Immigration is complicated. Our A-Z guide can help you better understand common terms and policies.
Important Terms
A
A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number (A-Number or A#)
A unique seven-, eight- or nine-digit number assigned to a noncitizen by the Department of Homeland Security. Also see USCIS Number
Adjustment of Status
This is the process that you can use to apply for lawful permanent resident status (also known as applying for a Green Card) when you are present in the United States. This means that you may get a Green Card without having to return to your home country to complete visa processing.
Admissibility
Eligibility of an alien to lawfully enter the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer
Admission Number or I-94 Number
An 11-digit number found on Form I-94 or Form I-94A Arrival-Departure Record.
Advance Parole
Advance parole allows you to travel back to the United States without applying for a visa. A transportation company (such as an airline) can accept an advance parole document instead of a visa as proof that you are authorized to travel to the United States. An advance parole document does not replace your passport. In most cases, you must have your advance parole document before you depart the United States.
Affidavit
This is a document in which a person gives facts, and swears that the facts are true and accurate.
Affidavit of Support
An affidavit of support is a legally enforceable contract, and the sponsor’s responsibility usually lasts until the family member or other individual either becomes a U.S. citizen, or is credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years).
Alien
Any person not a citizen or national of the United States as the term “alien” is defined in section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)). This term may include a stateless person and is synonymous with “noncitizen” and “foreign national.”
Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94/I-94A)
The Arrival and Departure Record is the I-94, in either paper or electronic format, issued by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer to foreign visitors entering the United States. As of April 30, 2013, most Arrival and/or Departure records are created electronically upon arrival.
Asylee
An alien in the United States or at a port of entry who is 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 must be based on religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
B
Beneficiary
An alien who is sponsored by a relative or a business, or has self-petitioned for an immigration benefit. A “principal beneficiary” is a alien who is named on an immigrant or nonimmigrant petition or application. A “derivative beneficiary” is an immediate family member of the principal beneficiary who may be eligible to receive the same immigration status as the principal beneficiary based on their family relationship.
Biometrics
The processes used to identify people based on their physical traits, including fingerprints, photograph and signature.
Bond
The amount of money set by the Department of Homeland Security or an immigration judge as a condition to release a person from detention for an immigration court hearing at a later date.
Border crosser
This is:
An non citizen resident of the United States reentering the country after an absence of less than six months in Canada or Mexico; or
A nonresident noncitizen 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.
C
CBP
An abbreviation for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
Continuous residence
The length of time a person has maintained a permanent home in the United States after being admitted as a lawful permanent resident.
D
DACA
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program launched in 2012.
Defensive Asylum Application
This is an asylum application filed with an immigration judge during removal proceedings in immigration court as a defense against removal from the United States. Immigration courts are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Department of Homeland Security
Department of the executive branch of the U.S. government charged with homeland security. This includes:
Preventing terrorism and managing risks to critical infrastructure;
Securing and managing the border;
Enforcing and administering immigration laws;
Safeguarding and securing cyberspace; and
Ensuring resilience to disasters.
Deportation
This is the formal removal of an noncitizen from the United States when they have been found removable for violating the immigration laws. An immigration judge orders deportation without imposing or contemplating any punishment. Before April 1997, deportation and exclusion were separate removal procedures. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 consolidated these procedures. After April 1, 1997, noncitizens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to removal based on deportability. Now called “removal,” this function is managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discrimination
Unfair treatment in the workplace because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), citizenship or immigration status, national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older) or genetic information.
Declaration under penalty of perjury
This is a person’s statement saying the information they have provided is true. For example, a declaration may list the facts and then state, “l declare under penalty of perjury (under the laws of the United States of America) that the foregoing is true and correct.”
Denial
Denial (as compared to reject) – When USCIS notifies applicants or petitioners that the benefit will not be granted, or that they have not shown they are eligible for the benefit they have requested.
Deportable noncitizen
This is a noncitizen who has been admitted into the United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any noncitizen illegally in the United States, regardless of whether they entered the country by fraud or misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of their nonimmigrant classification or status.
DHS
An abbreviation for the Department of Homeland Security.
DOJ
An abbreviation for the U.S. Department of Justice.
E
E-Verify
E-Verify is a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify electronically compares information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against government records, including the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Employee
A person who provides services or labor for an employer for wages or other remuneration (does not include an independent contractor or those engaged in casual domestic employment).
Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal statute that:
Says people generally have a right to request access to federal agency records; and
Establishes a presumption that records from agencies and departments of the Executive Branch of the U. S. government are accessible to the people, except when the records are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.
G
Green Card
Also known as a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, or alien registration card. USCIS issues Green Cards to aliens as evidence of their lawful permanent resident status in the United States. For Form I-9, it is acceptable as proof of identity and employment authorization. Although some Green Cards do not have an expiration date, most are valid for 10 years. Cards issued to individuals with conditional permanent resident status are valid for two years.
H
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery where traffickers lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life.
Humanitarian Parole
Individuals who are outside of the United States may be able to request parole into the United States based on humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons.
I
ICE
An abbreviation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
Inadmissibility
Not being allowed to lawfully enter the United States or obtain a visa abroad based on acts or conduct that is listed as an inadmissibility ground in section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Inadmissible
This is an noncitizen seeking admission at a port of entry who does not meet the criteria in the INA for admission. The noncitizen may be placed in removal proceedings or, under certain circumstances, allowed to withdraw their application for admission.
J
Jurisdiction
The government’s authority to govern or enforce laws or to enforce them in a certain area or over certain people.
L
Lawful Permanent Resident
Any person not a citizen of the United States who is living in the U.S. under legally recognized and lawfully recorded permanent residence as an immigrant. Also known as “permanent resident alien,” “resident alien permit holder,” and “Green Card holder.”
M
Maiden name
A woman’s last name or family name at birth, before she married.
Mailing Address
The address where you would like to receive written correspondence from USCIS.
Migrant
A person who leaves their country of origin to seek residence in another country.
N
Naturalization
The manner in which a person not born in the United States voluntarily becomes a U.S. citizen.
Noncitizen
A person without U.S. citizenship or nationality (may include a stateless person). This term is synonymous with “foreign national” and with “alien” as defined in section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)).
P
Parolee
This is an individual who is paroled into the United States.
Physical Address
The address where you physically reside.
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 offices and service centers are also considered ports, because they become locations of entry for aliens adjusting to immigrant status.
Pro Bono Program
This is a list of local organizations that provide free legal services, and is usually available at each local USCIS office.
Processing Times
These are an estimate of how long it will take to process your case from start to finish. Each case is different, so some cases may take longer than others to process. You can find our average processing times on our website. If you use your receipt number to check your case status, please remember that we will only research your case if it is beyond our current processing times.
R
Receipt Number
The receipt number is a unique 13-character identifier that USCIS provides for each application or petition it receives. The agency uses it to identify and track its cases.
The receipt number consists of three letters-for example, EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC or IOE-and 10 numbers. You can find it on notices of action USCIS has sent you.
Refugee
Generally, any person 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 based on the person’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. For a legal definition of refugee, see section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Removal
The expulsion of an alien from the United States. This expulsion may be based on grounds of inadmissibility or deportability.
Request for Evidence (RFE)
We may send you a request for additional evidence if:
You did not submit all the required evidence;
The evidence you submitted is no longer valid; or
The officer needs more information to determine your eligibility.
S
Sponsor
In the immigration field, the term “sponsor” often means to bring to the United States or “petition for.
W
Withdrawal
This is an arriving noncitizen’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.
