Immigration Law
Find immigration law offices and firms with our guide to the United States and Canadian immigration law guide.
Immigration Law is the legal aspects covering the policies related to immigration to a country i.e. movement between the countries. This law is related to the matters regarding citizenship and may vary from country to country.
Immigration Law determines who is an alien in the United States and the rights and duties he has as an alien in the US. It also states the procedures as to how an alien can become a citizen with full rights. Immigration Law is a fence on the border which decides the entry of a person into a country, the period of his stay and the time when he has to exit.
Immigration Law came into existence in the year 1970 with Naturalization Act which required white people of good moral character to have resided in the country for at least two years. In the year 1975, this act was modified which increased the minimum period of stay for naturalization to five years. Thas last update was in 2006.
Eventually, the Immigration Law was amended which allowed children born at US to acquire citizenship at birth. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 made a replacement of all race-based quotas to nationality-based quotas.
The Immigration Law restricts the number of immigrants to 700000 per year according to the Immigration Act of 1990. It focuses on the family reunification issue besides immigration on the ground of employment. There is still controversy over the Immigration Law with issues related to nearly 7.5 million workers staying illegally in the United States.
Immigration Law was a political issue in the US because of the fact that due to the back log in the immigration process, many would-be citizens would not be able to vote in the elections.