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US Visas - US Customs terms Category: Government and organisations > Visas and Green Cards Date & country: 22/01/2014, USA Words: 144

Work Authorization
If you are not a citizen or a lawful permanent resident, you may need to apply for an Employment Authorization Document to prove you may work in the U.S. To learn more visit USCIS

Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
Citizens of participating countries meeting the Visa Waiver Program requirements may be allowed to enter the United States as visitors for pleasure or business without first getting a visa. Visitors can stay only 90 days and cannot extend their stay. Go to our information on the Visa Waiver Program to learn more.

Voluntary Service Program
An organized project that a religious or nonprofit charitable organization does to provide help to the poor or needy or to further a religious or charitable cause. Participants may be eligible for B visas.

Waiver of Ineligibility
In immigration law certain foreign nationals are ineligible for visas to enter the U.S. for medical, criminal, security or other conditions and activities. Some applicants for visas are able to apply for permission to enter the U.S. despite the ineligibility. The applicant must apply for permission to enter the U.S. (waiver). See Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas for more information.

Visa Numbers
Congress establishes the amount of immigration each year. Immigration for immediate relatives is unlimited; however, family and employment preference categories are limited. To distribute the visas fairly among all categories of immigration, the Visa Office in the Department of State distributes the visas by providing visa numbers according to preference and priority date. To learn more on how the numbers are created each month, review our Operation of the Immigrant Numerical Control System webpage.

Visa Validity
This generally means the visa is valid, or can be used, from the date it is issued until the date it expires, for travel for the same purpose for visas, when the visa is issued for multiple entries. The visa expiration date is shown on the visa. Depending on the alien

Visa Expiration Date
The visa expiration date is shown on the visa. This means the visa is valid, or can be used, from the date it is issued until the date it expires, for travel for the same purpose, when the visa is issued for multiple entries. This time period from the visa issuance date to visa expiration date as shown on the visa, is called visa validity. If you travel frequently as a tourist for example, with a multiple entry visa, you do not have to apply for a new visa each time you want to travel to the United States. As an example of travel for the same purpose, if you have a visitor visa, it cannot be used to enter at a later time to study in the United States. The visa validity is the length of time you are permitted to travel to a port-of-entry in the United States to request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to permit you to enter the United States. The visa does not guarantee entry to the United States. The Expiration Date for the visa should not be confused with the authorized length of your stay in the United States, given to you by the U.S. immigration inspector at port-of-entry, on the electronic I-94 admission stamp or paper Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. The visa expiration date has nothing to do with the authorized length of your stay in the United States for any given visit.

Visa
A citizen of a foreign country, wishing to enter the United States, generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Visa applicants will need to apply overseas, at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, generally in their country of permanent residence. The type of visa you must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel. A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to the U.S. port-of entry, and request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to enter the United States. Issuance of a visa does not guarantee entry to the United States. The CBP Officer at the port-of-entry determines whether you can be admitted and decides how long you can stay for any particular visit. Visit our What Is A Visa? webpage for more information.

Third Country National
Someone who is not a U.S. citizen and not a citizen of the country in which he or she is applying for a visa. Suppose you are a Kenyan visiting Mexico. If you apply for a visa to visit the United States while you are in Mexico, we will consider you a third country national.

Third Preference
A category of family immigration (F3) for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children. Before 1992 this was known as fourth preference (P-4). Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Upgrade a Petition
If you naturalize (become a U.S. citizen) you may ask to change the petitions you filed for family members when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR) from one category to another. This is called upgrading. For example, a petition for a spouse will be changed/upgraded from F2 to IR1. That is, the petition changes from a preference category with numerical limits to an immediate relative category without numerical limits. The applicant no longer has to wait for her/his priority date to be reached.

Termination of a Case
If the applicant fails to reply to the inquiry correspondence sent by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or the National Visa Center (NVC), termination of their visa application will begin. The U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or NVC, will first send a Follow-up Letter and Instruction Package to the applicant. If the applicant does not answer within one year, a termination letter is sent. At this point the applicant has one more year to activate the immigrant visa case. If there is no answer in one year, the case is terminated. You can stop termination of a case by notifying the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or NVC, before the prescribed time period has lapsed, that the applicant does not want the case to be closed (terminated).

