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.
Patterson is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeast part of the county. Interstate 84 passes through the southwest part of the town. The population was 11,306 at the 2000 census. The town is named after early farmer Matthew Paterson. The reason Patterson was spelled with two "t"s was due to the looseness in which Paterson spelled his own last name. Watchtower Educational Center, a religious school and office complex operated by Jehovah's Witnesses’ Watchtower Society, conspicuously adjoins Route 22 in the southeastern part of town. The facility draws thousands of domestic and international visitors each year to its free guided tours and by-invitation educational programs.