Permanent residence (United States) in the context of "Citizens of the United States"

Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails citizens with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States, such as freedom of expression, due process, the rights to vote, live and work in the United States, and to receive federal assistance.

There are two primary sources of citizenship: birthright citizenship, in which persons born within the territorial limits of the United States (except American Samoa) are presumed to be a citizen, or—providing certain other requirements are met—born abroad to a United States citizen parent, and naturalization, a process in which an eligible legal immigrant applies for citizenship and is accepted. The first of these two pathways to citizenship is specified in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution which reads:

Priority date is a United States immigration concept – it is the date when a principal applicant first reveals his or her intent of immigration to the US government. For family-sponsored applicants, the priority date is the date an immigration petition, filed on behalf of him or her, is received by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For employment-based immigration beneficiaries, the priority date is the date an immigration petition is filed at USCIS, under categories where a labor certification is not required, or when the United States Department of Labor receives a labor certification application, under categories where a labor certification is required. In all cases, the priority dates are not established until USCIS approves the immigration petition. The date establishes one's place in the queue for a family-sponsored or employment-based or permanent residency permit (also known as "green card") application.

The United States Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin which lists cut-off dates for different immigration categories and countries of birth. Only those intending applicants with priority dates before the cut-off date are permitted to file their Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications or attend immigrant visa interviews at consulates. The cut-off dates generally move forward over time as old cases are approved or abandoned. However, in certain cases, such as if a large number of old cases work their way through the system at about the same time, the cut-off dates can actually retrogress (or roll back). If an individual already has a pending AOS application on file when a retrogression occurs that places the cut-off earlier than the applicant's priority date, USCIS sets the application aside and will not adjudicate it until the priority date is current again. As an example, after months of stagnation, in June 2007 the priority date cut-offs for employment-based second and third-preference (EB2 and EB3) applicants (the bulk of employment-based green card applicants) advanced dramatically for all countries of birth. On the low end, the cut-off advanced eight months for immigrants from mainland China for EB2 category. EB3 for India-born applicants has moved forward 25 months, the most of any category, thus impacting a huge number of workers with jobs requiring bachelor's degrees.

The Bulgarian diaspora includes Bulgarians living outside Bulgaria and its surrounding countries, as well as immigrants from Bulgaria abroad.

The number of Bulgarians outside Bulgaria has sharply increased since 1989, following the Revolutions of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe. Over one million Bulgarians have left the country, either permanently or as a temporary workforce, leading to a marked decline in its population. Many took advantage of the US green card lottery system. Also, many Bulgarians immigrated to Canada using the advantage of the Canadian immigration point system for skilled workers. Others went across the European Union. In countries such as Germany and Spain where many Bulgarians work and stay there intermittently, while retaining Bulgaria as their permanent residence. This trend increased following the 2007 enlargement of the European Union, when Bulgaria became a European Union member state.