Immigrate to the Land of Opportunity

When it comes to immigrating to the US, there are very few options that can help your dreams of living in the US come true. But amongst all those options, Immigration services Kissimmee definitely take center stage. This is because the huge maze of complex immigration related laws and bylaws that define legal permanent residency or LPR status in the United State of America are not always the easiest of labyrinths for an un-initiated novice to wade in. Yes, it is certainly possible for the average prospective emigrant to try and fill up all the relevant forms on his own, but doing so almost inevitably, increases the risk of an outright rejection per se. And once an immigration petition has been rejected, it is very difficult indeed, to ensure that another one will succeeded where the previous one did not. And this is where you need, to make sure that you have opted for only those Immigration services Kissimmee (and by extension the service providers), that have both the experience as well as the wherewithal, to get the job done right, the very first time over.  However, this is easier said than done, and indeed that is precisely why now more and more people have realized the significance of utilizing the services of a skilled immigration lawyer or attorney. This holds even more true for the up and coming town of Kissimmee in Florida state. A a matter of fact, Florida is a leading destination for many otherwise highly skilled workers. And they in turn, have their extended families to take care of. Many such families are scattered in different countries all over the world and indeed, that is where Immigration services Kissimmee can help them reunite with their near and dear ones. Following are some of the laws, rules and regulations that Immigration services Kissimmee have to contend and work with, especially when working with the immigration petitions of many US citizens who want to bring their family members to the US. However, a point to be noted is that Immigration services Kissimmee do not simply work for the reunification of families alone. But they are also instrumental in allowing the inflow of highly skilled workers to the US, provided such workers are not already available in the country, beforehand. First and foremost, we have to understand precisely what immigration law is all about.

• What is immigration law (in the US)?

Basically, US immigration law prima facie, refers to all of the aggregated rules and regulations that have been established by the federal government of the United State of America for the express purpose of basically determining precisely who is actually allowed to enter the country, as well as for how long the person would be allowed to stay here. This body of laws also governs the overall naturalization process for many, if not most people who also aspire to become U.S. citizens, in their own right. Lastly, when a foreign national tries to become an illegal alien by entering the borders of the US without permission, or in case a valid visa holder tries to overstay his visit, or otherwise in any way loses legal residency status, then immigration law steps in to control precisely how the detention and subsequent removal proceedings may well be carried out. When it comes to drafting, and implementing all immigration related laws, the U.S. Constitution effectively grants the nation’s Congress (parliament) “the exclusive right to legislate in the area of immigration.” In fact, almost all of the relevant rules and laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act or INA, may be found in a document known as Title 8 of the United States (legal) Code. Here, all the state governments are by themselves, strictly prohibited from enacting and/or promulgating any immigration laws on their own. For this task, three individual federal agencies have been created and come under the purview of the federal government. Moreover, their budgetary allocations are also the sole responsibility of the Federal government and the states have nothing to do with maintaining or controlling them at all.   All of these three agencies are basically charged with both administering and enforcing immigration laws with each being given a certain level of oversight on which aspect they can look into and enforce. They are as follows:

• The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICEA): This agency is charged with investigating all those people who break any immigration related laws. Furthermore, it also has the responsibility of actively prosecuting the offenders.
• The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): This service is charged with handling virtually all applications for legal immigration purposes only.
• The Customs and Border Protection service (CBP): They are directly responsible for keeping the national borders completely secure.

 

o   Department of homeland security

All of the above three agencies operate under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This department came into existence after the infamous terror attacks of 9/11. IT was the single largest reorganization of different federal departments in over half a century. The core purpose was to streamline the security of all US territory from outside attacks. This is why all immigration and neutralization services of foreigners, (including those people who are desirous of attaining a permanent legal residency status), have to be effectively vetted by this department, before their applications can be processed further, in any way even with the help of Immigration services Kissimmee.

o   Visa requirements

As a general rule, almost all the people who want to visit the US (for whatever work, emergency or recreational purpose they may have) from their foreign countries have to obtain permission so as to be able to enter the United States territory. This permission is typically granted through a visa approval process. Such visas are usually available for two different purposes. Full-fledged immigrant specific visas that may be granted only to those people who are more interested to stay in the country and also become gainfully employed here. Most of these visas are limited by country specific quotas. While on the other hand, many non-immigrant visas are granted to foreign nationals for a wide variety of reasons such as the different types of visas that are granted to students, tourists, and business people or just about anyone who may be in the country on a temporary basis only.

