Seasonal labor, performers, crews, diplomatic staff, adoption, records and the administrative machinery behind every immigration filing.
H-2B admits temporary nonagricultural workers where the employer proves a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent need and obtains labor certification. Because the category is numerically limited and split across the fiscal year, approval depends on both the strength of the case and the allocation process.
H-2A admits foreign agricultural workers where a federal certification establishes that the employer's need is temporary or seasonal and that domestic workers are unavailable. Certification carries mandatory wage, housing, transportation and guaranteed-hours terms that apply to imported and corresponding domestic workers alike.
Federal law requires non-citizens to be registered and fingerprinted, to carry evidence of registration once issued, and to notify the government of any change of address within a short statutory period. Failure to report is both a misdemeanor and a ground of removability unless the person shows the failure was reasonably excusable and not willful, and the practical consequence is usually a notice that never arrives.
A passenger passing through the United States on the way to a third country must be admitted, which requires a visa or a qualifying visa waiver authorization. The transit classification permits continuous and immediate passage and nothing else, and misuse of it is treated as a serious matter.
Section 322 allows a United States citizen parent to apply for naturalization of a child who resides outside the United States and has not acquired citizenship automatically, provided the parent meets a physical presence requirement or has a citizen parent who does. The child must be under eighteen, in the parent's legal and physical custody, lawfully present in the United States for the interview and oath, and the process concludes with a certificate of citizenship.
The death of a petitioner automatically revokes an approved family-based petition, but two routes can preserve the case: a statutory survivor provision that allows certain beneficiaries residing in the United States to have the petition adjudicated as if the petitioner had lived, and a discretionary request for humanitarian reinstatement of the revoked approval. Both ordinarily require a substitute sponsor to assume the affidavit of support obligation.
Parole under the immigration statute permits temporary presence for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit without constituting an admission. The significant public benefit branch is used largely on the request of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies, and it is granted, conditioned and revoked as a matter of discretion.
Deferred action is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion in which the government decides not to pursue removal against a particular person for a period, without conferring status or any right to remain. Requests are made to the enforcement or benefits component with jurisdiction over the person, decided on the equities, and can be terminated at any time; a grant may support a separate application for employment authorization.
Certain exchange visitors must reside in their country of nationality or last residence for two years before becoming eligible for particular immigration benefits. Five statutory waiver bases exist, each requiring a favorable recommendation from the Department of State before the benefits agency can grant relief.
Naturalization takes effect when the applicant takes the oath of allegiance at a ceremony, which may be administered by the agency or by a court. Modifications for religious objection are available, deferrals occur for travel, illness or new adverse information, and a name change granted at a judicial ceremony takes effect with the oath itself.
Where an applicant is otherwise inadmissible as likely to become a public charge, an officer may in discretion permit admission on the posting of a bond securing against the receipt of specified public benefits. The bond is not automatically returned: it remains outstanding until it is canceled on a written request following naturalization, permanent departure, death, or the passage of the period the bond specifies.
Personal attendants and domestic workers of accredited officials and organization employees are admitted in dedicated classifications requiring a written employment contract with prescribed terms. The contract, a private interview and prohibitions on passport retention and unpaid overtime are the principal protections available.
