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.
Rockbridge is an unincorporated community in northern Ozark County, Missouri. It is the site of an old mill on spring fed Spring Creek a tributary of Bryant Creek, which still houses the post office. It is twelve miles north of Gainesville off Route 95. The town was founded in the 19th century by pioneer families from Marion County, Kentucky, led by Captain Kim Amyx. The community was burned down during the American Civil War and rebuilt after the war. Rockbridge was once the county seat of a greater Ozark County, which encompassed today's Douglas, Howell, and Ozark Counties. The community is now owned by the Rainbow Trout & Game Ranch and Rockbridge Gun Club, founded in 1954, and includes a trout fish hatchery. This community is in a karst region, with caves, springs, and natural stone bridges nearby. Just to the north along the Bryant Creek floodplain in Douglas County is Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery.