N
NACARA - Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central
American Relief Act.
National - A person owing permanent
allegiance to a country.
NATO Official - As a nonimmigrant class of
admission, an alien coming temporarily to the United States as a member of the
armed forces or as a civilian employed by the armed forces on assignment with a
foreign government signatory to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and
the alien’s spouse and unmarried minor (or dependent) children.
Naturalization - The conferring, by any means, of
citizenship upon a person after birth.
See Naturalization
Naturalization
Application - The
form used by a lawful permanent resident to apply for U.S. citizenship. The
application is filed with the Immigration and Naturalization Service at the
Service Center with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence.
Nonimmigrant - An alien who seeks temporary
entry to the United States for a specific purpose. The alien must have a permanent
residence abroad (for most classes of admission) and qualify for the
nonimmigrant classification sought. The nonimmigrant classifications include:
foreign government officials, visitors for business and for pleasure, aliens in
transit through the United States, treaty traders and investors, students,
international representatives, temporary workers and trainees, representatives
of foreign information media, exchange visitors, fiance(e)s of U.S. citizens,
intracompany transferees, NATO officials, religious workers, and some others.
Most nonimmigrants can be accompanied or joined by spouses and unmarried minor
(or dependent) children.
Nonpreference Category - Nonpreference visas were
available to qualified applicants not entitled to a visa under the preferences
until the category was eliminated by the Immigration Act of 1990. Nonpreference
visas for persons not entitled to the other preferences had not been available
since September 1978 because of high demand in the preference categories. An
additional 5,000 nonpreference visas were available in each of fiscal years
1987 and 1988 under a provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986. This program was extended into 1989, 1990, and 1991 with 15,000 visas
issued each year. Aliens born in countries from which immigration was adversely
affected by the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (Public Law
89-236) were eligible for the special nonpreference visas.
North American
Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Public Law 103-182 (Act of 12/8/93), superseded the
United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement as of 1/1/94. It continues the
special, reciprocal trading relationship between the United States and Canada
(see United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement), and establishes a similar relationship
with Mexico.
See NAFTA.
Numerical Limit, Exempt
from - Those aliens
accorded lawful permanent residence who are exempt from the provisions of the
flexible numerical limit of 675,000 set by the Immigration Act of 1990. Exempt
categories include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, refugees, asylees
(limited to 10,000 per year by section 209(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act), Amerasians, aliens adjusted under the legalization provisions
of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and certain parolees from
the former Soviet Union and Indochina.
Nursing Relief Act of
1989 - Public Law
101-238 (Act of 12/18/89), provides for the adjustment to permanent resident
status of certain nonimmigrants who as of September 1, 1989, had H-1
nonimmigrant status as registered nurses; who had been employed in that
capacity for at least 3 years; and whose continued nursing employment meets
certain labor certification requirements.
O
Occupation - For an alien entering the United
States or adjusting without a labor certification, occupation refers to the
employment held in the country of last legal residence or in the United States.
For an alien with a labor certification, occupation is the employment for which
certification has been issued.
Orphan - A child may be considered an
orphan because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by,
or separation or loss from, both parents. The child of an unwed mother or
surviving parent may be considered an orphan if that parent is unable to care
for the child properly and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for
emigration and adoption. The child of an unwed mother may be considered an
orphan, as long as the mother does not marry (which would result in the
child’s having a stepfather) and as long as the child’s biological father has
not legitimated the child. If the father legitimates the child or the mother
marries, the mother is no longer considered a sole parent. The child of a
surviving parent may also be an orphan if the surviving parent has not married
since the death of the other parent (which would result in the child’s having a
stepfather or stepmother).
Note: Prospective adoptive
parents should be sure that a child fits the definition of ‘orphan’ before
adopting a child from another country, because not all children adopted abroad
meet the definition of ‘orphan’, and therefore may not be eligible to immigrate
to the United States.
Out of Wedlock (born out
of wedlock) - A child
born of parents who were not legally married to each other at that time.
