Getting An Immigration Lawyer

An immigration lawyer is a lawyer that is specialized in handling cases that deal with U.S. citizenship, visas and alien civil rights. One can gain U.S. citizenship in two ways, one is either born in the U.S., or one obtains what is called a green card in order to reside in the U.S. legally.

The immigration lawyer will handle all the aspects of obtaining citizenship, acquiring a green card or whatever issues may arise with temporary visas. An immigration lawyer would probably be the best counselor to seek advice from if someone seeks to become a naturalized citizen.

There are two different types of visas that an immigration lawyer can apply for when seeking to obtain one for non-citizens. One of them is an immigrant visa and the other is a nonimmigrant visa. The nonimmigrant visa is generally issued to those who with to enter the country temporarily, typically for vacation or business trips. An immigration lawyer will handle the immigration processes that need to be followed in order for these people to be able to legally visit the country for short periods of time.

The immigrant visa is required when one wishes to work in the U.S. or if one wants to stay for longer periods of time that what is allowed with a nonimmigrant visa. The immigration lawyer will also apply for an immigrant visa if one wants to apply for citizenship. It is a good idea to hire a competent immigration lawyer when one seeks an immigrant visa because the number of visas issued per year is limited to a set number. Once the limited number of visas for that year has been issued, no more will be issued. An immigration lawyer will file the paperwork in a timely manner that helps to increase one's chance of obtaining an immigrant visa with less delay.

An immigration lawyer will also handle the cases that deal with alien's civil rights. These may include educational rights to an alien's child or children, work rights for those with an immigrant visa as well as medical rights due if an alien needs health care.

If an alien is not a U.S. citizen but has a child in the U.S., the child becomes a citizen at birth. This child, although his parents are not citizens, has the right to every benefit offered to every U.S. citizen, these include the right to free public education, health care as well as the right to work when the child becomes of legal age required to hold a job. But the parent on the other hand, will not have these rights even if his or her child does. The parent will not become a citizen just because he or she has a child that is a citizen. The laws concerning these types of cases are very complex and an immigration lawyer can help a family determine who is entitled to what rights and benefits in the United States. If an alien does have an immigrant visa, he or she must also be treated as equally as a U.S. citizen when working in the United States. This means that fair labor laws apply to those that hold immigrant visas and they are entitled to all rights that employees who are citizens are entitled to. These people have been granted the right to work in the U.S., and as such, they are equally entitled to fair wages just as any other worker is.