There are many ways for foreign nationals to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the U.S.A. An employer may sponsor a foreign national for lawful permanent residence in the U.S.A. Some employment-sponsored applications require a labor certification.
The employment-sponsored applications in EB4 described below do not require labor certifications.

The sponsored worker must:
1. Have membership in a religious denomination which has a bona fide non profit religious organization in the U.S.A.
2. Have been performing the vocation, professional work, or other work described below continuously for the past 2 years.
3. Be seeking to work solely as one of the following:
   1. A minister of that denomination
   2. In a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation for that organization
   3. In a religious vocation or occupation for the organization or its nonprofit affiliate
      The U.S. religious organization must demonstrate that it qualifies as a nonprofit organization with tax exempt .
      

The spouse and minor, dependent children of the foreign national may be entitled to apply for permanent residence at the same time, as described above. Once the I-485 applications for the spouse and minor, dependent children are received by INS, they may apply for INS employment authorization.

Lawful permanent resident status is permanent as long as residence in the U.S.A. is maintained and no violations of status occur. After five years in lawful permanent resident status, an application for naturalization (U.S. citizenship) may be filed.