Immigration
Laws and legal information about immigration
Related Topics
Naturalization and Citizenship
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. - XIV Amendment to the U.S. ConstitutionMost people become U.S. citizens in one of two ways:By birth, either within the territory of the United States or to U.S. citizen parents, orBy naturalization. Read more
Immigration through Employment
If you want to become an immigrant based on the fact that you have a permanent employment opportunity in the United States, or if you are an employer that wants to sponsor someone for lawful permanent residency based on permanent employment in the United States, you must go through a multi-step process.First, foreign nationals and employers must determine if the foreign national is eligible for lawful permanent residency under one of USCIS' paths to lawful permanent residency. Read more
Immigration in the United States: A Short History
The 1800sThe Statue of Liberty was erected in 1886 as a tribute to the freedom and opportunity that the New World represented. The stirring inscription describes the then-popular view of the United States as a place of refuge and hope. Yet only four years prior, the first immigration restrictions had been passed by Congress. A refuge the New World might be, provided that one was not a former criminal, a pauper, or arriving from China. Nonetheless, over 18 million new Americans arrived by 1910. At that time, an estimated 15% of all Americans were new immigrants. Gradually, new and tougher immigration laws were implemented, many of which had the effect (unintended or not) of effectively limiting immigration to those from Western European nations, particularly the UK. Read more