| A
Acquired
Citizenship -- Citizenship conferred at birth on
children born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent(s).
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
or other 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. Adversely
Affected -- See No
preference
Category.
Agricultural Workers
-- 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 between
January 1, 1962 and January 1, 1976 if the alien was
fathered by a U.S. citizen. Spouses, children, and parents
or guardians may accompany the alien.
Apprehension
-- The arrest of a deportable 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 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 may 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.
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B
Beneficiaries
-- Those aliens who receive immigration benefits
from petitions filed with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service. Beneficiaries generally derive privilege or
status as a result of their relationship (including
that of employer-employee) to a U.S. citizen or lawful
permanent resident.
Border
Crosser -- An alien or citizen resident of the United
States reentering the country after an absence of less
than six months in Canada or Mexico, o r 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,
o r a U.S. citizen residing in Canada or Mexico
who enters the United States frequently for business
or pleasure, or an individual entering the U.S.
on any flight originating in Canada or Mexico.
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.
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C
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).
Child
-- An unmarried person under 21 years of age who
is: a legitimate child; a stepchild provided that the
child was under 18 years of age at the time that
the marriage creating the stepchild status occurred;
a legitimated child provided that the child was legitimate
while in the legal custody of the legitimating parent;
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.
Conditional
Immigrant -- See Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments
of 1986.
Country
--
Birth:
The country in which a person is born.
Chargeability:
See Foreign State of Chargeability.
Citizenship:
The country in which a person is born (and has not rescinded
citizenship) or naturalized; the country to which that
person owes allegiance and is entitled to its protection.
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. For nonimmigrant
data, citizenship refers to an alien’s reported country
of citizenship.
Crewman
-- A foreign national serving in any capacity on
board a vessel or aircraft. Crewmen are admitted for
twenty-nine days, with no extensions. Crewmen required
to depart on the same vessel on which they arrived are
classified as D-1s. Crewmen who depart on a vessel different
than the one on which they arrived are classified as
D-2s. Although these aliens are nonimmigrants, crewmen
are not included in nonimmigrant admission data.
Crewman
Technical (or Nonwillful) Violator -- Any crewman
who through no fault of his or her own remains in the
United States more than 29 days (e.g., a crewman
hospitalized beyond the 29-day admission period).
Cuban/Haitian
Entrant -- Status accorded 1) Cubans who entered
the United States illegally between April 15, 1980 and
October 10, 1980 and 2) Haitians who entered the country
illegally 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.
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D
Deferred
Enforced Departure -- See Extended Voluntary Departure.
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.
Dependent
-- Spouse, unmarried dependent child under 21 years
of age, unmarried dependent child under 25 years of
age who is in full-time attendance at a postsecondary
educational institution, or unmarried child who is physically
or mentally disabled.
Deportable
Alien -- An alien in the United States subject to
any of the 5 grounds of deportation specified in the
Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any alien
illegally in the United States, regardless of whether
the alien entered the country illegally or entered legally
but subsequently violated the terms of his or her visa.
Deportation
-- The formal removal of an alien from the United
States when the presence of that alien is deemed inconsistent
with the public welfare. Deportation is ordered by an
immigration judge without any punishment being imposed
or contemplated. Data for a fiscal year cover the deportations
verified during that fiscal year.
Derivative
Citizenship -- Citizenship conveyed to children
through the naturalization of parents or, under certain
circumstances, to spouses of citizens at or during marriage
or to foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizen
parents, provided certain conditions are met.
District
-- Any one of thirty-three 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, or Mexico City. Operations are supervised
by a district director located at a district office
within the district’s geographic boundaries.
Diversity
Transition -- A transition towards the permanent
diversity program in fiscal year 1995, allocating 40,000
visas annually during the period 1992-94 to nationals
of certain countries identified as having been "adversely
affected" by the Immigration and Nationality Act
Amendments of 1965 (P.L. 89-236). At least 40 percent
of the visas were reserved for natives of Ireland.
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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 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
-- The formal denial of an alien’s entry into the
United States. The exclusion of the alien is made by
an immigration judge after an exclusion hearing. Data
for a fiscal year cover the exclusions verified during
that fiscal year.
Exempt
from the Numerical Cap -- Those aliens accorded
lawful permanent residence who are exempt from the provisions
of the flexible numerical cap of 675,000 set by the
Immigration Act of 1990. Exempt categories include immediated
relatives of U.S. citizens, refugees, asylees, Amerasians,
adjustments under the legalization provisions of the
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and certain
parolees from the former Soviet Union and Indochina.
