A
Acquired Citizenship - Citizenship conferred at birth on children born abroad to a U.S.
citizen parent(s).
Adoption – An ‘Adopted Child’ is defined in
section 101(b)(1)(E)
of the Act as ‘a child adopted while under the age of sixteen years who has
been in the legal custody of, and has resided with, the adopting parent or
parents for at least two years: Provided, that no natural parent of any such
adopted child shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any
right, privilege, or status under this chapter.’
Public
Law 106-139, signed by the President on December 7, 1999, amended section
101(b)(1)(E) of the Act to add that a child who is a natural sibling of an
adopted child described above, and who was adopted by the adoptive parent or
parents of the sibling while the child was under the age of eighteen, is also a
‘child’ as defined by the Act. The child must otherwise fall under the
definition of a child under paragraph (E) except that the child was adopted
while under the age of eighteen.
See
Adoption
Adjustment to Immigrant Status - Procedure allowing certain aliens already in the United
States to apply for immigrant status. Aliens admitted to the United States in a
nonimmigrant, refugee, or parolee category may have their status changed to
that of lawful permanent resident if they are eligible to receive an immigrant
visa and one is immediately available. In such cases, the alien is counted as
an immigrant as of the date of adjustment, even though the alien may have been
in the United States for an extended period of time. Beginning in October 1994,
section 245(i) of the INA allowed illegal residents who were eligible for
immigrant status to remain in the United States and adjust to permanent
resident status by applying at an INS office and paying an additional penalty
fee. Section 245(i) is no longer available unless the alien is the beneficiary
of a petition under section 204 of the Act or of an application for a labor
certification under section 212(a)(5)(A), filed before January 15, 1998. Prior
to October 1994, most illegal residents were required to leave the United
States and acquire a visa abroad from the Department of State as they are again
now.
Agricultural Worker - As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming temporarily to
the United States to perform agricultural labor or services, as defined by the
Secretary of Labor.
Alien - Any
person not a citizen or national of the United States.
Amerasian Act
- Public Law 97-359 (Act of 10/22/82) provides for the immigration to the
United States of certain Amerasian children. In order to qualify for benefits
under this law, an alien must have been born in Cambodia, Korea, Laos,
Thailand, or Vietnam after December 31, 1950, and before October 22, 1982, and
have been fathered by a U.S. citizen.
Amerasian (Vietnam) - Immigrant visas are issued to Amerasians under Public Law 100-202
(Act of 12/22/87), which provides for the admission of aliens born in Vietnam
after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, if the alien was fathered by
a U.S. citizen. Spouses, children, and parents or guardians may accompany the
alien.
Application Support Centers - INS Offices fingerprint applicants for immigration
benefits. Some INS applications, such as the Application for Naturalization or
the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, require the
INS to conduct a FBI fingerprint background check on the applicant. Most
applicants that require a background check will be scheduled to appear at a
specific Application Support Center (ASC) or Designated Law Enforcement Agency
(DLEA) for fingerprinting.
Apprehension
- The arrest of a removable alien by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service. Each apprehension of the same alien in a fiscal year is counted
separately.
Asylee - An
alien in the United States or at a port of entry who is found to be unable or
unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality, or to seek the
protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of
persecution. Persecution or the fear thereof must be based on the alien’s race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. For persons with no nationality, the country of nationality is
considered to be the country in which the alien last habitually resided.
Asylees are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one
year of continuous presence in the United States. These immigrants are limited
to 10,000 adjustments per fiscal year.
B
Beneficiaries - Aliens on whose behalf a U.S.
citizen, legal permanent resident, or employer have filed a petition for such
aliens to receive immigration benefits from the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Beneficiaries generally receive a lawful status as a
result of their relationship to a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or U.S.
employer.
Border Crosser - An alien resident of the United
States re-entering the country after an absence of less than six months in
Canada or Mexico, or a nonresident alien entering the United States across the
Canadian border for stays of no more than six months or across the Mexican
border for stays of no more than 72 hours.
