IMMIGRATION DICTIONARY

IMMIGRATION DICTIONARY

Legal Terms Explained In Plain English

The AmericAgent Immigration Dictionary contains plain English definitions of immigration related legal terms from the common to the unusual. With over 400 terms, it is the most comprehensive immigration dictionary on the internet.

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C

C-1 Visa Alien in Transit.
C-2 Visa Alien in Transit to United Nations Headquarters District Under Sec. 11.(3), 4), or (5) of the Headquarters Agreement.
C-3 Visa Foreign Government Official, Immediate Family, Attendant, Servant or Personal Employee, in Transit. 212(d)(8).
Cancellation of Removal A discretionary benefit adjusting an alien’s status from that of deportable alien to one lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Application for cancellation of removal is made during the course of a hearing before an immigration judge.
Certificate of Citizenship Identity document proving US citizenship. Certificates of citizenship is issued to derivative citizens and to persons who acquired US citizenship.
Child Generally, an unmarried person under 21 years of age who is: a child born in wedlock; a stepchild, provided that the child was under 18 years of age at the time that the marriage creating the stepchild relationship occurred; a legitimated child, provided that the child was legitimated while in the legal custody of the legitimating parent; a child born out of wedlock, when a benefit is sought on the basis of its relationship with its mother, or to its father if the father has or had a bona fide relationship with the child; a child adopted while under 16 years of age who has resided since adoption in the legal custody of the adopting parents for at least 2 years; or an orphan, under 16 years of age, who has been adopted abroad by a US citizen or has an immediate-relative visa petition submitted in his/her behalf and is coming to the United States for adoption by a US citizen.
CJA-24 Authorization and Voucher for Payment of Transcript.
CJA-24 INST Authorization and Voucher for Payment of Transcript INSTRUCTIONS.
Country of Last Residence The country in which an alien habitually resided prior to entering the United States.
Country of Birth The country in which a person is born.
Country of Chargeability The independent country to which an immigrant entering under the preference system is accredited for purposes of numerical limitations.
Country of Citizenship The country in which a person is born (and has not renounced or lost citizenship) or naturalized and to which that person owes allegiance and by which he or she is entitled to be protected.
Country of Former Allegiance The previous country of citizenship of a naturalized US citizen or of a person who derived US citizenship.
Country of Nationality The country of a person’s citizenship or country in which the person is deemed a national.
Crewman A foreign national serving in a capacity required for normal operations and service on board a vessel or aircraft. Crewmen are admitted for twenty-nine days, with no extensions. Two categories of crewmen are defined in the INA: D1, departing from the United States with the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived or some other vessel or aircraft; and D2, departing from Guam with the vessel on which he arrived.
Crewman’s Landing Permit (I-95) An INS Form I-95 (Crewman’s Landing Permit) shows the date you arrived in the United States and the “Admitted Until” date, the date when your authorized period of stay expires. You will receive an INS Form I-95 from an INS inspector when arriving in the United States at a land border port-of-entry or from an airline or ship representative when arriving at an air or sea port-of-entry by aircraft or ship. The form must be completed and presented to an INS inspector who may ask you questions about the purpose of your trip, how long you will be in the United States, and your residence abroad. When you leave the country, you should give the INS Form I-95 to your airline or ship representative, or, if you are departing over a land border, give it to a Mexican or Canadian immigration inspector. An INS Form I-95 that has been approved by an INS inspector can prove that you arrived in the country legally and that you have not stayed beyond the period of stay authorized. In addition, turning in INS Form I-95 to the proper authorities when you leave the country can prove that you did not violate U.S. laws by staying in the country too long. Proof that you are willing to obey U.S. immigration laws will be very important if you again want to travel to the U.S. as an immigrant or nonimmigrant in the future.
Criminal Removal The deportation, exclusion, or removal of an alien who has 1) been charged under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that requires a criminal conviction and that charge is the basis for the removal or 2) a criminal conviction noted in the Deportable Alien Control System (DACS) for a crime that renders the alien removable. An alien with an appropriate criminal conviction is considered a criminal alien regardless of the section of law under which the alien was removed.
Cross Chargeability When a Green Card applicant is subject to a quota waiting list, but is the child or the spouse of persons born in a country with more favorable quota, the applicant may cross charge to the most favorable quota.
Cuban/Haitian Entrant Status accorded:

  1. Cubans who entered illegally or were paroled into the United States between April 15, 1980, and October 10, 1980, and
  2. Haitians who entered illegally or were paroled into the country before January 1, 1981. Cubans and Haitians meeting these criteria who have continuously resided in the United States since before January 1, 1982, and who were known to the INS before that date, may adjust to permanent residence under a provision of the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986.