United States Immigration Law Blog

If you or a loved one is seeking to become a citizen, there are ways to approach the process that could prove beneficial. For most, this means receiving a green card and becoming a citizen. However, there may be some things that are more challenging. If a person has been accused of a crime of moral turpitude, it could hinder the green card process.

Moral turpitude crimes aren't necessarily felonies, however, they could be. When a person is accused of crimes of moral turpitude, it refers to acts that are determined by a court to violate the accepted moral standards of the community. These are crimes that question a person's moral compass. Perjury, tax evasion, wire fraud, carrying a concealed weapon and child abuse have all been deemed by courts in the past to be issues of moral turpitude, although, this is not an exhaustive list.

There's been much talk about immigration reform since the change of presidential office last year. An amendment has been proposed called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017 that has been a hot topic recently. If the amendment were to pass, the size of the country from which a person emigrates would determine the person's status, as larger countries would have precedence over smaller countries.

Specifically, the wording of the bill seeks to get rid of the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigration. At the moment, each country has a numerical limit of seven percent or 9,800 of the 140,000 green cards issued per year by the United States. This percentage is without regard to population. The bill intends to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate limitations relating to place of birth.

If you are hoping to become a U.S. citizen, your dream is not a rare one. There are lots of reasons that a person may want to become a resident of the United States. It could be because family and friends already live here. It could be to pursue a job opportunity. Whatever the reason, you have the right to seek residency here.

However, to become a permanent resident, one must complete the proper procedures and requirements. This could mean anything from paperwork, to taking tests to an in-person interview. There are many reasons that a hopeful U.S. resident may seek out the help of others during this process. One party that may be able to offer assistance is an immigration attorney.

Becoming a citizen of the United States is a dream for many. Depending on a person's circumstances and situation, there can be multiple steps in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. With citizenship, a person is granted rights that allows the person to stay in Michigan or any U.S. state, permanently. Without citizenship, a visa could run out forcing a person to return to their birth country.

The truth is, federal and state law can impact the immigration process for a hopeful would-be citizen. Federal law generally trumps state law when it comes to immigration matters, as it's a matter of constitutional rights. However, some state laws in Michigan can be relevant to proceedings involving immigration law. Every person's immigration query has specific aspects to them and finding out how your situation fits into the scheme of immigration laws is important.