Immigrations is the international move of individuals from one foreign country to another, typically to a non-immigrant alien country of that they don’t have citizenship or which permanently does not have citizenship in order to establish permanent residency or naturalization as legal citizens in that country. The term immigration may apply to both immigration and emigration. There is often some confusion in between these terms, but they really are not similar. Immigration refers generally to the movement of individuals within a country as well as internationally. Emigrants are persons moving to a new country in pursuit of a new life. Similarly, immigration refers to the movement of individuals from one country to another for the purpose of establishing a new life there.
Immigration status is established by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965; That act authorized the deportation of any illegal immigrant or any person here illegally, who has become a lawful permanent resident of United States. The legislation defined the classes of immigrants as legal and illegal, and gave authority to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to suspend deportation if certain conditions were satisfied. In addition, the act required that any immigrant who received any relief from deportation prior to June 1981 could remain in the United States under the same status (legal or illegal) for two years after the date of the law’s passage. Thus, persons granted immediate parole and those in imminent fear of expulsion or removal are eligible for lawful permanent residency.
The Immigration and Nationality Act; also has another provision that bars aliens from certain specified states from immigration consideration. Those states are Texas, Arizona, Hawaii, and New York. This is called the “qualified status” rule, and the regulation specifies that those persons having “a substantial connection with” the United States must be allowed to remain in the country. In practice, this means that persons having relatives who are U.S. citizens or those who are naturalized U.S. citizens can be eligible for immigration benefit while staying in a state which does not recognize their citizenship. An exception to this regulation can be made in cases where the applicant has lived in the United States for less than three years. Also, if the applicant has an immediate family member in the United States, the applicant may be permitted to stay in the country for six months after the relationship ends.
- The “criminal history” requirement, mentioned above, explicitly excludes from receiving a permanent resident visa anyone with a criminal history, whether convicted or not.
- The courts have held that immigration status may be denied to an applicant with a criminal history, even if the applicant did not commit the crime for which he is accused.
- However, there is no reason why an applicant cannot be granted immigration status despite a criminal history, as long as he can show that he is not a gang member and that he will be able to comply with the requirements of the law.
- Immigrants who have obtained a valid visa are allowed to keep their criminal record clean for three years, after which they may apply again.
In addition, there are some specific programs designed to assist immigrants; who have been convicted of crimes that do not involve criminal activity. These programs do not require that the immigrant prove that he came to the United States legally, although he may have overstayed his visa. Instead, the government requires that he establishes two ways of getting to Canada: through border crossing or via a points-of-entry system. Similarly, those who overstay their visas may not be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.
There are many other ways to avoid removal proceedings; Immigrants can be removed from the United States based on serious crimes such as felonies and aliens convicted of committing criminal acts. However, immigration officials are often reluctant to formally put an immigrant in prison, especially if there is a chance of appealing the sentence. For these and other reasons, it is more common for immigration authorities to detain immigrants at the airport or send them to prisons in other countries. If an immigrant has already applied for immigration benefits and is facing removal proceedings, contacting an immigration attorney immediately will allow him to prepare for his trip while he awaits possible removal proceedings.
