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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
245(i)
- On December 21, 2000, the President signed a bill entitled the LIFE Act into law. A part of the LIFE Act is the amendment of Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The original Section 245(i) was enacted in 1994 allowing aliens who were out of status, entered the U.S. without inspection, or violated the terms of their non-immigrant status to file an adjustment of status if they were beneficiaries of immigration petitions or labor certification applications filed by January 14, 1998. Without the LIFE Act, an alien who missed the 01/14/98 deadline could not adjust his/her status if he or she was out of status, entered the U.S. without inspection, or violated the terms of non-immigrant status. The new LIFE Act amended extended the deadline to April 30, 2001. For details of 245(i), please click http://www.hooyou.com/245i/index.html.
AAU
- AAU stands for Administrative Appeals Unit. AAU presently has jurisdiction concerning USCIS decisions on: a) bond breaches; b) I-140 preference petitions except the denial of the petition is based on the lack of a labor certification; c) Indochinese applications for adjustment of status; d) revoking approved petitions; e) revoking non-immigrant petitions; f) petitions for temporary workers or trainees I-129(h), etc. For more information about AAU decisions, please click http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/admindec3/.
AC21
- AC21 stands for American Competitiveness in the 21 Century Act, enacted in October 2000. AC21 provides, among other things, a portability rule that applies to H-1B nonimmigrant petition as well as employment-based immigrant petitions.First, H-1B portability allows certain current H1B workers to begin work for the new employer upon filing the petition, rather than waiting for approval; Second, it also allows current H-1B workers to extend the H1B status beyond 6 years if the I-140 or I-485 is pending and one started the employment-based immigration petitions a year prior; Third, it allows the USCIS to approve the I-485 for a new employer if job is similar and I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days.For details of AC21 portability, please click http://www.hooyou.com/i140&i485/zbg_memo.htm.
Acquired Citizenship
- Citizenship conferred at birth on children born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent(s).
Adjustment of status
- Procedure allowing certain aliens already in the United States to apply for immigrant status. Aliens admitted to the United States in a nonimmigrant, refugee, or parolee 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. For details on adjustment of status, please click http://www.hooyou.com/i-485/index.html.
Admission
- An alien is allowed into the country in a nonimmigrant or immigrant status following USCIS inspection at a porter of entry. For nonimmigrant status, an I-94 card will be issued to indicate, among other things, the authorized status and the expiration date of authorized status. For aliens whose are admitted, the USCIS inspector will put an entry stamp on his/her passport to indicate his permanent resident status. For details of nonimmigrant status, please click http://www.hooyou.com/nonimmigration/index.html. For details of immigrant status, please click http://www.hooyou.com/nonimmigration/index.html.
Adopted Child
- An adopted child may enjoy immigration benefits based on the adoption if: a) the adoption occurs prior to the child's 16th birthday; b) the adoptive parents had have legal custody of the child for two years (before or after the adoption); and c) the child had resided with the adoptive parent for two years (before or after the adoption).
If the alien child is adopted in the U.S. before the child's 16th birthday, there is no problem to establish the relationship between the adoptive parent(s) and the child. If the adoption is outside the U.S., while full legal papers are available, there should be no problem in establishing the relationship between the adoptive parent(s) and the child. However, an adoption unaccompanied by legal papers, such as a common law adoption, may present a problem in establishing the relationship between the adoptive parent(s) and the child. For more information about immigration of adopted child, please click http://www.hooyou.com/adoption/adoptedchild.html.
Advance parole
- Advance Parole is a document that allows certain aliens to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad without an immigrant visa or non-immigrant visa. Such aliens must be granted Advance Parole before leaving the United States. If they have not obtained Advance Parole prior to traveling abroad, they may not be permitted to re-enter the United States upon their return without obtaining some kind of visa. However, this rule is not strictly enforced sometimes. For details, please click http://www.hooyou.com/advanceparole/index.html.
Advance Processing of Orphan Adoption
- To bring the adopted orphan into the U.S. quickly, the eligible U.S. citizen may apply for advance processing before he actually finds an orphan to adopt. An application for advance processing may be filed by anyone eligible to file an orphan petition. An unmarried U.S. citizen may file an application for advance processing if the U.S. citizen is at least 24 years of age and will be at least 25 when an orphan petition is filed on behalf of an actual child and when the child is adopted. Before the applicant identifies a foreign-born child to adopt, he may file a Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition), which allows the USCIS (formerly called the INS) to first process the application that relates to the applicant's ability to provide a proper home environment and his suitability as a parent. Then, once an orphan is identified, the applicant must file a Form I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) on behalf of the adopted child. For details of orphan adoption and immigration, please click http://www.hooyou.com/adoption/fbo.html
Affidavit of Support
- Also known as I-864 (for immigrant petitions) or I-134(for nonimmigrant petitions), is a CIS form filed to show that an intending immigrant has adequate means of financial support and is not likely to become a public charge. For more information about affidavit of support and public charge, please click http://www.hooyou.com/i-485/publiccharge.html.
