U.S. Government Immigration

An immigrant is a foreign national who has been authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) oversees United states citizenship, lawful permanent residency, family and employment-related immigration, employment authorization, inter-country adoptions, asylum and refugee status, replacement immigration documents, and foreign student authorization. In addition to administering the programs that provide these benefits, USCIS also works to answer questions and find solutions to problems brought to their attention by the public, special interest groups, other government agencies, and the U.S. Congress regarding immigration concerns.

To become an immigrant, you must go through a multi-step process. In most cases, USCIS must first approve an immigrant petition for you, usually filed by an employer or relative. Then, an immigrant visa number must be available to you, even if you are already in the United States. After that, if you are already in the United States, you may apply to adjust to permanent resident status. (If you are outside the United States, you will be notified to go to the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing for an immigrant visa.)

The "Green Card" and Lawful Permanent Residency
A "green card" gives you official immigration status or Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR) in the United States. You may gain immigration through a family member or through employment.

United States 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. Constitution

Citizenship is one of the most coveted gifts that the U.S. government can bestow, and the most important immigration benefit that USCIS can grant. Most people become U.S. citizens by birth, either within the territory of the United States or to U.S. citizen parents, and by naturalization. In 200, Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act (CCA), which allows any child under the age of 18 who is adopted by a U.S. citizen and immigrates to the United States to acquire immediate citizenship.

Immigration and Adoption
Citizens of the United States adopt children from all over the world. Approximately 20,000 inter-country adoptions are taking place per year. In addition, there are more than 200,000 foreign-adopted children already living in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are involved in the inter-country adoption process.

There are two separate inter-country adoption processes. United States citizens who are interested in adopting a child from another country should first decide on a specific country from which to adopt. The Hague Adoption Convention entered into force in the United States on April 1, 2008, which created a new process for immigrating adoptive children who reside in other countries that are party to The Hague Adoption Convention. Similar to the existing Orphan process, which remains in effect for non-Hague countries, The Hague Adoption Convention process includes measures to determine the suitability of prospective adoptive parents, such as background and criminal checks, as well as a home study.

Once a prospective adoptive parent's eligibility and suitability to adopt has been established, both the Orphan process and The Hague Adoption Convention process have specific procedures to determine whether the child is eligible for immigration to the United States.

Immigration Due To Humanitarian Benefits
Immigration law provides for a number of humanitarian motivated mechanisms to assist individuals who are in need of shelter or aid from various disasters and oppression. Some of the Humanitarian Benefits USCIS provides to qualified individuals in need of assistance includes asylum, refugees, temporary protected status, humanitarian parole, violence against women and victims of trafficking and violence.

Visit the United States (Non-immigration)

If you are looking to visit the United States and not immigrate to the U.S., there are certain requirements that must be met. A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to enter the United States temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants enter the U.S. for a temporary period of time, and once in the U.S. are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. They may have more than one type of nonimmigrant visa but are admitted in only one status.

General requirements to visit the U.S. are that the purpose of the visit must be temporary and you must agree to depart the United States at the end of your authorized stay. You must have a valid passport, maintain a foreign address, may be required to show financial support, and you must abide by the terms and conditions of the admission.