RESOURCES / GLOSSARY
Immigration Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terms that appear most often in U.S. immigration news, forms and policy updates.
Adjustment of status
The process of applying for a green card from within the United States, rather than through a consulate abroad. Filed on Form I-485.
Advance parole
Permission, issued by USCIS on Form I-131, that lets certain applicants with a pending case travel abroad and return without abandoning the application.
Affidavit of support
Form I-864, in which a sponsor promises to financially support an intending immigrant so that the immigrant is not likely to rely on public benefits.
Asylum
Protection granted to a person already in the United States or at a port of entry who meets the definition of a refugee and cannot safely return to their country.
Beneficiary
The person on whose behalf a petition is filed, such as the relative or worker who would receive the immigration benefit.
Biometrics
Fingerprints, a photograph and a signature collected at a USCIS Application Support Center for background checks.
Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
The administrative body within the Department of Justice that hears appeals from immigration judges and certain USCIS decisions.
Chargeability
The country an applicant's visa number is counted against for per-country limits, normally the country of birth rather than citizenship or residence.
Concurrent filing
Filing an immigrant petition (such as Form I-140 or an approved family-based petition) at the same time as the adjustment of status application (Form I-485), instead of waiting for the petition to be approved first. This is only possible when a visa number is immediately available in the applicant's category.
Conditional permanent resident
A green card holder whose status is valid for two years, typically through a recent marriage or an EB-5 investment, and who must file to remove the conditions before it expires.
Consular processing
Applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, as an alternative to adjustment of status inside the United States.
Current
A Visa Bulletin listing, shown as C, meaning visa numbers are available for all qualified applicants in that category regardless of priority date.
Dates for Filing
The Visa Bulletin chart showing the earliest priority dates for which applicants may submit documents, or in some months file for adjustment of status, ahead of a visa number being available.
Deferred action
A discretionary decision not to pursue removal of a person for a set period. It does not confer lawful status. DACA is one program built on it.
Derivative beneficiary
A spouse or unmarried child under 21 who can immigrate with, or follow to join, a principal applicant under the same petition.
Dual intent
The principle that some temporary visa holders, such as H-1B and L-1, may pursue permanent residence without jeopardising their nonimmigrant status.
EAD (Employment Authorization Document)
A card issued by USCIS on Form I-765 that allows certain noncitizens to work legally while another application is pending or a status permits it.
Employment-based preference categories (EB-1 to EB-5)
The five groups of employment immigrant visas: priority workers, advanced-degree professionals, skilled and other workers, special immigrants, and investors.
Family-sponsored preference categories (F1 to F4)
The four groups of numerically limited family immigrant visas for adult children and siblings of citizens, and spouses and children of permanent residents.
Federal Register
The daily journal of the U.S. government where proposed and final rules, notices and executive orders are published.
Final Action Dates
The Visa Bulletin chart showing the priority dates for which a visa number can actually be issued or a green card approved in that month.
Green card
The common name for the Permanent Resident Card, proof that a person has been granted lawful permanent residence.
I-130
Petition for Alien Relative, filed by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to establish a qualifying family relationship with an intending immigrant.
I-140
Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, filed by an employer (or in some categories the worker) to classify a person under an employment-based category.
I-485
Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, the form used to apply for a green card from inside the United States.
Immediate relative
Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens. These categories are not subject to annual numerical limits.
Immigrant visa
A visa issued at a consulate to a person intending to live permanently in the United States. On admission the holder becomes a permanent resident.
Immigration judge
An attorney appointed by the Attorney General who presides over removal proceedings in immigration court, part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Labor certification (PERM)
The Department of Labor process in which an employer shows that no qualified U.S. worker is available for a position, required for most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions.
National Visa Center (NVC)
The State Department office that collects fees and documents from approved petitioners before a case is scheduled at a consulate.
Naturalization
The process by which a permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen, generally after three or five years of residence, by filing Form N-400.
Nonimmigrant visa
A visa for a temporary stay for a specific purpose, such as study, tourism, or employment, for example F-1, B-2 or H-1B.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
A formal announcement of a rule an agency intends to adopt, usually open for public comment before it takes effect.
Notice to Appear (NTA)
The charging document that starts removal proceedings in immigration court.
Oversubscribed
A category or country for which demand exceeds the available visa numbers, so a cutoff date is listed in the Visa Bulletin.
Per-country limit
The cap, set at 7 percent of the combined family and employment totals, on how many preference visas may go to natives of any single country in a fiscal year.
Petitioner
The person or employer who files a petition on behalf of a beneficiary, such as a relative filing an I-130 or an employer filing an I-140.
Portability (AC21)
Rules allowing certain employment-based applicants whose I-485 has been pending 180 days or more to change employers without losing the petition.
Preliminary injunction
A temporary court order pausing enforcement of a rule or policy while a legal case is still being decided.
Priority date
The date a petition was filed, or a labor certification was submitted, used to determine an applicant's place in line for a visa category with limited annual numbers.
Public charge
A ground of inadmissibility applied to applicants judged likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.
Removal proceedings
The formal court process, formerly called deportation, in which the government seeks to remove a noncitizen from the United States.
Request for Evidence (RFE)
A USCIS notice asking for additional documents or information before a decision can be made on an application or petition.
Retrogression
When a Visa Bulletin cutoff date moves backward, usually because demand exceeded the numbers available for that category.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
A designation that lets nationals of certain countries facing conflict or disaster stay and work in the United States temporarily.
USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security that adjudicates immigration benefits.
Visa Bulletin
A monthly State Department publication showing which family and employment visa categories currently have visas available.
Waiver
A request to excuse a ground of inadmissibility, such as unlawful presence, usually filed on Form I-601 or I-601A.
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