Tax-exempt
A condition of the law in which an organization or people in some kinds of work do not have to pay taxes which regular citizens or businesses must pay. Religious organizations are often tax-exempt.

Temporary Worker
A foreign worker who will work in the United States for a limited period of time. Some visas classes for temporary workers are H, L, O, P, Q and R. If you are seeking to come to the United States for employment as a temporary worker in the United States (H, L, O, P, and Q visas), your prospective employer must file a petition with DHS, USCIS. This petition must be approved by USCIS before you can apply for a visa. Select temporary workers to visit the USCIS website and learn more. Select temporary worker visas to go to the Department of State website to learn more, and review information about NAFTA workers (TN visa) and treaty traders/investors (E visas).

SWA
See State Workforce Agency.

State Workforce Agency
The agency or bureau in each State that deals with employment and labor issues. For the address of workforce agency in each State go to the U.S. Department of Labor, Foreign Labor Certification site.

Stepchild
A spouse

Surviving Parent
A child

Sponsor
1) A person who fills out and submits an immigration visa petition. Another name for sponsor is petitioner, OR 2) a person who completes an Affidavit of Support (I-864) for an immigrant visa applicant.

Sponsored Immigrant
An immigrant who has had an Affidavit of Support filed for him/her.

Spouse
Legally married husband or wife. A co-habiting partner does not qualify as a spouse for immigration purposes. A common-law husband or wife may or may not qualify as a spouse for immigration purposes, depending on the laws of the country where the relationship occurs.

Skills List
The Exchange Visitor Skills List (J Visas) is a list of fields of specialized knowledge and skills that are deemed necessary for the development of an exchange visitor's home country. When you agree to participate in an Exchange Visitor Program, if your skill is on your country

Special Agricultural Worker
Farm workers in perishable products who worked for a specified period of time and were able to adjust status to lawful permanent resident according to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Special Immigrant
A special category of immigrant visas (E-4) for persons who lost their citizenship by marriage; persons who lost citizenship by serving in foreign armed forces; certain foreign medical school graduates; Panama Canal immigrants; and certain others. Visit our Employment-based Visas webpage for more information.

SAW
See Special Agricultural Worker.

Second Preference
A category of family immigration (F2) for spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents. Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Section 213A
A section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which establishes that sponsors have a legal duty to support immigrants they want to bring (sponsor) to the United States. They must complete Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.

Sibling
Brother or sister.

Revalidation or Renewal of a Visa
Nonimmigrant visa applicants who currently have a visa, and are seeking renewal or revalidation of their visa for future travel to the U.S. must apply abroad, generally in their country of residence. The exception is renewal or revalidation of A, G, and NATO diplomatic and official visas (except A-3, G-5 and NATO-7), which continue to be processed in Washington and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York. See Visa Renewal to learn more.

Revocation of a Visa
Cancellation of a visa. The visa is no longer good (valid) for travel to the United States.

Returning Residents
Lawful permanent residents who want to return to the United States after staying abroad more than one year or beyond the expiration of their re-entry permits. For more information, visit our Returning Resident Visas webpage.

Refugee
A person who has a well-founded fear of persecution if he/she should return to his/her home country. He/she applies to come to the United States in another country and enters the United States as a refugee. See the DHS, USCIS website Refugee information to learn more.

Retrogression
Sometimes a case that is current one month will not be current the next month. This occurs when the annual numerical limit has been reached. This usually happens near the end of a fiscal year (October 1 to September 30 of the next year). When the new fiscal year begins, the Visa Office gets a new supply of visa numbers and usually brings back the cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.

Rank Order Number
The number that Kentucky Consular Center gives to the entries of DV Program (lottery) as the computer selects them. The first entries chosen have the lowest numbers. The Visa Office of the Department of State gives winning entries a chance to apply for immigration according to their rank order number for their region. Visit our DV Program webpage for more information on the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.

Receipt Notice
A DHS, USCIS Notice of Action, Form I-797, which says that DHS has received a petition.

