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.
Bryans Road is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Bryans Road was named after Oliver Norris Bryan, a 19th century farmer and scientist who owned and operated Locust Grove Farm near Marshall Hall, Maryland. The area consisted mostly of tobacco farms until the establishment of the Naval Proving Grounds at Indian Head, Maryland in 1890. Some commercial establishments came about by the early 1920s, when the name Bryans Road first appeared on maps. The construction of Maryland Route 210 (Indian Head Highway) during World War II brought new traffic. By the early 1960s, Bryans Road became an established bedroom community for both Indian Head and Washington, D.C.. The population was 4,912 people at the 2000 census. The Lund family owns much of the land at the main intersection of Bryans Road, and a shopping center at the community's main intersection includes supermarkets, gas stations and assorted retail stores. Local residents commute to work at the Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center, while others commute to employment centers throughout the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In 1998, plans for a massive "Chapman's Landing" housing development during the 1990s were thwarted by the Maryland state government, which bought the property to preserve green space under its "smart growth" policy.