applicants from a country exceeds the visa allocation for that category in that year. Those who apply after the cap has been reached must wait until a visa becomes available.

This means EB-5 applicants from high-demand countries like India and China may experience delays in obtaining their Green Cards and may end up waiting several years.

What Is a Set-Aside Visa?

Another benefit of the RIA is that it introduced three new set-aside visa categories for the EB-5 program. These visas are separate from the main EB-5 visa pool, meaning applicants in set-aside categories are not competing directly with investors in oversubscribed, non-TEA projects.

The EB-5 set-aside visa categories currently have no visa retrogression. This separation is important because it can significantly reduce waiting times.

Aside from “reserving” these visa quotas, TEA investments also come with the benefit of the lower investment threshold of $800,000, as opposed to the standard EB-5 minimum investment amount of $1,050,000.

There are three types of set-aside visas that account for 32% of the total EB-5 visa allocation. They are: rural, high unemployment, and infrastructure.

Let’s take a look at each in detail.

Rural Targeted Employment Area (TEA) Projects:

A rural TEA must be:

• Located outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
• Not located within the outer boundary of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more, according to the most recent decennial census.

Rural TEA projects represent 20% of set-aside visas. This is the largest share of the three categories, meaning a visa is more likely to be available to applicants. Investors also receive priority processing of Form I-526E.

Some such investors have become conditional Green Card holders within just a few months of investing.

These factors mean that for many investors from high-demand countries, a rural area EB-5 investment is often the best option.

High-Unemployment (Urban) TEA Projects

High-unemployment or “urban” TEAs are located in areas with an unemployment rate at least 150% of the national average. They represent 10% of the total set-aside visa allocation.

While investing in a high-unemployment TEA allows EB-5 investors to qualify for the reduced investment threshold, these projects face certain limitations compared to rural TEAs.

For example, high-unemployment TEAs are not prioritized for processing by USCIS, leading to longer adjudication times, and they are more likely to experience visa backlogs due to high demand and limited allocations.

Get Your Green Card Faster With EB5AN

Investing in an EB-5 rural TEA visa through a regional center is one of the fastest ways to get a Green Card.

However, it’s not easy for newcomers to navigate the EB-5 process and immigration law by themselves. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, effort, and money by collaborating with a professional EB-5 firm. For the best chance of achieving your financial and immigration goals, work with an immigration attorney and a company that has a track record of success.

EB5AN has helped more than 2,700 families from 70+ countries become lawful permanent residents of the United States. Our expert team has more than a decade of experience and offers clients first-rate, low-risk EB-5 regional center projects with a 100% USCIS project approval rate.

If you would like to know more about your EB-5 investment options, book a free call with our expert team today.