Note: Adoptive and
prospective adoptive parents of a child who was born out of wedlock in any
country should find out whether or not the child has been legitimated.
P
Panama Canal Act
Immigrants - Three
categories of special immigrants established by Public Law 96-70 (Act of
9/27/79): 1) certain former employees of the Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone
Government, their spouses and accompanying children; 2) certain former employees
of the U.S. Government in the Panama Canal Zone who are Panamanian nationals,
their spouses and children; and 3) certain former employees of the Panama Canal
Company or Canal Zone Government on April 1, 1979, their spouses and children.
The Act provides for admission of a maximum of 15,000 immigrants, at a rate of
no more than 5,000 each year.
Parolee - A parolee is an alien, appearing
to be inadmissible to the inspecting officer, allowed into the United States
for urgent humanitarian reasons or when that alien’s entry is determined to be
for significant public benefit. Parole does not constitute a formal admission
to the United States and confers temporary status only, requiring parolees to
leave when the conditions supporting their parole cease to exist. Types of
parolees include:
1) Deferred inspection: authorized at the port upon alien’s
arrival; may be conferred by an immigration inspector when aliens appear at a
port of entry with documentation, but after preliminary examination, some
question remains about their admissibility which can best be answered at their
point of destination.
2) Advance parole: authorized at an INS District
office in advance of alien’s arrival; may be issued to aliens residing in the
United States in other than lawful permanent resident status who have an
unexpected need to travel and return, and whose conditions of stay do not
otherwise allow for readmission to the United States if they depart.
3) Port-of-entry parole: authorized at the port upon alien’s
arrival; applies to a wide variety of situations and is used at the discretion
of the supervisory immigration inspector, usually to allow short periods of
entry. Examples include allowing aliens who could not be issued the necessary
documentation within the required time period, or who were otherwise
inadmissible, to attend a funeral and permitting the entry of emergency
workers, such as fire fighters, to assist with an emergency.
4) Humanitarian parole: authorized at INS headquarters or
overseas District Offices for "urgent humanitarian reasons" specified
in the law. It is used in cases of medical emergency and comparable situations.
5) Significant Public
Benefit Parole:
authorized at INS headquarters Office of International Affairs for
"significant public benefit" specified in the law. It is generally
used for aliens who enter to take part in legal proceedings when there is a
benefit to the government. These requests must be submitted by a law
enforcement agency.
6) Overseas parole: authorized at an INS District or
suboffice while the alien is still overseas; designed to constitute long-term
admission to the United States. In recent years, most of the aliens the INS has
processed through overseas parole have arrived under special legislation or
international migration agreements.
Per-Country Limit - The maximum number of
family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas that can be issued to
citizens of any country in a fiscal year. The limits are calculated each fiscal
year depending on the total number of family-sponsored and employment-based
visas available. No more than 7 percent of the visas may be issued to natives
of any one independent country in a fiscal year; no more than 2 percent may
issued to any one dependency of any independent country. The per-country limit does
not indicate, however, that a country is entitled to the maximum number of
visas each year, just that it cannot receive more than that number. Because of
the combined workings of the preference system and per-country limits, most
countries do not reach this level of visa issuance.
Permanent Resident Alien - 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.
Port of Entry - Any location in the United States
or its territories that is designated as a point of entry for aliens and U.S.
citizens. All district and files control offices are also considered ports,
since they become locations of entry for aliens adjusting to immigrant status.
Pre-inspection - Complete immigration inspection
of airport passengers before departure from a foreign country. No further
immigration inspection is required upon arrival in the United States other than
submission of INS Form I-94 for nonimmigrant aliens.
