Glossary

VISA glossary

168 definitions · page 2 of 3.

I-551 (Green Card): Permanent residence card or alien registration receipt card or "green card."
Immediate Relative: Spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under the age of 21 of an American citizen. A parent is an immediate relative if the American citizen is 21 years of age or older. There are no numerical limits to immigration of immediate relatives.
Immigrant visa: A visa for a person who plans to live indefinitely and permanently in the United States.
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA): American immigration law. The issuance of all visas is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS): A branch of the Department of Justice that formerly existed and had responsibility for immigration and naturalization. INS has been renamed and became part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003.
INA: Immigration and Nationality Act. American immigration law. The issuance of all visas is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Ineligible Ineligibility: Immigration law says that certain conditions and actions prevent a person from entering the United States. These conditions and activities are called ineligibilities, and the applicant is ineligible for (cannot get) a visa. Examples are selling drugs, active…
Instruction Package: The letter to immigrant visa applicants which tells them of the documents which they need to prepare before an immigrant visa interview can be scheduled. In the past we called it Packet 3.
INTELSAT: International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
IV: 1) Immigrant Visa or 2) International Visitor
Joint Sponsor: A person who accepts legal responsibility for supporting an immigrant with an I-864 Affidavit of Support along with the sponsor. The joint sponsor must be at least 18 years of age, an American citizen or lawful permanent resident and have a domicile in the…
Jurisdiction: Authority to apply the law in a given territory or region. For example, the INS district office in the area where a person lives has jurisdiction or authority to decide on a fiance(e) petition.
Kentucky Consular Center (KCC): A U.S. Department of State facility located in Williamsburg, Kentucky. It gives domestic (U.S.) support to the worldwide operations of the Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Office. It manages the Diversity Visa (DV) Program. In the future the KCC will…
Labor Certification: The initial stage of the process by which certain foreign workers get permission to work in the United States. The employer is responsible for getting the labor certification from the Department of Labor. In general the process works to make sure that the…
Labor Condition Application (LCA): A request to the Department of Labor for a foreign worker to work in the United States. This application is required for H-1(b), specialty occupation nonimmigrant workers.
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR): A person who has immigrated legally but is not an American citizen. This person has been admitted to the U.S. as an immigrant and has a green card. This person is also called a legal permanent resident, a green card holder, a permanent resident alien, a…
Lawful Permanent Resident Alien (LPRA): Lawful permanent resident.
Lay Worker: A person who works in a religious organization but is not a member of the formal clergy.
LEA: See local educational agency.
Legitimation: The legal process which a natural father can use to acknowledge legally his children who were born out of wedlock (outside of marriage). A legitimated child can be a "child" under immigration law under these conditions: the legitimation took place according…
LIFE Act: Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act and amendments. This act of Congress allows foreign spouses of American citizens, the children of those foreign spouses, and spouses and children of certain lawful permanent residents (LPR) to come to the United…
Local Educational Agency: School or school district. Also called LEA. This term is used for deciding tuition charges for secondary school students in F-1 visa status.
Lose status: To stay in the United States longer than the period of time which Department of Homeland Security (DHS) gave to a person when he/she entered the United States, or to fail to meet the requirements or violate the terms of the visa classification. The person…
Lottery: Diversity visa program. A computer randomly draws winners for the right to apply for immigration to the United States.
LPR: Lawful permanent resident.
LPRA: Same as lawful permanent resident (LPR).
Machine Readable Passport: Has biographic information entered on the data page according to international specifications. The size of the passport and photograph, and arrangement of data fields, especially the two lines of printed OCR-B machine readable data, meet the standards of the…
Machine Readable Visa: A visa that immigration officers read with special machines when the applicants enter the United States. It gives biographic information about the passport holder and tells the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information on the type of visa. It is also…
Maintain status: To follow the requirements of the visa status and comply with any limitations on duration of stay.
Mala Fide: False, in bad faith.
Material Misrepresentation: Giving fraudulent documents or telling a consular officer false information in an interview. The information must be important and make a difference in whether the consular officer issues a visa applicant a visa.
