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.
Balsam is an unincorporated community located in the Scott Creek township of Jackson County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 49. There is one United States Post Office in the town. The Zip Code is 28707. Balsam is located near Balsam Gap, a mountain pass between the Great Balsam Mountains and the Plott Balsams, two of the highest ranges in the Appalachian Mountains. The town and ranges are named after the nicknames of the red spruce and Fraser fir ("he-balsam" and "she-balsam," respectively), which are the dominant tree types at the highest elevations in the Southern Appalachian mountains.