Obtaining a Green Card awards you official immigration status and makes you a permanent resident of the United States. Permanent residency allows you to live and work in the United States for the rest of your life. There are several ways to obtain a Green Card. Most people obtain green cards by being sponsored by their employers, through marriage, through special classifications, or the green card lottery. Special classification categories include physicians, international adoptees, nursing and health professionals, and recent university graduates. The diversity lottery system awards 50,000 Green Cards per year to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. You must go through a multi-step process to obtain a Green Card. This process varies depending on your particular circumstances. Most applicants are required to fill out an application, complete and immigrant petition, and undergo a medical examination as part of the process. The Green Card process can take up to two years to complete.