G
General Naturalization
Provisions - The
basic requirements for naturalization that every applicant must meet, unless he/she
is a member of a special class. General provisions require an applicant to be
at least 18 years of age and a lawful permanent resident with five years of
continuous residence in the United States, have been physically present in the
country for half that period, and establish good moral character for at least that
period.
See Citizenship
Geographic Area of
Chargeability - Any
one of five regions--Africa, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near
East and South Asia, and the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe--into which
the world is divided for the initial admission of refugees to the United
States. Annual consultations between the Executive Branch and the Congress
determine the ceiling on the number of refugees who can be admitted to the
United States from each area. Beginning in fiscal year 1987, an unallocated reserve
was incorporated into the admission ceilings.
H
Hemispheric
Ceilings - Statutory limits on immigration to the United States in
effect from 1968 to October 1978. Mandated by the Immigration and Nationality
Act Amendments of 1965, the ceiling on immigration from the Eastern Hemisphere
was set at 170,000, with a per-country limit of 20,000. Immigration from the
Western Hemisphere was held to 120,000, without a per-country limit until
January 1, 1977. The Western Hemisphere was then made subject to a 20,000 per
country limit. Effective October 1978, the separate hemisphere limits were
abolished in favor of a worldwide limit.
I
Immediate
Relatives - Certain immigrants who because of their close
relationship to U.S. citizens are exempt from the numerical limitations imposed
on immigration to the United States. Immediate relatives are: spouses of
citizens, children (under 21 years of age and unmarried) of citizens, and
parents of citizens 21 years of age or older.
Immigrant - an alien admitted to the United
States as a lawful permanent resident. Permanent residents are also commonly
referred to as immigrants; however, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
broadly defines an immigrant as any alien in the United States, except one
legally admitted under specific nonimmigrant categories (INA section
101(a)(15)). An illegal alien who entered the United States without inspection,
for example, would be strictly defined as an immigrant under the INA but is not
a permanent resident alien. Lawful permanent residents are legally accorded the
privilege of residing permanently in the United States. They may be issued
immigrant visas by the Department of State overseas or adjusted to permanent
resident status by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the United
States.
Immigration
Act of 1990 - Public Law 101-649 (Act of November 29, 1990), which
increased the limits on legal immigration to the United States, revised all grounds
for exclusion and deportation, authorized temporary protected status to aliens
of designated countries, revised and established new nonimmigrant admission
categories, revised and extended the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, and revised
naturalization authority and requirements.
Immigration
Judge - An attorney appointed by the Attorney General to act as
an administrative judge within the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
They are qualified to conduct specified classes of proceedings, including removal
proceedings.
INA - See
Immigration and Nationality Act.
Immigration
and Nationality Act - The Act (INA), which, along with other immigration
laws, treaties, and conventions of the United States, relates to the
immigration, temporary admission, naturalization, and removal of aliens.
Immigration
and Nationality Service (INS) – A Federal agency within the U.S.
Department of Justice that administers the nation’s immigration laws.
Immigration
Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 - Public Law 99-639 (Act of
11/10/86), which was passed in order to deter immigration-related marriage
fraud. Its major provision stipulates that aliens deriving their immigrant
status based on a marriage of less than two years are conditional immigrants.
To remove their conditional status the immigrants must apply at an Immigration
and Naturalization Service office during the 90-day period before their
second-year anniversary of receiving conditional status. If the aliens cannot
show that the marriage through which the status was obtained was and is a valid
one, their conditional immigrant status may be terminated and they may become
deportable.
Immigration
Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 - Public Law 99-603 (Act of
11/6/86), which was passed in order to control and deter illegal immigration to
the United States. Its major provisions stipulate legalization of undocumented
aliens who had been continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of
certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who knowingly hire
undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S. borders.
Inadmissible - An alien
seeking admission at a port of entry who does not meet the criteria in the INA
for admission. The alien may be placed in removal proceedings or, under certain
circumstances, be allowed to withdraw his or her application for admission.
Industrial
Trainee - See Temporary Worker.
INS – See Immigration
and Nationality Service.
International
Representative - As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien
coming temporarily to the United States as a principal or other accredited
representative of a foreign government (whether officially recognized or not
recognized by the United States) to an international organization, an
international organization officer or employee, and above all aliens’ spouses
and unmarried minor (or dependent) children.
Intracompany
Transferee - An alien, employed for at least one continuous year out
of the last three by an international firm or corporation, who seeks to enter
the United States temporarily in order to continue to work for the same
employer, or a subsidiary or affiliate, in a capacity that is primarily managerial,
executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the alien’s spouse and minor
unmarried children.
See
L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visas
IRCA - See
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
L
Labor
Certification - Requirement for U.S. employers seeking to employ certain
persons whose immigration to the United States is based on job skills or
nonimmigrant temporary workers coming to perform services for which qualified
authorized workers are unavailable in the United States. Labor certification is
issued by the Secretary of Labor and contains attestations by U.S. employers as
to the numbers of U.S. workers available to undertake the employment sought by
an applicant, and the effect of the alien’s employment on the wages and working
conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. Determination of labor
availability in the United States is made at the time of a visa application and
at the location where the applicant wishes to work.
Legalization
Dependents - A maximum of 55,000 visas were issued to spouses and
children of aliens legalized under the provisions of the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 in each of fiscal years 1992-94.
Legalized
Aliens - Certain illegal aliens who were eligible to apply for
temporary resident status under the legalization provision of the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986. To be eligible, aliens must have continuously
resided in the United States in an unlawful status since January 1, 1982, not
be excludable, and have entered the United States either 1) illegally before
January 1, 1982, or 2) as temporary visitors before January 1, 1982, with their
authorized stay expiring before that date or with the Government’s knowledge of
their unlawful status before that date. Legalization consists of two stages -- temporary
and then permanent residency. In order to adjust to permanent status aliens
must have had continuous residence in the United States, be admissible as an
immigrant, and demonstrate at least a minimal understanding and knowledge of
the English language and U.S. history and government.
Legitimated - Most
countries have legal procedures for natural fathers of children born out of wedlock
to acknowledge their children. A legitimated child from any country has two
legal parents and cannot qualify as an orphan unless:
1. only one of the
parents is living, or
2. both of the
parents have abandoned the child
M
Medical
and Legal Parolee - See Parolee.
Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSAs) – MSAs consist of a core area with a large population
and adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration
with the core. They are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). MSAs are generally counties (cities and towns in New England) containing
at least one city or urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 and a
total metropolitan population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). MSAs
of one million or more population may be recognized as Consolidated
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs). Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(PSMAs) are component areas within MSAs. New England County Metropolitan Areas
(NECMAs) are the county based metropolitan alternative of the New England
states for the city and town based MSAs and CMSAs.
Migrant - A person
who leaves his/her country of origin to seek residence in another country.