Immigration law determines whether a person is an alien, the rights, duties, and obligations associated with being an alien in the United States, and how aliens gain residence or citizenship within the United States. It also provides the means by which certain aliens can become legally naturalized citizens with full rights of citizenship. Immigration law serves as a gatekeeper for the border of the nation, determining who may enter, how long they may stay, and when they must leave. Immigration lawyers represent persons seeking temporary and permanent residency (green cards) status in the U.S., those interested in obtaining U.S. citizenship through a process called naturalization, and clients facing deportation and removal. Immigration attorneys may also represent businesses seeking to secure temporary visa status for foreign employees.
Daphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located just off I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 150 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2000 census lists the population of the city as 16,581 making Daphne the most populous city in Baldwin County. The city estimates its present population at approximately 18,000 in 2008. It is a principal city of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Baldwin County. The inhabited history of what is now called Daphne dates at least to the Paleo-Indian period and Native American tribes around 9,000 BC. Modern day Daphne is a thriving suburb of nearby Mobile with all the expected amenities of 21st century life.