Extended
Voluntary Departure (EVD) -- A special temporary
provision granted administratively to designated national
groups physically present in the United States because
the U.S. State Department judged conditions in the countries
of origin to be "unstable" or "uncertain"
or to have shown a pattern of "denial of rights."
Aliens in EVD status are temporarily allowed to remain
in the United States until conditions in their home
country change. Certain aliens holding EVD status from
Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Poland, and Uganda, who have
resided in the United States since July 1, 1984, were
eligible to adjust to temporary and then to permanent
resident status under the legalization program. The
Immigration Act of 1990 established Temporary Protective
Status as the mechanism for "blanket" suspensions
of deportation. In certain instances an administrative
decision has been made to place aliens in deferred enforced
departure (DED) rather than Temporary Protective Status.
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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.
Files
Control Office -- An Immigration and Naturali-zation
Service field office—either a district (including INS
overseas offices) or a suboffice 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
Medical School Graduate -- An immigrant who has
graduated from a medical school or has qualified to
practice medicine in a foreign state, who was licensed
and practicing medicine on January 9, 1978, and who
entered the United States as a nonimmigrant on a temporary
worker or exchange visitor visa before January 10, 1978.
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 an independent country in a fiscal year.
Dependencies of independent countries cannot exceed
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 4 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.
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G
General
Naturalization Provisions -- The basic requirements
for naturalization that every applicant must meet, unless
a member of a special class. General provisions require
an applicant to be at least 18 years of age, a lawful
permanent resident with five years of continuous residence
in the United States, and to have been physically present
in the country for half that period.
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. In fiscal year
1987, an unallocated reserve was incorporated into the
admission ceilings.
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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 of 290,000. This limit was lowered
to 280,000 for fiscal year 1980, and to 270,000 for
fiscal years 1981-91.
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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) of citizens,
parents of citizens 21 years of age or older, and orphans
adopted by citizens who are at least 21 years of age.
Immigrant
— An alien admitted to the United States as a lawful
permanent resident. Immigrants are those persons lawfully
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 total immigration to the
United States under an overall flexible cap, 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
and Nationality Act -- The Act, which along with
other immigration laws, treaties, and conventions of
the United States, relates to the immigration, temporary
admission, naturalization, or removal of aliens.
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 is terminated
and they 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, legalization of certain agricultural
workers, sanctions for employers who knowingly hire
undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S.
borders.
Industrial
Trainee -- See Temporary Worker.
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 all above aliens’ spouses and unmarried
minor (or dependent) children.
Intracompany
Transferee -- An alien, employed 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.
IRCA
-- See Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
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L
Labor
Certification -- Requirement falling on certain
persons whose immigration to the United States is based
on job skills or nonimmigrant temporary workers coming
to perform services unavailable in the United States.
Labor certification is awarded by the Secretary of Labor
when there are insufficient numbers of U.S. workers
available to undertake the employment sought by an applicant
and when the alien’s employment will not have an adverse
effect 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.
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M
Median
Age -- The age which divides the population into
two equal-sized groups, one younger and one older than
the median.
Medical
and Legal Parolee -- See Parolee.
Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSAs) -- The general concept
of an MSA is one of a large population nucleus together
with adjacent communities which have a high degree of
social and economic integration with that nucleus. Tabulations
in the Statistical Yearbook include Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSAs), Primary Metropolitan Statistical
Areas (PMSAs), and New England County Metropolitan Areas
(NECMAs). MSAs and PSAs are defined by the Office of
Management and Budget. PMSAs are components of larger
metropolitan complexes called Consolidated Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (CMSAs), which are not displayed in
the Yearbook.
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N
National
-- A person owing permanent allegiance to a state.
Nationality
-- The country of a person’s citizenship. For nonimmigrant
data, citizenship refers to the alien’s reported country
of citizenship.
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.
Naturalization
Court -- Any court authorized to award U.S.
citizenship. Jurisdiction for naturalization has been
conferred upon the following courts: U.S. District Courts
of all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico; the District Courts of Guam and the Virgin Islands;
and state courts. Generally, naturalization courts are
authorized to award citizenship only to those persons
who reside within their territorial jurisdiction.
Naturalization
Petition -- The form used by a lawful permanent
resident to apply for U.S. citizenship. The petition
is filed with a naturalization court through the
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
New
Arrival -- A lawful permanent resident alien who
enters the United States at a port of entry. The alien
is generally required to present an immigrant visa issued
outside the United States by a consular officer of the
Department of State. Three classes of immigrants, however,
need not have an immigrant visa to enter the United
States—children born abroad to lawful permanent resident
aliens, children born subsequent to the issuance of
an immigrant visa to accompanying parents, and American
Indians born in Canada.
