California Immigration

California immigration has the same basis as all 50 states because immigration laws are federal. Only the federal government has jurisdiction over the entry and exit of American citizens and foreign nationals. This issue has been settled since the United States Supreme Court declared in 1875 that regulation of U.S. immigration was the responsibility of the U.S. government.

California geography does, however, have some distinctions that are not shared with the other 49 states. It has 840 miles of Pacific coastline, which provides several important ports of entry for people and goods from around the world. It also shares a border with Mexico, a source of both legal and illegal migration that heavily influences the politics and social infrastructure of the state.

California Immigration Attorneys

California immigration law is a prime specialty among attorneys who live and practice in the state. Migration from Asian countries and Central and South America provides a constant influx of visitors and applicants for permanent residence and naturalization. The federal immigration bureaucracies are infamous for bogging down applications in lengthy waits, and attorneys certainly have special knowledge about how to facilitate the process.

California has a dynamic relationship with the Pacific Rim countries, which include those that lie on the western edge of Central and South America, north to Canada and Japan, and south to Australia and New Zealand. California immigration has traditionally been based on concentrations of people from this vast area, and this continues to be true today. Its schools and cities reflect the incredible diversity of its residents, who have often been drawn to the Golden State for its proximity to their homelands.