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Ellis Island

Ellis Island as an Immigration Port

Lawful Permanent Resident Rights And Responsibilities

An alien whose status has been adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident (LPR) has certain rights and responsibilities under United States law as long as LPR status is not abandoned. Likewise, conditional residents, who have been granted status for two-year periods, receive the same rights and subject to the same responsibilities as LPRs.

Immigrants - Special Immigrants - Other

Most of the benefits conferred on special immigrants to the United States are offered to aliens with a particular status or to aliens who have a special relationship with, including service to, the U.S. However, a few categories of special immigrants do not fall into these classifications, such as children, international broadcasting employees, and victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Canadian Border - NEXUS Program

The border that the United States shares with Canada is generally not subject to the same debate and concern over policies and illegal immigration as is the Mexican border. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is charged with handling border issues on the American side and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is charged with handling border issues on the Canadian side. Together with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, these agencies have created the bi-national "NEXUS" program in order to simplify border crossings for certain low-risk travelers.

Immigrating and Gaining Citizenship Through Adoption

The Immigration and Naturalization Act provides that being a "child" of a U.S. citizen confers an exemption on the standard worldwide numerical limitations on immigration. Foreign children adopted by U.S. parents may qualify as "children" for purposes of the Act. The first step is that the adoptive parents request that the Immigration and Naturalization Service admit the child as a permanent legal resident.