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 non-immigrant classifications are: 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, and NATO officials.
Most nonimmigrants can be accompanied or joined by spouses
and unmarried minor (or dependent) children. Although
refugees, parolees, withdrawals, and stowaways are processed
as nonimmigrants upon arrival to the United States,
these classes, as well as crewmen, are not included
in nonimmigrant admission data. See other sections of
Glossary for detailed descriptions of classes of nonimmigrant
admission.
Nonpreference
Category -- Nonpreference visas were available
to qualified applicants not entitled to one under the
other 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.
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 Appendix 1, Act of December 8, 1993,
for specific provisions.
Nursing
Relief Act of 1989 -- Public Law 101-238
(Act of 12/18/89), provides for the adjustment to permanentresident
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. It also
provides for a 5-year pilot program for admission of
nonimmigrant nurses under the H-1A category.
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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
or 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
-- For immigration purposes, a child whose
parents have died or disappeared, or who has been abandoned
or otherwise separated from both parents. An orphan
may also be a child whose sole surviving parent is incapable
of providing that child with proper care and who has,
in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration
and adoption. In order to qualify as an immediate relative,
the orphan must be under the age of sixteen at the time
a petition is filed on his or her behalf. To enter
the United States, an orphan must have been adopted
abroad by a U.S. citizen or be coming to the United
States for adoption by a citizen.
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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 children; 2) certain former employees of the U.S.
government in the Panama Canal Zone, 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. They are not, however, subject
to the worldwide limitation.
Parolee
-- A parolee is an alien, appearing to be inadmissible
to the inspecting officer, allowed to enter the United
States under 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 admission
status only, requiring parolees to leave when the conditions
supporting their parole cease to exist. Although these
aliens are processed as nonimmigrants upon arrival,
parolees are not included in nonimmigrant admission
data. Types of parolees include: 1) Deferred inspection
— Parole may be granted to an alien who appears not
to be clearly admissible to the inspecting officer.
An appointment will be made for the alien’s appearance
at another Service office where more information is
available and the inspection can be completed. 2) Advance
parole — authorized at an INS District office in advance
of alien’s arrival. 3) Port of entry parole — authorized
at the port upon alien’s arrival. 4) Humanitarian parole
— authorized at INS headquarters, e.g., granted to an
alien who has a serious medical condition which would
make detention or immediate return inappropriate. 5)
Public interest parole — authorized at INS headquarters,
e.g., granted to an alien who is a witness in legal
proceedings or is subject to prosecution in the United
States. 6) Overseas parole — authorized at an
INS District or suboffice while the alien is still overseas.
Per-Country
Limit -- The maximum number of family-sponsored
and employment-based preference visas that can be issued
to 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 an
independent country in a fiscal year; dependencies of
independent countries cannot exceed 2 percent. 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 -- See Immigrant.
Port
of Entry -- Any location in the United
States or its territories which 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.
Preinspection
-- 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
are 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: unmarried sons and daughters
(over 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens (20 percent);
spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of aliens lawfully
admitted for permanent residence (26 percent); members
of the professions or persons of exceptional ability
in the sciences and arts (10 percent); married sons
and daughters of U.S. citizens (10 percent); brothers
and sisters of U.S. citizens over 21 years of age (24
percent); and 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). The number of visas
issued annually may vary; they are described in Appendix
2.
Principal
Alien -- The alien from whom another alien
derives a privilege or status under immigration law
or regulations (usually spouses and minor children).
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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 may be based on the
alien’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion. People
with no nationality must be outside their country of
last habitual residence to qualify as a refugee. Refugees
are exempt from numerical limitation (though worldwide
ceilings by geographic area are set annually by the
President) and are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent
residence after one year of continuous presence in the
United States. Although these aliens are considered
nonimmigrants when initially admitted to the United
States, refugees are not included in nonimmigrant admission
data.
Refugee
Approvals -- The number of refugees approved
for admission to the United States during a fiscal year.
Refugee approvals are made by Immigration and Naturalization
Service officers in overseas offices.
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 annual figure is determined
by the President 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.
Region
-- Any one of three areas of the United States
into which the Immigration and Naturalization Service
divides jurisdiction for operational purposes—Eastern
Region, Central Region, and Western Region.
Registry
Date -- Aliens who have continuously resided
in the United States in an unlawful status since January
1, 1972 are eligible to adjust to legal permanent resident
status under the registry provision. Before the date
was amended by the Immigration Reform and Control Act
of 1986, aliens had to have been in the country continuously
since June 30, 1948 to qualify.
