Mercer County Immigration & Naturalization Law Blog

As families come to the United States in hopes of a better life, they sometimes do not all come at once. Many families will send one or two individuals to the United States in order to make money and the rest of the family will later follow. These families must take care in order to ensure that they are entering into the United States properly in order to avoid issues with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

There are two types of family based immigrant visas available. One is for immediate relatives while the other is for family preference. The number of immediate relative visas the U.S. grants each year is not limited. These are available to those individuals who have a close relationship with a United States Citizen. Immediate relatives may include children of U.S. Citizens who are under 21 and not married, orphans to be adopted by U.S. Citizens, certain parents of U.S. Citizens and spouses of U.S. Citizens.

Immigration law in the United States can be a difficult path to navigate. With the many different avenues to take, newly immigrated individuals often have difficulties deciding which methods are best for them. No individual should have to navigate these difficult waters alone.

Individuals can become United States Citizens through a naturalization process. Naturalization requires meeting certain qualifications and filling out paperwork. Applicants must go through a background check, complete an interview, test and swearing in ceremony. The naturalization process allows an individual to become a permanent resident of the United States and gives them the freedoms and rights of natural born citizens.

When an individual applies for dual citizenship, it is often because they feel a unique connection with each country they are trying to be a citizen of. Dual citizenship allows the individual to have legal rights and obligations in both countries. The advantages of dual citizenship are endless, but the process to attain these rights can be difficult.

When applying for dual citizenship, individuals generally have to meet certain criteria. Several examples of these ways include being born in the United States to immigrant parents, becoming a naturalized United States citizen while maintaining citizenship in another country or being born outside of the United States to a United States citizen and citizen of another country.

In recent news, many are questioning education and what to do with unaccompanied minor illegal immigrants. Because of this uncertainty, the Department of education has released a fact sheet that details the rights of children and the requirements of schools.

The fact sheet clearly points out that "All children in the United States are entitled to equal access to public elementary and secondary education." This is regardless of the status of their parents. Recently arrived unaccompanied children are also included in this group.