Which Non-Citizens May Live in the U.S. Legally?
There are many different types of legal immigration statuses. These include lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, parolees, holders of Temporary Protected Status, visitors, students and others. Some people have statuses that allow them to live in the U.S. permanently (e.g. lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees) while non-immigrants have statuses that allow them to be in the U.S. temporarily (e.g. visitors, students, temporary workers). How Do People Gain Permanent Legal Status? U.S. immigration laws are complex. About 1,000,000 people legally immigrate to the U.S. annually. Due to strict immigration categories, permanent legal status is not available to the majority of the world’s population. The process to gain a permanent legal status generally happens in two steps: • Step One: A person must fit into an existing immigration category. If a person does not fit into one of the existing categories, then that person may not enter or remain in the U.S. under its laws. T