Required
Departure -- The directed departure of an alien
from the United States without an order of deportation.
The departure may be voluntary or involuntary on the
part of the alien, and may or may not have been preceded
by a hearing before an immigration judge. Data for a
fiscal year cover the required departures verified in
that fiscal year.
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S
Special
Agricultural Workers (SAW) -- Aliens who performed
labor in perishable agricultural commodities for a specified
period of time and were admitted for temporary and then
permanent residence under a provision of the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986. Up to 350,000 aliens
who worked at least 90 days in each of the 3 years preceding
May 1, 1986 were eligible for Group I temporary resident
status. Eligible aliens who qualified under this requirement
but applied after the 350,000 limit was met and aliens
who performed labor in perishable agricultural commodities
for at least 90 days during the year ending May 1, 1986
were eligible for Group II temporary resident status.
Adjustment to permanent resident status is essentially
automatic for both groups; however, aliens in Group
I were eligible on December 1, 1989 and those in Group
II were eligible one year later on December 1, 1990.
Special
Immigrants -- Certain categories of immigrants
who were exempt from numerical limitation before fiscal
year 1992 and subject to limitation under the employment-based
fourth preference beginning in 1992: persons who lost
citizenship by marriage; persons who lost citizenship
by serving in foreign armed forces; ministers of religion,
their spouses and children; certain employees and former
employees of the U.S. Government abroad, their spouses
and children; Panama Canal Act immigrants; certain foreign
medical school graduates, their spouses and children;
certain retired employees of international organizations,
their spouses and children; juvenile court dependents;
certain aliens serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, their
spouses and children; and religious workers, their spouses
and children.
Special
Naturalization Provisions -- Provisions covering
special classes of persons who may be naturalized even
though they do not meet all the general requirements
for naturalization. Such special provisions allow:
1) wives or husbands of U.S. citizens to be naturalized
in three years instead of the prescribed five years;
2) a surviving spouse of a U.S. citizen who served in
the armed forces to file in any naturalization court
instead of where he/she resides; 3) children of U.S.
citizen parents to be naturalized without meeting the
literacy or civics requirements or taking the oath,
if too young to understand the meaning. Other classes
of persons who may qualify for special consideration
are former U.S. citizens, servicemen, seamen, and employees
of organizations promoting U.S. interests abroad.
Stateless
-- Having no nationality.
Stowaway
-- An alien coming to the United States surreptitiously
on an airplane or vessel without legal status of admission.
Such an alien is subject to denial of formal admission
and return to the point of embarkation by the transportation
carrier.
Student
-- As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming
temporarily to the United States to pursue a full course
of study in an approved program in either an academic
(college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic
high school, elementary school, other institution, or
language training program) or a vocational or other
recognized nonacademic institution.
Subject
to the Numerical Cap -- Categories of legal
immigrants subject to annual limits under the provisions
of the flexible numerical cap of 675,000 set by the
Immigration Act of 1990. The largest categories
are: family-sponsored preferences; employment-based
preferences; and diversity immigrants. See Appendix
2 for a discussion of the limits.
Suspension
of Deportation -- A discretionary benefit adjusting
an alien’s status from that of deportable alien to one
lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Application
for suspension of deportation is made during the course
of a deportation hearing before an immigration judge.
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T
Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) -- Establishes a legislative
base to the administrative practice of allowing a group
of persons temporary refuge in the United States.
Under a provision of the Immigration Act of 1990, the
Attorney General may designate nationals of a foreign
state to be eligible for TPS with a finding that conditions
in that country pose a danger to personal safety due
to ongoing armed conflict or an environmental disaster.
Grants of TPS are initially made for periods of 6 to
18 months and may be extended depending on the situation.
The legislation designated El Salvador as the first
country to qualify for this program. Deportation proceedings
are suspended against aliens while they are in Temporary
Protected Status.
Temporary
Resident -- See Nonimmigrant.