o   Non-visa visiting privileges

At the other end of the spectrum are those citizens of certain highly developed countries that have been declared to be both politically as well as economically stable by the U.S. government. The nationals of such nation states are usually allowed to visit for up to a period of three months even without obtaining a visa, prior to a visit. This system is referred to as a ‘visa waiver program,’ and essentially expedites the system so as to be able to help those people who would come to the US for a vacation. However, a point to be noted here, is that those foreign citizens who are allowed visa free entry are not eligible to work (n terms of remuneration for services rendered), enrol and subsequently attend an institution of learning (such as a school or college), or for that matter apply for legal permanent status. This visa waiver program is, as of now, available to the nationals of 37 countries, but their number changes as per the social and political conditions of both the US as well as these countries, and as such the waiver program can be summarily ended in one nation, only to be allowed for another one.

• Permanent Residency status

Unlike their temporary visitor counterparts, individuals desirous of permanently immigrating to the United States via the Immigration services Kissimmee are mandated by the law to submit a number of highly detailed applications to the United States’ federal government. Apart from that, there is the added complication of immigration related regulations that are subject to change quite often and without warning. This is why it is very difficult for just about anyone who does not have any sort of formal training in this regard, to be able to stay relatively current on the various byelaws. As a matter of fact, even amongst duly qualified lawyers, the field of immigration is considered a highly-specialized practice area that not all general practitioners would care to wade in. While self-representation of any sort is completely frowned upon, as a practice that may lead to a near certain rejection of the application. Conversely the help of a highly-experienced attorney well versed with the nitty gritties of immigration laws greatly help in ensuring that the applicant is able to successfully obtain that highly coveted permanent legal residency status ala the ubiquitous green card, as the first step towards an eventual citizenship. This is why it is so important for you to find a lawyer who knows his way around Immigration services Kissimmee with regard to the laws, as they apply therein.

o   The reunification of the family unit

Here a point to be noted is that the single most common grounds for approval of an immigration application or petition is the reunification of the family unit. The American government considers the family unit to be an extremely important part of society, as a whole. This is why immigration laws aim to prioritize family based immigration as soon as possible, as any competent lawyer providing Immigration services Kissimmee will inform you. The application process for family based immigration generally commences with any legal permanent resident or even U.S. citizen for that matter, files a petition or application on behalf of an immediate family member who may be residing in a foreign nation. Any U.S. citizen can easily sponsor a family member (or members as the case may be) who may qualify the criteria of being an “immediate relative.” Such relatives typically include (in order of priority) unmarried offspring under the age of 21 or young children who may have been legally adopted before they turned 16) and the spouses (husband, wife or common law partners).  However, the cravat being that the principal petitioner (that is, the US citizen or resident who is forwarding the application) is at least 21 years of age. The US government does not have any requirements that aim to limit the number of “immediate relative” visas that are approved per annum. What this actually means on the ground, is that there will be no waiting period as such, apart that is, from the usual time that is typically required to process and vet all individual visa petitions and requests. On the other hand, as the Immigration services Kissimmee will inform you, petitions that are filed by either citizens or permanent residents, so as to allow the entry of more distant relatives, are subject to stringent annual quotas. Here, the total amount of time that is required for these family members to come together as a single unit, actually depends on their overall preference category. All unmarried offspring that have not yet turned 21 are usually given the most preference.  On the other hand, the brothers and sisters of an adult citizen will be given the least preference, regardless of their ages. Similarly, parents are still further down the category and in many cases, it takes actually years before a family unit can be practically re-united. This is why it is absolutely imperative to hire the services of a highly skilled lawyer who should be well versed with the Immigration services Kissimmee, so as to minimize the waiting period to the lowest possible time.

o    Conclusion

In the light of the above, we can safely conclude that the persons who aspire to starting a new life (after immigrating to the US) should approach their lawyer who should be very well versed with the various legalities of the Immigration services Kissimmee. He will be able to walk them though the entire process, till such time that they are granted their permanent residency permit