Welcome to LawShelf’s video-course in the basics of immigration law. This course is a survey of immigration law, from illegal entrants to legal nonimmigrant entrants to lawful permanent residents to naturalized citizens.

This is an introductory level course and no prior knowledge of law or immigration is required.

The course starts with an explanation of the structure of US immigration law and the continuing economic and social forces that affect it. We’ll also cover the roles of the branches of government and discuss why immigration law is almost exclusively in the federal sphere. We’ll also go over the various federal statutes that govern immigration law.

Module 2 looks at nonimmigrant entry into the United States. We’ll look at the visa waiver program and then at the many visa classes available. We’ll also look trusted traveler programs that make entry easier, such as Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST.

Module turns to “lawful permanent residents,” otherwise known as “green card” holders. We’ll discuss the eligibility criteria and the process to obtain this coveted status. We’ll also look at how refugees and asylum seekers can earn green cards.

Module 4 turns to the ultimate step an immigrant can achieve: US citizenship by naturalization. We’ll look at the benefits of citizenship and the pathways to citizenship. We’ll go through the step-by-step naturalization process in detail and look at the standards by which the USCIS evaluates citizenship applications.

Finally, we’ll focus on immigration law in the scheme of international laws. We’ll look at treaties and other international laws and the problem of refugees and how international law and American law deals with them. We’ll also take a look at recent trends in immigration law in the US and global systems.

We are confident that this course will give you a solid background in immigration law and will be an excellent first step in learning this complex but important and relevant area of law.

Best of luck and we welcome your feedback.