"The clearest, most accurate explanation of immigration laws for nonlawyers thus far. " Immigration Law Today
"Highly recommended.... Instructive and explanatory." United States Information Agency
If you've already tried to research how to immigrate to the United States, you may have come away more confused than enlightened. We've heard immigrants ask frustrated questions
like, "Are they trying to punish me for doing things legally?" or "I can't tell
whether they want to let me in, or keep me out!"
The trouble is, the U.S. immigration system is a little like a mythical creature with two heads. One head is smiling, and granting people the right to live or work in the United States, temporarily or permanently -- especially people who:
This creature's other head wears a frown. It is afraid of the United States being overrun by huge numbers of immigrants, and so it tries to keep out anyone who:
Not surprisingly, these two heads don't always work together very well. You may find that, even when you know you have a right to visit, live, or work in the United States, andyou're trying your best to fill out the applications and complete your case properly, you feel as if you're being treated like a criminal. The frowning head doesn't care. It views you as just another number, and as no great loss if your application fails -- or is, literally, lost in the files of thousands of other applications.
Have you heard people say that a U.S. citizen could simply invite a friend from overseas to live here? Those days are gone. Now, every immigrant has to find a legal category that he or she fits within, deal with demanding application forms and procedures, and pass security and other checks.
Almost everyone should at least
attend a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney before submitting an application. Unless your case presents no complications whatsoever, it's best to have an attorney confirm that you haven't overlooked anything. However, by preparing yourself with the information in this book, you can save money and make sure you're using a good attorney for the right services.
This book will cover a lot of territory -- almost all of U.S. immigration law, including your basic rights, strategies, and the procedures for getting where you need to go. Any time you cover this much ground, it helps to have a road map -- particularly so you'll know which
subjects or chapters you can skip entirely.
Take a look at the imaginary map below, then read the following subsections to orient you to the main topics on the map.
[Roadmap to U.S. Immigration Image] omitted for online sample chapter.
As you can see, the first stop along the way is The Inadmissibility Gate. This gate represents a legal problem that can stop your path to a visa or green card before you've even started. If you have, for example, committed certain crimes, been infected with certain contagious diseases, appear likely to need welfare or government assistance, violated U.S. immigration laws, or you match another description on the U.S. government's list of concerns, you are considered "inadmissible." That means you won't be allowed any type of U.S. visa or green card, except under special circumstances or with legal forgiveness called a waiver. This gate gets closed on a lot of people who lived in the U.S. illegally for more than
six months, which creates either a three-year or ten-year bar to immigrating. Even if you think you haven't done anything wrong, please read Chapter 3 for more on the problem of inadmissibility.
We try not to use confusing legal language in this book. However, there are a few words that will be helpful for you to know, especially if you look at other books or websites. For further definitions, see "Words Commonly Used in Immigration Law," at the back of this book.
Citizen (U.S.). A person who owes allegiance to the U.S. government, is entitled to its protection, and enjoys the highest level of rights due to members of U.S. society. A person can become a U.S. citizen through birth in the United States or its territories; through parents or grandparents who are citizens; or through naturalization (after applying for citizenship and passing the citizenship exam). Citizens cannot have their status taken away except for certain extraordinary reasons.
Immigrant. Though the general public usually calls any foreign-born newcomer to the United States an immigrant, the U.S. government prefers to think of immigrants as only including those people who have attained permanent residence or a green card.
Nonimmigrant. Everyone who comes to the United States legally but with only a short-term intent to stay is considereda nonimmigrant. For instance, students and tourists are nonimmigrants.
Green card. No longer green, this slang term refers to the identification card carried by lawful permanent residents of the United States. The government name for the green card is an I-551, or Alien Registration Receipt Card (ARC).
Lawful permanent resident. See Permanent resident, below.
Permanent resident. A green card holder. This is a person who has been approved to live in the United States for an unlimited amount of time. However, the status can be taken away for certain reasons, such as having committed a crime or made one's home outside the
United States. Usually after five years, a permanent resident can apply for U.S. citizenship.
Visa. A right to enter the United States. An immigrant visa gives someone the right to enter the United States permanently; a nonimmigrant visa gives them the right to enter for a short-term, temporary stay. Physically, the visa usually appears as a stamp in the applicant's passport, given by a U.S. consulate overseas.
If you forget these words, or encounter other words that you don't understand, check the list at the back of this book.
If you get past the inadmissibility gate, the next stop along your theoretical journey is The Eligibility Bridge. This is where you must answer the question, "What type of visa or green card are you eligible for?" Answering this question will involve some research on your part. You might already know the answer -- for example, if you've just married a U.S. citizen, it's pretty obvious that you want to apply for a green card on this basis, and should read the appropriate chapter of this book (Chapter 7). Or, if your main
goal is to attend college in the United States, then you probably know that you need a student visa, and can proceed straight to the chapter covering that topic (Chapter 22).
If you don't already know you're eligible for a certain type of visa or green card, however, then start by reading Section B, below, which reviews the possibilities for spending time in the U.S. and directs you to the appropriate chapters for follow-up. You'll see that this book covers more than just permanent green cards -- we know that not everyone will
either want, or be eligible to receive, the right to live in the United States their whole life. However, there are many useful ways to stay in the United States temporarily, for example on a student or employment-based visa. And even if you don't fit into one of the usual categories, there may be an emergency or other special category that helps you.
Overview
U.S. Immigration Made Easy covers ...