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.
Ladera Ranch is an unincorporated planned community located in south Orange County, California just outside the city limits of San Juan Capistrano, Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo. The community has several features that differentiate it from most others. For example, many traffic speed-reducing measures were put into use. Roundabouts, for example, are commonplace on smaller intersections. Narrow street widths are characteristics of Ladera Ranch's small residential streets. Landscaped street medians are common, even on two-lane collector streets like O'Neill and Sienna Parkways. In Ladera Ranch, there are two different types of areas: villages and neighborhoods. Individual builders produce an area that is called a neighborhood. There are ten or more neighborhoods per village, and there are nine villages. Five of the nine villages have clubhouses themed on a particular architecture style that is emphasized within that village. There are also parks, pools, playgrounds and open areas within each village. The Covenant Hills village is a gated community which is closed to the general public, but accessible to all card-carrying residents of Ladera Ranch. There are no other gated villages in the community. In addition to the various clubhouses, the community has key-accessed private water park and skate park, 18 community parks, a dog park, six "plunges" (smaller neighborhood pools not connected to a clubhouse), many "pocket parks"/ green belts and miles of hiking trails that go all the way to Doheny Beach from its main starting point at the prestigious 'Vista Toscana' estate in East Covenant, in the Covenant Hills village.