Olsen Law Firm - Glossary

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Glossary
Adjustment of Status: The process of obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident status in the United States. Applicants may only file for adjustment of status if they are inside the United States, a visa is immediately available, and they are not barred from doing so due to an immigration violation, entry without inspection, criminal conduct, or other reasons.
Admission: The process of allowing someone to physically and legally be permitted to be in the United States. Admission is part of the inspection process.
Affidavit of Support: An affidavit given by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who resides in the United States and who will provide financial support to an alien who is seeking to enter the United States or adjust status.
A-File: The basic file created for many aliens, containing the alien’s Alien Registration Number.
Asylum: A discretionary benefit accorded to certain persons inside the United States who are able to demonstrate that they are unable or unwilling to return to their country on account of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Beneficiary: Alien on whose behalf a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or employer have filed a petition for such alien to receive immigration benefits from the USCIS.
Certificate of Citizenship: An identity document proving U.S. citizenship. Certificates of citizenship are issued to derivative citizens and to persons who acquired U.S. citizenship.
Certificate of Citizenship: An identity document proving U.S. citizenship. Certificates of citizenship are issued to derivative citizens and to persons who acquired U.S. citizenship.
Civil Surgeon: A medically trained, licensed, and experienced doctor practicing in the United States who is certified by USCIS. These medical professionals receive U.S. immigration-focused training in order to provide examinations as required by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and USCIS.

Conditional (Permanent) Resident: A status conferred on an alien spouse or child at the time of obtaining lawful permanent resident status, such status having been obtained on the basis of a marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse entered into less than two years prior to obtaining such status.
Consular Processing: The process of applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consular post outside the United States for prospective immigrants who are not in the United States or who are ineligible to adjust status in the United States.
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.
Dual Nationality: The simultaneous possession of two citizenships. It results from the fact that there is no uniform rule of international law relating to the acquisition of nationality. Dual nationality can occur by birth in one country to citizens of another country, by marriage to a foreign national, and by foreign naturalization.
Employer Sanctions: Civil and criminal penalties imposed on employers and individuals who, subsequent to November 6, 1986, hire or refer for a fee aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States.
Employment Authorization Document (EAD): A USCIS document, Form I-688B, evidencing the right of certain aliens to accept employment while in the United States.
Fiancé(e) of U.S. Citizen: A nonimmigrant alien coming to the United States to conclude a valid marriage with a U.S. citizen within 90 days after entry.
Green Card: An expression that refers to the document carried by a Lawful Permanent Resident, which provides proof of his or her status. The document is officially referred to as an “I-551” (Alien Registration Receipt Card or Permanent Resident Card).
Immediate Relatives: 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.
Inspection: The process that all persons must go through when they arrive at the border. A person is questioned and asked to present proof of his or her right to enter the country. At the end of the process of inspection, a person is either admitted, removed, or paroled into the country.
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.
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR): A person accorded the benefit of being able to reside in the United States on a permanent basis.
National of the United States: A U.S. citizen or a person who, though not a U.S. citizen, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. The only noncitizen nationals of the United States are residents of American Samoa and Swains Island.
Nonimmigrant: A person who can establish that he or she has a residence abroad that he or she has no intention of abandoning, who is coming to the United States for a temporary period, and who fits into specifically defined categories under INA §101(a)(15).
Notice to Appear (NTA): A document issued by DHS to commence removal proceedings.

PERM: A system, effective March 28, 2005, for filing labor certifications. PERM (for Program Electronic Review Management System) uses automated computer systems to scan attestation forms filed by employers regarding their compliance with all regulatory requirements.
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: The date on which a person submitted documentation establishing prima facie eligibility for an immigrant visa.
Re-entry Permit: A travel document issued to a permanent resident proceeding abroad temporarily.
Refugee: A person outside of the United States who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Removal: A proceeding to enforce departure of inadmissible persons seeking admission to the United States or persons who have been admitted but are removable.
Service Centers: Offices established to handle the filing, data entry, and adjudication of certain applications for immigration services and benefits.
SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System): An Internet-based software application to track and monitor nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors and their dependents.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): A status allowing residence and employment authorization to nationals of foreign states for a period of not less than six months or no more than 18 months, when such states have been appropriately designated by the government because of extraordinary and temporary political or physical conditions in such state(s).
Unlawful Presence: Presence in the United States after the expiration of the authorized period of stay, or presence in the United States without having been admitted or paroled.
Visa: An official endorsement, obtained from a U.S. consul (abroad), certifying that the bearer has been examined and is permitted to proceed for purposes of seeking admission to the United States at a designated port of entry.
Voluntary Departure: A procedure granting permission for a removable alien to leave the United States voluntarily.
Withdrawal: An arriving alien’s voluntary retraction of an application for admission to the United States in lieu of a removal hearing before an immigration judge or an expedited removal.
Withholding of Removal: A remedy available to persons able to establish that their lives or freedom would be threatened if deported to their home country on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.