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This is the Attorney For You Legal Dictionary. Please click on
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Glossary Results:
Accompanying Relative - An immediate family member of someone who immigrates to the United States. In most cases, a person who is eligible to receive some type of visa or green card can also obtain green cards or similar visas for accompanying relatives. Accompanying relatives include spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.
Alien Registration Receipt Card (ARC) - The official name used in immigration law for a green card.
Asylum - A legal status granted to an individual who is in the United States and fears political persecution if he or she is forced to return to their home country.
Border Patrol - The historical term for what is now called the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection ("BCBP"), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. The primary functions of the BCBP/border patrol are to guard the borders from illegal entrants and to meet and question immigrants and visitors arriving at airports and other border stops.
Green Card - The well-known term for an Alien Registration Receipt Card. This plastic photo identification card is given to individuals who are legal permanent residents of the United States. It serves as a U.S. entry document in place of a visa, enabling permanent residents to return to the United States after temporary absences. The key characteristic of a green card is that it allows the holder to live permanently in the United States. Unless you abandon your residence or violate certain criminal or immigration laws, your green card can never be taken away. Possession of a green card also allows you to work in the United States legally. Those who hold green cards for a certain length of time may eventually apply for U.S. citizenship. Green cards have an expiration date of ten years from issuance. This does not mean that your permanent resident status expires. You must simply apply for a new card.
I-94 Card - A small green or white card given to all nonimmigrants when they enter the United States. The I-94 card serves as evidence that a nonimmigrant has entered the country legally. It is stamped with a date indicating how long the nonimmigrant may stay for that particular trip. It is this date--and not the expiration date of the visa--that controls how long a nonimmigrant can remain in the United States. A new I-94 card with a new date is issued each time the nonimmigrant legally enters the United States. Canadian visitors are not normally issued I-94 cards.
Immigrants - Persons who come into a foreign country or region to live.
Immigration - The entry of foreign persons into a country to live permanently.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) - Formerly, the federal agency in the Department of Justice that administered and enforced immigration and naturalization laws. In 2003, however, the INS officially ceased to exist, and its functions were taken over by various branches of the Department of Homeland Security, as follows:
The new Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) handles immigration benefits, such as applications for asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship.
The new Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) handles enforcement of the immigration laws within the U.S. borders.
The new Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) handles U.S. border enforcement (including the land borders, airports, and seaports).
Immigration Visa - A type of U.S. visa issued to those who qualify for green cards. An immigrant visa enables the holder to enter the United States, take up permanent residence and receive his or her green card.
Labor Certification - A required procedure for many foreign nationals who have a job offer from a U.S. employer. In many cases, a job offer alone is not enough to qualify a potential immigrant for a green card. First, the employer must prove that there are no qualified U.S. workers available and willing to take the job. To do so, the employer must turn to the U.S. Department of Labor for a labor certification.
natural person - A human being, not a legal entity, afforded certain rights under the United States Constitution.
Naturalization - Process by which a person acquires nationality after birth and becomes entitled to privileges of citizenship.
Naturalization - The process by which a foreign person becomes a U.S. citizen. Almost everyone who goes through naturalization must first have held a green card for several years. A naturalized U.S. citizen has virtually the same rights as a native-born American citizen.
nonimmigrant - People who come to the United States temporarily for some particular purpose but do not remain permanently. There are many types of nonimmigrants. Students, temporary workers and visitors are some of the most common.
Nonimmigrant Visa - A U.S. visa that allows an individual to come to the United States temporarily and for a limited purpose. Each nonimmigrant visa comes with a different set of privileges, such as the right to work or study. In addition to a descriptive name, a letter of the alphabet and a number identifies each type of nonimmigrant visa. Student visas, for example, are F-1 or M-1 and investors are E-2. Nonimmigrant visas also vary according to how long they permit you to stay in the United States. For example, on an investor visa, you can remain for many years, but on a visitor's visa, you can stay for only six months at a time.
Permanent Resident - A non-U.S. citizen who has been given permission to make his or her permanent home in the United States. If you acquire permanent residence, you will be issued a green card to prove it. The terms permanent resident and "green card holder" mean exactly the same thing. You cannot be a permanent resident without a green card and you cannot have a green card without being a permanent resident. As a permanent resident, you may travel as much as you like, but your place of residence must be the United States and you must keep that residence on a permanent basis. If you leave the United States and stay away for more than a year, you risk losing your green card.
Petition (Immigration) - The first formal request for a green card or a specific nonimmigrant (temporary) visa. In many cases, the petition must be filed by someone sponsoring the immigrant, such as a family member or employer. That's because the purpose of most visa petitions is to show documents -- such as birth certificates or job offers -- that demonstrate the immigrant's qualifications for the particular visa or green card. After the petition is approved, the immigrant may submit the actual visa or green card application.
Petitioner (Immigration) - A U.S. resident or business who makes a formal request that a foreign national be allowed to enter the United States. The petitioner must be an immediate relative who is either a U.S. citizen or green card holder or your prospective U.S. employer. No one else may act as your petitioner. Almost all green card categories and some types of nonimmigrant visa categories require you to have a petitioner.
Refugee - In the context of U.S. immigration law, people who have been allowed to live in the United States indefinitely to protect them from persecution in their home countries. Refugees get their status before coming to the U.S., while asylum seekers obtain their status after arrival. Refugees may eventually get green cards.
Removal - A legal proceeding, commonly known as "deportation," that is conducted before a special immigration judge to decide whether or not an immigrant will be allowed to enter or remain in the country. While, generally speaking, a person who is already in the U.S. cannot be expelled without first going through a removal hearing, someone arriving at the border or a port of entry can be forced to leave without a hearing or ever seeing a judge. Those who are deported are barred from returning to the United States for at least five years unless the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) grants a special waiver.
United States Court of Customs & Patent Appeals - Court which hears appeals from all U.S. customs courts.
United States Court of International Trade - Court which hears cases concerning federal tariff laws.
Visa - An official endorsement on a document or passport denoting that the bearer may proceed.
Visa Waiver Program - A program that allows nationals from certain countries to come to the United States without a visa as tourists for 90 days. Persons coming to the United States under this program receive green-colored I-94 cards. They are not permitted to extend their stay or change their statuses.
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