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.
Zapata is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Zapata County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,856 at the 2000 census. As an unincorporated community, Zapata has no municipal government but like all 254 Texas counties has four elected county commissioners chosen by single-member districts and a countywide elected administrative judge. Zapata was named for Colonel Jose Antonio de Zapata, the revolutionary commander who served in the cavalry of the Republic of the Rio Grande, of which the town was a part. Zapata is served by the Zapata County Airport (T86). U.S. Highway 83, running north and south, is the main thoroughfare of Zapata. It intersects Texas State Highway 16, an east-west link, in Zapata.