Immigration is the act of entering a country with the intention of permanently living and / or working in it. The immigration laws of the United States cover a wide range of situations involving a person from a foreign country who comes to this country, either for a temporary visit, or to live here permanently.
The US immigration system is established primarily to grant immigration status based on factors such as family reunification, on-demand job skills, and capital investment. The immigration system also covers refugees and asylum seekers, and provides a “lottery” for immigration status to people with less pressing immigration needs. The procedure for obtaining legal immigrant status will depend, among various factors, on which path you are eligible to continue based on your employment, education, and family situation.
United States: A Nation of Immigrants
Millions of men and women from around the world have immigrated to the United States. In fact, immigration has made the United States of America a world power, especially in terms of economic growth. But attitudes toward new immigrants have alternated between favorable and hostile for more than two centuries, and immigration laws have often followed these attitudes.
The Naturalization Act of 1790 was the first attempt at naturalization for foreigners. The first major federal legislation that restricted immigration was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Immigration laws and quotas of all kinds have been followed. But while Americans routinely recognize that the United States is a nation of immigrants, the system of laws governing who can immigrate, who can visit, who can stay, and under what conditions can be clearly confusing.
Take the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952. It is a set of laws that does everything from setting the conditions for naturalization, regulating foreign students, managing temporary workers, to authorizing humanitarian protections such as asylum and refugee admissions. The new laws of 1965 ended the quota system that favored European immigrants, and today most of the country’s immigrants come from Asia and Latin America.
Compliance with immigration laws
The enforcement of immigration laws changed dramatically after the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). USA. The Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) performs administrative functions related to immigration. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforce laws and protect borders of the United States.
Deportation, called “removal” in legal terms, occurs when the federal government orders a non-citizen to be removed from the United States. This can happen for many reasons, but typically occurs after the immigrant violates immigration laws or more serious criminal laws.
About the Immigration System
This section presents information and resources on how to apply for US citizenship, green cards, temporary visas, as well as information on how to deal with immigration violations. You can also learn about the citizenship and naturalization process, permanent residency, temporary work visas, student visas, protection against deportation, and more.
But immigration laws are some of the most complex. Understanding immigration regulations can be a significant challenge. A qualified immigration attorney is often a crucial requirement for anything beyond the simplest and most direct issues of immigration law.
Types of Residence for Immigrants
This section provides information on the type of residence that immigrants who intend to live and / or work permanently in the United States, or who also seek to enter the country for almost any purpose, including temporary stays, can take advantage of.
Permanent residence
Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) are also referred to as “green card holders,” despite the fact that the residency document has not been green for a long time. LPRs, as their name suggests, permanently reside in the United States. They are authorized to work for any employer without additional documentation and, within certain restrictions, they can enter and leave the country at will.
Residency is typically acquired when a family member or employer requests that the beneficiary obtain status. There are a limited number of applications that allow an immigrant to apply for himself and certain humanitarian programs that also lead to residency.
LPR status must be renewed periodically and may be lost through rescission / revocation procedures due to criminal offenses, abandonment, or other status violations.
Residence by Family
To receive residency through a family member, the individual must demonstrate that they have no impediment to receiving residency. Previous immigration violations, criminal convictions, and other factors may disqualify an immigrant from eligibility for residency or may require a waiver before they can be granted.
Depending on the relationship between the applicant and the beneficiary, a green card may be available immediately, or there may be a long wait to receive residency. Applications are processed as part of a “category” determined by the status of the applicant, the relationship between the applicant and the beneficiary, and the age and marital status of the beneficiary.
Residence for Employment
An individual seeking residency through employment must also be free of barriers. As with family-based residency applications an applicant is required, in this case it is typically an employer. Also, similar to family-based immigration, there are categories of applicants that process more or less quickly. In this case, the categories depend on the type of work and experience in question and not on the relationships of the parties.
Residence by Investment
Less commonly, residency can be acquired through a significant investment that benefits the United States economy and creates or saves a specified number of jobs. There are several approved investment programs that help ensure that investments qualify for residency. One benefit of this method is that there is no need to resort to third parties.
Visa Lottery
The Diversity Visa Lottery Program, also called the “green card lottery,” is another program through which applicants can receive residency without having to apply to a family member or employer. The State Department issues 50,000 immigrant visas from all lottery applications submitted worldwide. Only countries where few people immigrate to the United States qualify to participate in the lottery.