Border Patrol Sector - Any one of 21 geographic areas
into which the United States is divided for the Immigration and Naturalization
Service’s Border Patrol activities.
Business Nonimmigrant - An alien coming temporarily to
the United States to engage in commercial transactions which do not involve
gainful employment in the United States, i.e., engaged in international
commerce on behalf of a foreign firm, not employed in the U.S. labor market,
and receives no salary from U.S. sources.
See Treaty Traders and Investors and Business Visas
C
Cancellation of Removal - A discretionary benefit adjusting
an alien’s status from that of deportable alien to one lawfully admitted for
permanent residence. Application for cancellation of removal is made during the
course of a hearing before an immigration judge.
Certificate of
Citizenship -
Identity document proving U.S. citizenship. Certificates of citizenship are
issued to derivative citizens and to persons who acquired U.S. citizenship (see
definitions for Acquired and Derivative Citizenship).
See Citizenship
Child - Generally, an unmarried person
under 21 years of age who is: a child born in wedlock; a stepchild, provided
that the child was under 18 years of age at the time that the marriage creating
the stepchild relationship occurred; a legitimated child, provided that the
child was legitimated while in the legal custody of the legitimating parent; a
child born out of wedlock, when a benefit is sought on the basis of its
relationship with its mother, or to its father if the father has or had a bona
fide relationship with the child; a child adopted while under 16 years of age
who has resided since adoption in the legal custody of the adopting parents for
at least 2 years; or an orphan, under 16 years of age, who has been adopted
abroad by a U.S. citizen or has an immediate-relative visa petition submitted
in his/her behalf and is coming to the United States for adoption by a U.S.
citizen.
Country of -
Birth: The country in which a person is
born.
Chargeability: The independent country to which an
immigrant entering under the preference system is accredited for purposes of
numerical limitations.
Citizenship: The country in which a person is
born (and has not renounced or lost citizenship) or naturalized and to which
that person owes allegiance and by which he or she is entitled to be protected.
Former Allegiance: The previous country of citizenship
of a naturalized U.S. citizen or of a person who derived U.S. citizenship.
(Last) Residence: The country in which an alien
habitually resided prior to entering the United States.
Nationality: The country of a person’s
citizenship or country in which the person is deemed a national.
Crewman - A foreign national serving in a
capacity required for normal operations and service on board a vessel or
aircraft. Crewmen are admitted for twenty-nine days, with no extensions. Two
categories of crewmen are defined in the INA: D1, departing from the United
States with the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived or some other vessel or
aircraft; and D2, departing from Guam with the vessel on which he arrived.
Cuban/Haitian Entrant - Status accorded 1) Cubans who
entered illegally or were paroled into the United States between April 15,
1980, and October 10, 1980, and 2) Haitians who entered illegally or were
paroled into the country before January 1, 1981. Cubans and Haitians meeting
these criteria who have continuously resided in the United States since before
January 1, 1982, and who were known to the INS before that date, may adjust to
permanent residence under a provision of the Immigration Control and Reform Act
of 1986.
D
Deferred Inspection - See Parolee.
Departure Under
Safeguards - The
departure of an illegal alien from the United States, which is physically
observed by an Immigration and Naturalization Service official.
Deportable Alien - An alien in and admitted to the
United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration
and Nationality Act. This includes any alien illegally in the United States,
regardless of whether the alien entered the country by fraud or
misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of his
or her nonimmigrant classification or status.
Deportation - The formal removal of an alien
from the United States when the alien has been found removable for violating
the immigration laws. Deportation is ordered by an immigration judge without
any punishment being imposed or contemplated. Prior to April 1997 deportation
and exclusion were separate removal procedures. The Illegal Immigration Reform
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 consolidated these procedures. After
April 1, 1997, aliens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to
removal based on deportability.
Derivative Citizenship - Citizenship conveyed to children
through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, to
foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizen parents, provided certain conditions
are met.
