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.
Mathias is an unincorporated community along the Lost River in Hardy County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Mathias lies off West Virginia Route 259. Before the consolidated school of East Hardy High School at Baker, Mathias had its own educational facility, Mathias School, which served grades Kindergarten through twelfth. Mathias has one bank (Summit Community Bank), two restaurants, a post office, one community center, car wash, laundromat, one gas station, a strip club (Paradise City), as well as Lost River State Park. It was founded by John Mathias. At one point it was also home to a mechanic's shop, which exploded due to a gas pipe failure. The explosion was a result of the failure a one-inch rural field tap, which forced gas to migrate to the neighboring building, the Mathias Garage. The resulting explosion injured 5 individuals as noted in CASE NO. 07- 15 8 1 -GT-PC, as reviewed by the WV Public Services Commission. The wreckage and debris are still there, along SR 259 across the historic Mathias Home and Community Center Property. Those in search of Prickly Pear Cactus will find them along the shale cliff located across SR 259 from the debris pile.