Preference System (prior
to fiscal year 1992)
- The six categories among which 270,000 immigrant visa numbers were distributed
each year during the period 1981-91. This preference system was amended by the
Immigration Act of 1990, effective fiscal year 1992. (see Preference System -
Immigration Act of 1990). The six categories were: 1) unmarried sons and
daughters (over 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens (20 percent); 2) spouses and
unmarried sons and daughters of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent
residence (26 percent); 3) members of the professions or persons of exceptional
ability in the sciences and arts (10 percent); 4) married sons and daughters of
U.S. citizens (10 percent); 5) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens over 21
years of age (24 percent); and 6) needed skilled or unskilled workers (10
percent). A nonpreference category, historically open to immigrants not
entitled to a visa number under one of the six preferences just listed, had no
numbers available beginning in September 1978.
Preference System
(Immigration Act of 1990) - The nine categories since fiscal year 1992 among which the
family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant preference visas are
distributed. The family-sponsored preferences are: 1) unmarried sons and
daughters of U.S. citizens; 2) spouses, children, and unmarried sons and
daughters of permanent resident aliens; 3) married sons and daughters of U.S.
citizens; 4) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. The employment-based
preferences are: 1) priority workers (persons of extraordinary ability,
outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives
and managers); 2) professionals with advanced degrees or aliens with
exceptional ability; 3) skilled workers, professionals (without advanced
degrees), and needed unskilled workers; 4) special immigrants; and 5)
employment creation immigrants (investors).
See Family
Based Immigration and Employment Based immigration
Principal Alien - The alien who applies for
immigrant status and from whom another alien may derive lawful status under
immigration law or regulations (usually spouses and minor unmarried children).
Priority Date - In the INS Immigrant visa
petition application process, the priority date is the date the petition was
filed. If the alien relative has a priority date on or before the date listed
in the visa bulletin, then he or she is currently eligible for a visa.
R
Refugee - Any person who is outside his or
her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to 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. People with no
nationality must generally be outside their country of last habitual residence
to qualify as a refugee. Refugees are subject to ceilings by geographic area
set annually by the President in consultation with Congress and are eligible to
adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one year of continuous
presence in the United States.
Refugee Approvals - The number of refugees approved
for admission to the United States during a fiscal year. Immigration and
Naturalization Service officers in overseas offices make refugee approvals.
Refugee Arrivals - The number of refugees the
Immigration and Naturalization Service initially admits to the United States
through ports of entry during a fiscal year.
Refugee Authorized
Admissions - The
maximum number of refugees allowed to enter the United States in a given fiscal
year. As set forth in the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-212) the President
determines the annual figure after consultations with Congress.
Refugee-Parolee - A qualified applicant for
conditional entry, between February 1970 and April 1980, whose application for
admission to the United States could not be approved because of inadequate
numbers of seventh preference visas. As a result, the applicant was paroled
into the United States under the parole authority granted the Attorney General.
Regional Offices - The three INS Regional Offices
that supervise the work of INS Districts and Border Patrol Sectors. The
Regional Directors report to the Executive Associate Commissioner for Field Operations
in INS Headquarters, Washington, DC. The three Regional Offices are located in
(Eastern Region) Burlington, VT, (Central Region) Dallas, TX, and (Western
Region) Laguna Nigel, CA.
Registry Date - Aliens who have continuously
resided in the United States since January 1, 1972, are of good moral
character, and are not inadmissible, are eligible to adjust to legal permanent
resident status under the registry provision. Before the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 amended the date, aliens had to have been in the country
continuously since June 30, 1948, to qualify.
Removal - The expulsion of an alien from
the United States. This expulsion may be based on grounds of inadmissibility or
deportability.
Required Departure – Same as Voluntary Departure. The
departure of an alien from the United States without an order of removal. The
departure may or may not have been preceded by a hearing before an immigration
judge. An alien allowed to voluntarily depart concedes removability but does
not have a bar to seeking admission at a port-of-entry at any time. Failure to
depart within the time granted results in a fine and a ten-year bar to several
forms of relief from deportation.
Resettlement - Permanent relocation of refugees
in a place, outside their country of origin, so as to allow them to establish
residence and become productive members of society there. Refugee resettlement
is accomplished with the direct assistance of private voluntary agencies
working with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee
Resettlement.