As of this writing about 450,000 immigrants await removal hearings. Around 10% of them sit in jails. Over 2 million immigrants have been ‘removed’ since President Obama entered the Oval Office (‘removal’ is what Congress has called ‘deportation’ since 1997).
There are eight main categories of people who qualify for permanent residency. No matter what avenue you take, you need to be eligible for a green card under the law, known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, and moreover you need to be “admissible” to the United States of America. Remember: if you don’t see that you easily fit into one of these categories, it’s worth contacting a top immigration lawyer who may have access to ways to help you that aren’t listed here.
To be happy and successful as a lawyer: find a path that you love, practice the best way you can, & work with compassion. I reject the myth that lawyers must put in twenty hour days doing jobs they hate! There are hundreds of ways to make use of law school and to have a satisfying career. In Three Degrees of Law, I point out how apathy will kill a lawyer faster than anything!
Green card applications are not a walk in the park, they are complicated and sensitive legal documents that can affect your ability – or your spouse and children’s ability- to live and work in the U.S.