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.
Roanoke is an independent city located in the Roanoke Metropolitan Area and the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Roanoke is also part of the Roanoke Region of Virginia, and is the largest city in the Roanoke Valley. The city of Roanoke is adjacent to the city of Salem and the town of Vinton and is otherwise surrounded by, but politically separate from, Roanoke County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 94,911. The city is bisected by the Roanoke River. Roanoke is the commercial and cultural hub of much of the surrounding area of Virginia and southern West Virginia. The United States Census Bureau includes in Roanoke's metropolitan area the counties of Botetourt, Franklin, Craig, and Roanoke, and the cities of Salem and Roanoke. The metropolitan area's population in the past four censuses has been reported to be: 1970: 199,629 1980: 220,393 1990: 224,477 2000: 235,932 2005 (estimate): 292,983 2008 (estimate): 298,694 Figures through 2000 do not include Franklin County (50,345 est. 2005 population) and Craig County (5,154 est. 2005 population). The Census Bureau has since added them to the Roanoke MSA, which is the fourth largest in Virginia, and the largest in the western half of the state. Its current rank is 201 among all 363 MSAs. The Roanoke, VA MSA population changed from 288,471 in 2000 to 298,694 in 2008, a 3.54 percent change. The population is projected to be 324,882 in 2020, a 12.62 percent change between 2000 and 2020.