District - Geographic areas into which the
United States and its territories are divided for the Immigration and
Naturalization Service’s field operations or one of three overseas offices
located in Rome, Bangkok, and Mexico City. Each District Office, headed by a
District Director, has a specified service area that may include part of a
state, an entire state, or many states. District Offices are where most INS
field staff are located. District Offices are responsible for providing certain
immigration services and benefits to people resident in their service area, and
for enforcing immigration laws in that jurisdiction. Certain applications are
filed directly with District Offices, many kinds of interviews are conducted at
these Offices, and INS staff is available to answer questions, provide forms,
etc.
Diversity - A category of immigrants
replacing the earlier categories for nationals of under-represented countries
and countries adversely ‘affected’ by the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments
of 1965 (P.L. 89-236). The annual limit on diversity immigration was 40,000
during fiscal years 1992-94, under a transitional diversity program, and 55,000
beginning in fiscal year 1995, under a permanent diversity program.
Docket Control - The INS mechanism for tracking
the case status of potentially removable aliens.
E
Employer Sanctions - The employer sanctions provision
of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits employers from
hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee aliens, known to be unauthorized, to
work in the United States. Violators of the law are subject to a series of
civil fines for violations or criminal penalties when there is a pattern or
practice of violations.
Exchange Visitor - An alien coming temporarily to
the United States as a participant in a program approved by the Secretary of
State for the purpose of teaching, instructing or lecturing, studying,
observing, conducting research, consulting, demonstrating special skills, or
receiving training.
Exclusion - Prior to the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, exclusion was the formal term
for denial of an alien’s entry into the United States. The decision to exclude
an alien was made by an immigration judge after an exclusion hearing. Since
April 1, 1997, the process of adjudicating inadmissibility may take place in
either an expedited removal process or in removal proceedings before an
immigration judge.
Expedited Removal - The Illegal Immigration Reform
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 authorized the INS to quickly remove
certain inadmissible aliens from the United States. The authority covers aliens
who are inadmissible because they have no entry documents or because they have
used counterfeit, altered, or otherwise fraudulent or improper documents. The
authority covers aliens who arrive in, attempt to enter, or have entered the
United States without having been admitted or paroled by an immigration officer
at a port-of-entry. The INS has the authority to order the removal, and the
alien is not referred to an immigration judge except under certain
circumstances after an alien makes a claim to legal status in the United States
or demonstrates a credible fear of persecution if returned to his or her home
country.
F
Fiance(e)s of U.S.
Citizen - A
nonimmigrant alien coming to the United States to conclude a valid marriage
with a U.S. citizen within ninety days after entry.
See Fiance
Files Control Office - An Immigration and Naturalization
Service field office--either a district (including INS overseas offices) or a
sub-office of that district -- where alien case files are maintained and
controlled.
Fiscal Year - Currently, the twelve-month
period beginning October 1 and ending September 30. Historically, until 1831
and from 1843-49, the twelve-month period ending September 30 of the respective
year; from 1832-42 and 1850-67, ending December 31 of the respective year; from
1868-1976, ending June 30 of the respective year. The transition quarter (TQ)
for 1976 covers the three-month period, July-September 1976.
Foreign Government
Official - As a
nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming temporarily to the United
States who has been accredited by a foreign government to function as an
ambassador, public minister, career diplomatic or consular officer, other
accredited official, or an attendant, servant or personal employee of an
accredited official, and all above aliens’ spouses and unmarried minor (or
dependent) children.
Foreign Information
Media Representative
- As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming temporarily to the
United States as a bona fide representative of foreign press, radio, film, or
other foreign information media and the alien’s spouse and unmarried minor (or
dependent) children.
Foreign
State of Chargeability - The independent country to which an immigrant
entering under the preference system is accredited. No more than 7 percent of
the family-sponsored and employment-based visas may be issued to natives of any
one independent country in a fiscal year. No one dependency of any independent
country may receive more than 2 percent of the family-sponsored and
employment-based visas issued. Since these limits are based on visa issuance
rather than entries into the United States, and immigrant visas are valid for 6
months, there is not total correspondence between these two occurrences.
Chargeability is usually determined by country of birth. Exceptions are made to
prevent the separation of family members when the limitation for the country of
birth has been met.