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.
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 20,878 at the 2000 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County. Nogales, Arizona, borders the city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and is Arizona's largest international border town. The southern terminus of Interstate 19 is located in Nogales at the U.S. -Mexico border; the highway continues south into Mexico as Mexico Federal Highway 15. Known in O'odham as Nowa:l, the name Nogales means "walnuts" in Spanish, and the walnut trees which once grew abundantly in the mountain pass between the city of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora can still be found around the town.