Who can legally immigrate to the United States?
The US immigration legislation opens a window of opportunity to the non-US nationals who intend to immigrate to the United States. There are several immigrant visas for the foreigners who are non-US citizens and seek admission to the United States. Out of the numerous possible options of legal immigration, there are six major categories, including: family-based immigration, immigration of foreign workers granted with temporary work visas, student immigration based on student visas, the immigration for investors, and immigration for asylum seekers. In addition to this, the pretenders for immigration visas are encouraged to participate in Visa Lottery and win the so-called Green Card, which enables legal immigration to the country (Center for Immigration Studies, 2018).
What are the principles governing the granting of citizenship?
Under the XIV Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all persons who are born or naturalized in the USA are considered to be the US citizens. Citizenship of children by birth is derived either from ethnicity or place of birth. Also, the principle of acquisition at birth assumes that children born outside the U.S. are subject to the U.S. citizenship providing that one or both parents have the U.S. citizenship and live in the USA. Also citizenship is granted to a child under the age of eighteen who has been adopted by the US citizen and immigrates to the country according to the principle of derivation through naturalization of parents entailed by the Child Citizenship Act (2000).
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According to the principle of naturalization, foreign nationals should pass the procedure entailed in the Immigration and Nationality Act (Center for Immigration Studies, 2018).
The two legal principes that govern the granting of citizenship in the United States
Birthright citizenship in the United States is automatically granted to any person born in the United States. On the other hand, the principle of naturalization assumes compliance with particular administrative requirements. In this case, a person should be a legal permanent resident of the United States, be at least 18-year-old, continuously reside in the US for at least five years, know English and follow the principles of U.S. Constitution (ABC News, 2018).
The two general categories of legal immigrants and whom they include?
Legal immigrants who live in the United States should apply for an immigrant visa and further become legal immigrants. The legal immigrants, who are already living in the United States though are not the US citizens, should file an application to adjust their status as legal permanent residence (ABC News, 2018).
The differences between refugees and immigrants.
An immigrant is a person leaving his own country voluntary for the sake of temporary or permanent settlement abroad. On the other hand, a refugee I a person forced to leave his/her country because of hazard to their lives or any possible persecutions or restrictions. While the process of immigration I natural, the refugee movement is due to politically, religiously, ethnically, or racially motivated pressures or coercion (Diffen, 2018).
Can refugees become legal U.S immigrants?
A person who has obtained a legal status of a refugee in the United States is considered a legal resident. Refugees are entitled to apply for permanent resident status through the green card procedure. Most apply for citizenship after living in the United States for five years. The three-year term is allowed if a refugee is married to a U.S. citizen (Diffen, 2018).
- ABC News (2018). “Six ways to legally enter the US and possibly obtain a green card,” retrieved November 1, 2018 from https://abc7news.com/society/six-ways-to-legally-enter-the-us/3658889/
- Center for Immigration Studies (2018). “Legal immigration,” retrieved November 1, 2018 from http://www.cis.org/topics/legalimmigration.html
- Diffen (2018). Immigrant vs. Refugee, retrieved November 1, 2018 from https://www.diffen.com/difference/Immigrant_vs_Refugee