Age Out
- "Age Out" arises in a situation referring to a person applies for adjustment of status, consular processing, or naturalization as a "child", and during the processing of the application, the "child" turns the age of 21, and "Ages Out". Under the immigration laws, a child is defined as an unmarried person under the age of 21. In many instances, alien children are eligible for immigration benefits if they are the child of U.S. citizen or permanent resident or the child of a beneficiary to an immigrant petition or the child as a derivative beneficiary of the parent's employment based immigration. In accordance with previous immigration laws, in these situations, children who turn 21 before their applications for adjustment of status or applications for immigration visa are adjudicated are "Aging Out", and they lose their eligibility for a green card which they would have had but for their attainment of the age of 21. However, the "Child Status Protection Act" (CSPA) changes the scenarios of "Age Out" preventing these children applicants from "aging out" under certain circumstances. For more information about "Age Out", please click http://www.hooyou.com/ageout/index.html.
Agricultural Worker
- 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.
Alien of Extraordinary Ability
- Alien of Extraordinary Ability or EB-1A classification applies to aliens who can demonstrate that they "have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor." To establish that he/she is a top member within his/her respective field, evidence of receipt of an internationally recognized award such as the Nobel Prize or Academy Award is accepted. In the absence of an internationally recognized award, one can establish him/herself as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability by providing documentation of any three (3) of the following: a) Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence; b) Membership in associations which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their fields; c) Published material in professional/major trade publications or major media about the alien and relating to the alien's work field; d) Participation as a judge (individually or as a part of a panel) evaluating the work of others; e) Original scientific, scholarly, or artistic contributions of major significance; f) Authorship of scholarly article in professional journals or other major media; g) Artistic exhibitions/shows; h) Leading role within an organization/establishment with a distinguished reputation; I) High salary/compensation for services in comparison to others; j) Commercial success within the performing arts, as shown by either box office receipt figures or cassette, compact disk, video, or DVD sales figures. The alien must also show that the alien's admittance into the United States will substantially benefit the United States in the future. For details of Alien of Extraordinary Ability petition, please click http://www.hooyou.com/eb-1/requirementaea.html.
AILA
- American Immigration Lawyers Association, a professional organization for immigration lawyers in America. Z&A is an AILA member. For more information about AILA, click http://www.aila.org/.
Alien of Extraordinary Abilities
- Also known as Eb-1A, is a category of first preference immigrant petition for aliens who can demonstrate that they have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor. For details alien of extraordinary abilities petition, please click http://www.hooyou.com/eb-1/requirementaea.html.
Alien Registration Number
Appeal
- The official process of requesting one’s case be reviewed again if the application or petition is denied. An appeal may be an administrative appeal, for example to the Administrative Appeals Office of USCIS or to the Board of Immigration Appeals. An appeal can also occur in a case being litigated in a court. For more information about appeal, please click http://www.hooyou.com/ead/appeal.html.
Application
Application Support Centers
- USCIS Offices fingerprint applicants for immigration benefits. Some USCIS applications, such as the Application for Naturalization or the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, require the USCIS to conduct a FBI fingerprint background check on the applicant. Most applicants that require a background check will be scheduled to appear at a specific Application Support Center (ASC) or Designated Law Enforcement Agency (DLEA) for fingerprinting.
Asylee
- An alien who is granted Asylum, takes on the legal status of Asylee. This allows him or her to reside in the United States indefinitely as long as the threat of persecution continues. The Asylee can also have his or her spouse and unmarried children under age 21 enter the U.S., if not already in the country. For more information about Asylee, please click http://www.hooyou.com/asylum/benefit.html.
Asylum
- Asylum is relief for an alien to remain in the United States under legal status because he has suffered past persecution in his home country or country of last habitual residence, or because he has a well-founded fear of future persecution in his home country or country of last habitual residence and such persecution is based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. For details of Asylum, please click http://www.hooyou.com/asylum/index.html.
Authorized Stay
- The period during which a timely filed extension of status or change of status application is pending continues the alien’s period of authorized stay in the U.S. This allows the alien to avoid accruing unlawful presence, but does not extend the alien’s period of authorized nonimmigrant status. For more information about nonimmigrant status, please click http://www.hooyou.com/nonimmigration/index.html.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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