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.

Not finding the legal term you are looking for?
Send us the term and receive the definition by email.

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

D

D Visa Crewmember (Sea or Air).
Deferred Inspection A procedure in which a person arriving at an airport is allowed to come into the United States for purposes of resolving a complicated immigration issue. This usually occurs when it is not clear to the officer at the airport that the alien is eligible to be admitted or refused entry.
Department of Labor (DOL) It is the government agency, which receives applications for Labor Certifications and decides whether a shortage of American workers available to fill a particular position in a U.S. company exists. The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements.
Department of State (DOS) The Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and the Secretary of State is the President’s principal foreign policy adviser. The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in shaping a freer, more secure, and more prosperous world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President’s foreign policy. The Department also supports the foreign affairs activities of other U.S. Government entities including the Department of Commerce and the Agency for International Development. It also provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the U.S.
Departure Under Safeguards The departure of an illegal alien from the United States which is physically observed by an Immigration and Naturalization Service official.
Dependent Spouse, and unmarried children under the age of 21.
Deportable Alien An alien in and admitted to the United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any alien illegally in the United States, regardless of whether the alien entered the country by fraud or misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant classification or status.
Deportation The formal removal of an alien from the United States when the alien has been found removable for violating the immigration laws. Deportation is ordered by an immigration judge without any punishment being imposed or contemplated. Prior to 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, aliens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to removal based on deportability.
Derivative Citizenship Citizenship conveyed to children through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, to foreign-born children adopted by US citizen parents, provided certain conditions are met.
District Geographic areas into which the United States and its territories are divided for the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s field operations or one of three overseas offices located in Rome, Bangkok, and Mexico City. Each District Office, headed by a District Director, has a specified service area that may include part of a state, an entire state, or many states. District Offices are where most INS field staff are located. District Offices are responsible for providing certain immigration services and benefits to people resident in their service area, and for enforcing immigration laws in that jurisdiction. Certain applications are filed directly with District Offices, many kinds of interviews are conducted at these Offices, and INS staff is available to answer questions, provide forms, etc.
Diversity A category of immigrants replacing the earlier categories for nationals of underrepresented countries and countries adversely “affected” by the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (P.L. 89-236). The annual limit on diversity immigration was 40,000 during fiscal years 1992-94, under a transitional diversity program, and 55,000 beginning in fiscal year 1995, under a permanent diversity program.
Docket Control The INS mechanism for tracking the case status of potentially removable aliens.
DS-117 Application to Determine Returning Resident Status.
DS-156 Nonimmigrant Visa Application. This form is required for each person traveling to U.S. – even children and babies listed in parents’ passports.
DS-156E Nonimmigrant Treaty Trader or Treaty Investor Visa Application.
DS-156K Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) Visa Application Supplement to Form DS-156.
DS-157 Nonimmigrant Visa Application. All male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality and regardless of where they apply, must complete and submit a DS-157 in addition to the Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS-156.
DS-169 Instructions for Immigrant Visa Applicants.
DS-1858 Sponsor’s Financial Responsibility Under The Social Security Act.
DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration.
DS-3032 Choice of Address and Agent for Immigrant Visa Purposes.
DS-3052 Nonimmigrant V Visa Application.
DS-11 Application for Passport.
DSP-122 Supplemental Registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
DS-19 Passport Amendment/Validation Application.
DS-64 Statement Regarding Lost or Stolen Passport.
DS-82 Application for Passport by Mail.
Dual Citizenship The concept of dual citizenship means that a person is a citizen of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own citizenship laws based on its own policy. Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. citizen parents may be both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country of birth.