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.
Little Switzerland is an unincorporated community in McDowell and Mitchell counties of North Carolina, United States. It is located along NC 226A off the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Spruce Pine. At this location, in 1909, on eleven hundred acres surveyed from the top of Grassy Mountain, the "Switzerland Company" was founded by North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Heriot Clarkson, and became one of the few private resorts on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its naming illustrates the gradual change in meaning of the 19th century term little Switzerland from an area of limestone formations to one of mountainous appearance. Famous oboist John Mack used to hold an annual "John Mack Oboe Camp" in the community before his death in 2006.