The diversity visa lottery, established in 1990 under the Immigration act, is a lottery program which allows 55,000 immigrants the chance to enter an annual lottery and receive a visa. The diversity lottery program is administered by the Department of State and was conceived to increase immigration from countries that historically have had low rate [..]

Admissibility refers to whether an individual is allowed admission into the United States. Under U.S. laws there are specific reasons a person may be barred from admittance into the United States, generally due to personal characteristics or prior misconduct. Under some conditions, a person may request grounds for a waiver, but waivers are not gran [..]

An alien is a person who is not a citizen of the United States but resides in the United States while retaining citizenship in another country. An alien can be further divided into categories: resident and nonresident, immigrant and non-immigrant, asylee and refugee, documented and undocumented. Historically, the United States referred to immigrant [..]

An asylee is an individual who has left their home country due to fear of persecution or due to actual persecution based on their political opinion, their membership is a particular social group, their nationality, their race or their religion. These individuals may come to the United States to seek asylum. To prove they are an asylee they must pro [..]

Asylum is protection offered by the United States to asylees who have left their home country due to persecution and are seeking legal protection. An asylee may seek asylum if they have made it to the United States. If granted, the asylee may be allowed to stay in the United States indefinitely while applying for a green card (within one year). Asy [..]

Cancellation of removal is a request made by an individual who is going to be deported which allows for an Immigration judge to stop removal proceedings if the applicant meets specific requirements. For example, if a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States is going to be deported they can request a Cancellation of Removal if they have [..]

A citizen is an individual who is a native or naturalized member of a state or nation and who is entitled to the protection of that entity. A citizen of the United States includes persons who were born in the United States or an outlying possession of the United States, who were born to parents who were U.S. citizens at the time of their birth, or [..]

A conditional resident is a foreign born individual who receives a green card valid for 2 years instead of permanent residency status. Currently, conditional residents include immigrant investors who are entering the United States to start a business and individuals who request a green card as the spouse of a United States citizen but they have bee [..]

Deportation is the expulsion of a noncitizen of the United States through legal processes. Deportation generally occurs when an alien has violated immigration or United States criminal laws. If an alien is deported they generally lose the right to reenter the United States. Aliens who are going to be deported generally have the right to challenge t [..]

The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is the form which must be completed by certain workers (of which there are more than 40 possible categories), who are not U.S. citizens, to authorize their employment in the United States. Consider, however, United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, lawful temporary residents, refugees, asylees [..]