Re-entry Permit
A travel document that DHS issues to lawful permanent residents (LPR's) who want to stay outside of the United States for more than one year and less than two years. LPR's who cannot get a passport from their country of nationality can also apply for a re-entry permit. You can put visas for foreign countries in a re-entry permit.

Public Charge
Refers to becoming dependent upon the government for the expenses of living (food, shelter, clothing, etc.). Following U.S. immigration law, an applicant is ineligible for a visa if he/she will be a public charge. For more information about Public Charge, see the USCIS website.

Qualifying date
The date which the Visa Office of the Department of State uses to determine when to send the Instruction Package to an immigrant visa applicant. The Instruction Package tells the applicant what documents need to be prepared for the immigrant visa application.

Priority Date
The priority date determines 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 DHS office or submitted to a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. In employment immigration, the priority date may be the date the labor certification application was received by the Department of Labor (DOL).

Principal Applicant
The person named in the petition. For example, a U.S. 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 will get derivative status. Or a company may file a petition for a worker. The worker is the principal applicant. Family members get derivative status.

Preference Immigration
A system for determining which and when people can immigrate to the U.S. within the limits of immigration set by Congress. In family immigration, preference is based on the status of the petitioner (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) and his/her relationship to the applicant. Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info. In employment immigration, it is based on the qualifications of the applicant and labor needs in the U.S. Visit our Employment Based Immigration webpage for more info.

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 determine whether a sponsor

Post
U.S. Embassy, Consulate or other diplomatic mission abroad. Not all U.S. Embassies, Consulates and Missions are visa-issuing posts. Visit a list of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Missions.

Petitioner
A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member or employer (or the employer's agent) who files a family-based or employment-based immigrant visa petition with USCIS.

Physical Presence
The place where a person is actually, physically located.

Polygamy
Having more than one husband or wife at the same time. Polygamy is illegal under U.S. law.

Port-of-Entry
Place (often an airport) where a person requests admission to the U.S. by the DHS, CBP officer. Learn more on the CBP website.

Orphan Petition
Form I-600.

Overstay
An

Panel Physician
U.S. Embassies and Consulates which issue immigrant visas have selected certain doctors to do the medical examinations for immigrant visa applicants. Please visit our Medical Examination webpage to find your local Panel Physician.

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 irrevocably (permanently) for adoption and emigration. Adoptive parents must make sure that a child meets the legal definition of an

Notice of Action (Form I-797)
A DHS, USCIS immigration form that says that USCIS has received a petition you submitted, taken action, approved a petition or denied a petition.

NSEERS
Effective April 28, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) no longer requires registration of foreign citizens entering and exiting the United States under the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), also known as Special Registration. More information is available in the Federal Register notice from DHS dated April 28, 2011.

Naturalization
A citizen who acquires nationality of a country after birth. That is, the person did not become a citizen by birth, but by a legal procedure. See the USCIS website for more information.

Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV)
A U.S. visa allows the bearer, a foreign citizen, to apply to enter the United States temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrant visas are primarily classified according to the principal purpose of travel. With few exceptions, while in the United States, nonimmigrants are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. Examples of persons who may receive nonimmigrant visas are tourists, students, diplomats and temporary workers. For more information, see Temporary Visitors to the U.S.

MRV
See Machine Readable Visa.

NAFTA
North American Free-Trade Agreement.

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 certification.

Native
A person born in a particular country is a native of that country.

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.

Maintain Status
To follow the requirements of the visa status and comply with any limitations on duration of stay.

Means-tested Public Benefits
Assistance from a government unit. Benefits include food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and State Child Health Insurance Program.

Machine Readable Visa (MRV)
A visa that contains biometric information about the passport holder. 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 DHS information about the type of visa. It is also called MRV.

LPR or LPRA
See lawful permanent resident (LPR).

Machine Readable Passport (MRP)
A passport which has biographic information entered on the data page according to international specifications. A machine readable passport is required to travel without a visa on the Visa Waiver Program. See the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to learn more about the requirements.

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 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 becomes

Lottery
See diversity visa program.

Lay Worker
A person who works in a religious organization, but is not a member of the formal clergy.

LEA
See Local Educational Agency.

