Immigration & Citizenship
Plain-English guides to the U.S. immigration process — getting a green card, visas and temporary status, becoming a citizen, sponsoring family, asylum and humanitarian protection, immigration court and removal defense, work permits and DACA, and the inadmissibility bars and waivers that trip people up. Immigration law and policy change often, so always confirm the current rule with USCIS, the immigration court (EOIR), or a qualified immigration attorney.
Browse by situation
50 guides on green cards, visas, citizenship, family, asylum, removal defense, work permits, and waivers across 8 topics.
Green Cards & Permanent Residence
How to get and keep a green card: the paths to permanent residence, adjustment of status vs.
7 guides →Visas & Temporary Status
Coming to the U.
7 guides →Citizenship & Naturalization
Becoming a U.
6 guides →Family Immigration
Sponsoring relatives: family-based petitions and priority dates, marriage-based green cards and the interview, the affidavit of support, and bringing parents, children, and siblings.
6 guides →Asylum & Humanitarian Relief
Protection for those in danger: how asylum works, the one-year deadline, credible fear at the border, withholding and CAT, TPS, U and T visas, VAWA, and SIJS.
7 guides →Deportation & Removal Defense
Facing immigration court: what happens in removal proceedings, the Notice to Appear, immigration bond, cancellation of removal, voluntary departure, and appeals.
7 guides →Work Authorization & DACA
The right to work: getting an employment authorization document (EAD), DACA and how to renew it, advance parole and travel, and I-9 employment verification.
4 guides →Inadmissibility, Waivers & Denials
The bars that block a case and how they are overcome: grounds of inadmissibility, the 3- and 10-year unlawful-presence bars, I-601/I-601A waivers, public charge, criminal bars, and responding to an RFE or denial.
6 guides →Latest immigration guides
- Cancellation of Removal Explained
How cancellation of removal works for green card holders and non-LPRs facing deportation, the hardship standard, annual cap, and deadlines.
- Consular Processing Explained
How consular processing works: NVC, DS-260, the medical exam and interview abroad, and how it differs from adjustment of status.
- Adjustment of Status Explained (Form I-485)
How adjustment of status (Form I-485) works: eligibility, the filing package, work/travel permission while pending, and the interview.
- How Criminal Convictions Affect Immigration
A criminal charge can make a non-citizen inadmissible or deportable. Learn the key crimmigration categories and why counsel matters.
- How to Get a Green Card: The Main Paths to Permanent Residence
The four main roads to a U.S. green card - family, employment, humanitarian, and the diversity lottery - plus registry, explained in plain terms.
- Waivers of Inadmissibility (I-601 and I-601A)
How the I-601 and I-601A waivers forgive certain inadmissibility bars, the extreme-hardship standard, and how I-601A cuts time apart from family.