Becoming a United States citizen can be completely life changing for an immigrant. While most individuals obtain lawful permanent residency through naturalization after having an employment-based or family-based green card for five years, there are other manners in which an individual can be granted citizenship.
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4 million undocumented immigrants have children that are U.S. citizens
Recently, we detailed the plight of a father that was deported to Mexico and consequently fighting to maintain his parental rights and move his children to Mexico. While it does appear that this father will be successful in his pursuits -- after much work and assistance -- this situation is not unique, unfortunately. According to one report, around 25 percent of deported immigrants have children that are U.S. citizens.
Lawsuit against ICE granted permission to proceed
Immigrants that are detained are not always deported. A non-citizen is typically detained when they are stopped at a worksite or in traffic, and charged with a crime. An individual can be deported because they are undocumented, overstayed their visa or abandoned their green card. However, there are avenues that detained individuals can pursue with the assistance of an immigration attorney in hopes of remaining in the United States. Further, if those avenues do not prove initially successful, an appeal can be filed.
Deported father to be reunited with 3 sons after long battle
Last week we blogged on the plight of a father desperately fighting to maintain his parental rights after he was deported to Mexico in 2010 for being repeatedly ticketed in North Carolina. When the father was deported, his three sons were split up and placed in the care of two foster families because the mother was deemed an unfit parent.
