As mentioned in Module 1, our immigration laws are just like a condominium. In a condo, you've got to lobby, which you can stay in for a little while, but then you have to leave. Then if you want to stay in this condo, you need to live in the first, second, or third floor and the best place is the penthouse. Coming into the US as a non-immigrant is like staying in the lobby of a condo. You can come in for a short-term, like three months. You can come in for a year, you can come in for four years as a student. You can come in for six years to work at a company, or even 10 years. But at some point you've got to leave just like you can't stay in the lobby forever. At some point, you've got to leave. If you want to stay in the country permanently, the main ways to do this is to be sponsored by a family member for a company or an employer to sponsor you. A third way, if you have no family member employer to sponsor you. You can sponsor yourself and ask for help or asylum. Another way is to enter the visa lottery program. If your name is picked, that's another way to get a green card. Finally, and that's how we're going to end this course. The best type of person to be in the United States is to be a citizen. That's analogous to living in the penthouse of a condominium. The other comparison I want to make is just like to come into a room you need a door and a key. To come into the country you need a passport and a visa. A passport is like a door, and a key is what the United States embassy will give you to come in, it's a visa. Again, a passport's like a door, and passports are issued by your country of origin, and a visa is the key that allows you to come into the United States. There are ways to come into the US for a short-term, as we've discussed in the previous module which some of them can be obtained relatively quickly. Some of them you might have to wait a while before getting an interview to get a short-term visa to walk in. Some of the short-term ways to come in are coming in to visit for a month, two months, three months. Another way that you can come in for a short-term is to come in to study in the United States for four years. That's still considered short term. Another way to come in is to work for a religious organization, a monastery, a mosque, a temple. In this module, we'll talk about ways that individuals can enter and stay in the US, permanently. Coming into the US permanently, staying here lawfully, these are all synonyms for the same principle. People can enter the US as lawful permanent residents, as legal permanent residents, as LPRs, as green card holders, as immigrants. You'll hear these words scattered, sprinkled throughout and they're all interchangeable, but they're all the same thing. Again, a lawful permanent resident, a legal permanent resident, an LPR, a green card holder. They are all people who follow the process and through that process, they can stay in the United States permanently.
