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.
Pearland is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is in the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris. As of the census of 2000, the city's population was 37,640. As of 2008, Pearland is estimated to have a population of 90,700 according to city limit signs. . The estimate for the 2010 census has the population in excess of 121,000 residents The city's name is pronounced "pear" land (like the fruit), not "peer-land" or "pearl-land". In 2007, Forbes Magazine ranked Pearland as the 34 fastest growing suburb in the nation. It is therefore the fastest growing suburb in the Greater Houston area, and the 10 fastest growing in the state of Texas.