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.
Staunton -tən is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,853 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Augusta County. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Staunton (along with nearby Waynesboro) with Augusta county for statistical purposes. It is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, and the home of Mary Baldwin College, a women's college featuring a number of unique programs, including the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership and Program for the Exceptionally Gifted. The city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private preparatory school for girls, as well as the older of two campuses for the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. (The newer campus is in Hampton. ) Staunton is the larger of the two principal cities of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan statistical area, which covers Augusta County and the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. The micropolitan area had a combined population of 108,988 at the 2000 census.