LIFE Act
Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act and amendments. This act of Congress allows foreign spouses of U.S. citizens, the children of those foreign spouses, and spouses and children of certain lawful permanent residents (LPR) to come to the United States to complete the processing for their permanent residence. This Act became effective on December 21, 2000.

Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)
A person who has immigrated legally, admitted to the United States by DHS as a permanent resident of the United States and has a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 (formerly called Alien Registration Card, also known as green card). Form I-551 is a wallet-sized card showing that the person is a lawful permanent resident (immigrant) in the United States. Permanent resident status is not the same as being a U.S. citizen. However, you have authority to live and work in the United States permanently, as well as other rights and responsibilities. Learn more about Lawful Permanent Residents, including how to replace or renew a Permanent Resident Card, on the USCIS Website. Learn about requirements for entry into the United States on the CBP website. This person may also be called a legal permanent resident, a green card holder, a permanent resident alien, a legal permanent resident alien (LPRA) and resident alien permit holder.

Labor Condition Application (LCA)
A request to the Department of Labor for a foreign worker to work in the United States.

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 work of foreign workers in the United States will not adversely affect job opportunities, wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.

Jurisdiction
Authority to apply the law in a given territory or region. For example, the DHS USCIS district office in the area where a person lives has jurisdiction or authority to decide on a fianc

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, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and have a domicile in the United States. The joint sponsor and his/her household must meet the 125 percent income requirement for the immigrant that he/she sponsors.

IV
Immigrant Visa

INA
See 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 tuberculosis, being a terrorist, and using fraud to get a visa. Read our information on the Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas to learn more.

Household Income
The income used to determine whether a sponsor meets the minimum income requirements under Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for some immigrant visa cases.

Immediate Relative
Spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen. A parent is an immediate relative if the U.S. 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. Visit our Immigrant Visa section of this website.

Homeless
Persons from countries that do not have a U.S. Embassy or Consulate where they can apply for immigrant visas are

Green card
Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 (formerly called Alien Registration Card, also known as green card), is a wallet-sized card showing that the person is a lawful permanent resident (immigrant) in the United States. For more information visit the USCIS website.

Full and Final Adoption
A legal adoption in which the child receives all the rights of a natural born, legitimate child. For more adoptions information visit our Adoptions website.

Following to Join
A type of derivative visa status when the family member gets a visa after the principal applicant.

Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM)
9 FAM Chapter 41 relates to nonimmigrant visas. 9 FAM Chapter 42 covers immigrant visas. 9 FAM Chapter 40 relates to visa ineligibilities and waivers. Go to our site to review the FAM relating to visas.

Fourth Preference
A category of family immigration (F4) for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children. The U.S. citizen must be 21 years of age or older before he/she can file a petition under this category. Before 1992, this was known as fifth preference (P-5). Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Fiscal Year
The budget year for the U.S. government. It begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year.

First Preference
A category of family immigration (F1) for unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their children. Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Federal Poverty Guidelines
See 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 determine whether a sponsor

Fianc
A person who plans or is contracted to marry another person. The foreign fianc

Family Second Preference
A category of family immigration (F2) for spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents. Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Family Third Preference
A category of family immigration (F3) for married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children. Before 1992 this was known as fourth preference (P-4). Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Family Fourth Preference
A category of family immigration (F4) for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children. The American citizen must be 21 years of age or older before he/she can file the petition. Before 1992, this was known as fifth preference (P-5). Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Family First Preference
A category of family immigration (F1) for unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children. Visit our Family Based Immigration webpage for more info.

Exchange Visitor Skills List
The Exchange Visitor Skills List (J visas) is a list of fields of specialized knowledge and skills that are deemed necessary for the development of an exchange visitor's home country. When you agree to participate in an Exchange Visitor Program, if your skill is on your country

Extension of Stay
Extending the length of time a visa holder is authorized to stay in the United States, when approved by USCIS. The visa holder may file a request with USCIS before his or her authorized stay expires, which generally is the admitted-until date on the traveler

Exchange Visitor
A foreign citizen coming to the United States to participate in a particular program in education, training, research, or other authorized exchange visitor program. See the Educational and Cultural Affairs website and our Exchange Visitor webpage for more information.