Means-tested Public Benefits: Assistance from a government unit. Benefits include food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and State Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Missionary Work: Work performed for a religious organization to spread the faith (religion) and advance the principles and doctrines of the religion. Such work may include religious instruction, help for the elderly and needy and proselytizing.
MRV: See the Machine Readable Visa glossary definition.
NAFTA: North American Free-Trade Agreement. A trade treaty among these countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico.
National Interest Waiver: This is for physicians and doctors who work in an area without adequate health care workers or who work in Veterans Affairs' facilities. These physicians and doctors can file immigrant visa petitions for themselves without first applying for a labor…
National Visa Center (NVC): A Department of State facility located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It supports the worldwide operations of the Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Office. The NVC processes immigrant visa petitions from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for people who…
Native: A person born in a particular country is a native of that country. For example, if you were born in Mexico you are a native of Mexico.
Naturalization: Naturalization is the statutory process by which a foreign person may qualify to become a citizen of the country. Even though citizenship is earned in the naturalization process, there may still be some rights reserved for citizens that have been naturally…
Naturalization: Giving the citizenship (nationality) of a state upon a person after birth. That is, the person did not become a citizen by birth, but by some legal procedure.
Non-diversity Country: A country that has high rates of immigration of the United States. A high rate of immigration is more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years. Natives of non-diversity countries cannot participate in the Diversity Visa Program…
Nonimmigrant Visa: A permit for a foreign citizen to apply to enter the United States temporarily for a specific purpose. Examples of persons who may receive nonimmigrant visas are tourists, student, diplomats and temporary workers.
Notice of Action: A Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) immigration form, (Notice of Action, Form I-797) that says that BCIS has received a petition you submitted, taken action, approved a petition or denied a petition.
NVC: See National Visa Center
Orphan: A child who has no parents because of death, disappearance, desertion or abandonment of the parents. A child may also be considered an orphan if the child has an unwed mother, or a single living parent who cannot care for the child and has released him/her…
Orphan Petition: Form I-600
Out of status: Not following the terms of the visas with which the foreign citizen entered the United States. See in status glossary definition.
Overstay: When visitors enter the United States on a visa, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S immigration inspector gives them a white card called an Arrival-Departure Record, Form or I-94. On this card the DHS, the U.S. immigration inspector records the…
Packet 3: Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants.
Packet 4: Appointment Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants.
Packet 4A: Follow-up Letter and Instruction Package.
Panel Physician: Embassies and consulates which issue immigrant visas have selected certain doctors to do the medical examinations for immigrant visa applicants. These doctors are called panel physicians.
Physical Presence: The place where a person is actually, physically located. For example, an applicant applied for a visa by mail in London, but he was living in Paris. He was physically present in Paris.
PL: Public law.
Polygamy: Having more than one husband or wife at the same time. Polygamy is illegal under American law.
Port of Entry: Place where a person enters the country. When a person adjusts status (gets a green card) in the United States, the port of entry can be a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in the United States.
Poverty Guidelines: The Department of Health and Human Services publishes a list every year giving the lowest income acceptable for a family of a particular size so that the family does not live in poverty. Consular officers use these figures in immigrant visa cases to…
Preference Immigration: A system for determining which and when people can immigrate to the United States within the limits of immigration set by Congress. In family immigration preference is based on the status of the petitioner (American citizen or lawful permanent resident) and…
Principal Applicant: The person named in the petition. For example, an American citizen may file a petition for his married daughter to immigrate to the United States. His daughter will be the principal applicant, and her family members will get visas from her position. They…
Priority Date: The priority date decides a person's turn to apply for an immigrant visa. In family immigration the priority date is the date when the petition was filed at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office or submitted to an Embassy or Consulate abroad. In…