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.
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, it is perhaps best known as the home of Mayo Clinic (giving rise to the city's nickname, "Med City") and is also home to an IBM facility. The city was estimated to have a population of 101,659 according to the Census' 2008 American Community Survey released in 2009, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of Olmsted, Dodge, and Wabasha counties, had an estimated population of 182,924 as of 2009. The city has long been a fixture on Money magazine's "Best Places to Live" index, and was ranked number 67 on the 2006 list but did not make the top 100 in 2009.