Temporary
Worker -- An alien worker coming to the United
States to work for a temporary period of time. The Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986, the Immigration Nursing
Relief Act of 1989, and the Immigration Act of 1990
revised existing classes and created new classes of
nonimmigrant admission. Nonimmigrant worker classes
of admission are as follows: 1) H-1A—registered nurses;
2) H-1B—workers with “specialty occupations” admitted
on the basis of professional education, skills, and/or
equivalent experience; 3) H-2A—temporary agricultural
workers coming to the United States to perform agricultural
services or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature
when services are unavailable in the United States;
4) H-2B—temporary non-agricultural workers coming to
the United States to perform temporary services or labor
if unemployed persons capable of performing the service
or labor cannot be found in the United States 5) H-3—aliens
coming temporarily to the United States as trainees,
other than to receive graduate medical education or
training; 6) O-1, O-2, O-3—temporary workers with extra-ordinary
ability or achievement in the sciences, arts, education,
business, or athletics; those entering solely for the
purpose of accompanying and assisting such workers;
and their spouses and children; 7) P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4—athletes
and entertainers at an internationally recognized level
of performance; artists and entertainers under a reciprocal
exchange program; artists and entertainers under a program
that is “culturally unique;” and their spouses and children;
8) Q—participants in international cultural exchange
programs; 9) R-1, R-2—temporary workers to perform work
in religious occupations and their spouses and children.
Temporary visitors in the Exchange Visitor, Intracompany
Transferee, and U.S.-Canada or North American Free-Trade
Agreement classes of nonimmigrant admission also are
granted authorization to work temporarily in the United
States. See other sections of this Glossary for definitions
of these classes.
Transit
Alien -- An alien in immediate and continuous
transit through the United States, with or without a
visa, including, 1) aliens who qualify as persons entitled
to pass in transit to and from the United Nations Headquarters
District and foreign countries and 2) foreign government
officials and their spouses and unmarried minor (or
dependent) children in transit. Transition Quarter —
The three-month period—July 1 through September 30,
1976—between fiscal year 1976 and fiscal year 1977.
At that time, the fiscal year definition shifted from
July 1-June 30 to October 1- September 30.
Transit
Without Visa (TWOV) -- A transit alien traveling
without a nonimmigrant visa under section 238 of the
immigration law. An alien admitted under agreements
with a transportation line, which guarantees his immediate
and continuous passage to a foreign destination. (See
Transit Alien.)
Treaty
Trader or Investor -- As a nonimmigrant class
of admission, an alien coming temporarily to the United
States, under the provisions of a treaty of commerce
and navigation between the United States and the foreign
state of such alien, to carry on substantial trade or
to direct the operations of an enterprise in which he
has invested a substantial amount of capital, and the
alien’s spouse and unmarried minor (or dependent) children.
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U
Underrepresented
Countries, Natives of --The Immigration Amendments
of 1988, Public Law 101-658 (Act of 11/5/88) allows
for 10,000 visas to be issued to natives of underrepresented
countries in each of fiscal years 1990 and 1991. Under-represented
countries are defined as countries which received less
than 25 percent of the maximum allowed under the country
limitations (20,000 for independent countries and 5,000
for dependencies) in fiscal year 1988.
United
States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement -- Public
Law 100-449 (Act of 9/28/88) established a special,
reciprocal trading relationship between the United States
and Canada. It provided two new classes of nonimmigrant
admission for temporary visitors to the United States—Canadian
citizen business persons and
their spouses and unmarried minor children. Entry is
facilitated for visitors seeking classification as visitors
for business, treaty traders or investors, intracompany
transferees, or other business people engaging in activities
at a professional level. Such visitors are not required
to obtain nonimmigrant visas, prior petitions, labor
certifications, or prior approval but must satisfy the
inspecting officer they are seeking entry to engage
in activities at a professional level and that they
are so qualified. The United States-Canada Free-Trade
Agreement was superseded by the North American Free-Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) as of 1/1/94. (See North American
Free-Trade Agreement.)
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V
Visa
Waiver Pilot Program -- Allows citizens of
certain selected countries, traveling temporarily to
the United States under the nonimmigrant admission classes
of visitors for pleasure and visitors for business,
to enter the United States without obtaining nonimmigrant
visas. Admission is for no more than 90 days.
The program was instituted by the Immigration Reform
and Control Act of 1986 (entries began 7/1/88) and extended
through fiscal year 1997 by subsequent legislation.
Currently, there are 25 countries participating in this
program. Under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program,
certain visitors from designated countries may visit
Guam for up to 15 days without first having to obtain
a nonimmigrant visitor visa. Currently, there are 16
countries participating in this program.
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W
Withdrawal
-- An alien’s voluntary removal of an application
for admission to the United States in lieu of an exclusion
hearing before an immigration judge. Although these
aliens are technically considered nonimmigrants when
applying for entry, withdrawals are not included in
the nonimmigrant admission data. Worldwide Ceiling
— The numerical limit imposed on immigration visa issuance
worldwide beginning in fiscal year 1979 and ending in
fiscal year 1991. The ceiling in 1991 was 270,000 visa
numbers. Prior to enactment of Public Law 96-212 on
March 17, 1980, the worldwide ceiling was 290,000.
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