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Glossary
Affidavit of Support: The document which a sponsor signs in order to petition a family member for legal permanent residence through a family based visa. Any affidavit signed after December 19, 1997 is a legally binding promise to support the immigrant in case of financial crisis until s/he has become a citizen or has accumulated 10 years of work credit in the U.S. Sponsors may be required by the state or federal government to reimburse certain public benefits used by the immigrant during this time.
Asylee: A person who has fled his or her country of nationality, has proved a "credible fear of persecutions' to the INS after arriving in the U.S. and has received a grant of asylum. Asylees are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one year of continuous presence in the U.S.
Citizen: An individual born in the U.S. or who acquires citizenship through one or both U.S. citizen parents when born abroad. Lawful permanent residents can become citizens by naturalizing. In addition, lawful permanent resident children may, in certain circumstances, automatically become citizens when one or both parents have become naturalized citizens.
Deportation/Removal: The action that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) takes against a person without a valid visa in order to forcibly remove him or her from the United States, usually to his or her country of origin, or in certain cases to a third designated country. "Removal" is the term created in the new immigration law to describe deportation.
Durable Solutions: Refugee protection and assistance organizations generally promote three "durable solutions" to refugees' plight:
Green Card: A laminated photo-identification card (currently not green, but pink) which proves lawful permanent resident status. A legal permanent resident must show his or her green card in order to reenter the U.S. after a trip abroad and also to apply for employment. It is an employer's responsibility to verify legal status at the time of hire.
Immigrant: Under immigration law, an immigrant is defined as a lawful permanent resident, or a person who has the privilege of permanently living and working in the U.S. However, in common usage, this term generally refers to any newcomer who has made a home in the U.S.
Internally Displaced Person (IDP): Someone who has been forced from his/her home for refugee-like reasons, but remains within the borders of his/her own country. Because the person is still under the jurisdiction of a government that might not want international agencies to help him/her, an internally displaced person might still be vulnerable to persecution or violence. There are over 20 million internally displaces persons in the world of growing concern to international aid agencies.
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR): A non-citizen who has received permanent authorization to live and work in this country (unless s/he commits a deportable crime). The most common ways to obtain a visa for lawful permanent residence are through a petition by a close family member (family based visa), a petition by an employer for certain professions (employment-based visa), or a grant of asylum. LPRs receive a "green card" to prove their status.
Local Integration: When it is not safe for refugees to return home after a prolonged period in exile, a host government may decide to allow refugees to integrate locally, in the first-asylum country.
Naturalization: The process through which an immigrant can become a U.S. citizen. Generally, only lawful permanent residents can naturalize. Therefore, refugees, asylees and immigrants in other legal categories must first obtain LPR status before applying for citizenship. Moreover, applicants for citizenship must be 18 years old, have not committed certain offenses, and have resided continuously in the U.S. for at least 5 years, or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen. Applicants must also be able to speak basic English and pass a test on U.S. civics or obtain a waiver from one or both of these requirements.
Non-immigrant Visa: Unlike a permanent immigrant visa, a non-immigrant visa is only valid for a limited time. Foreigners can come to the U.S. as nonimmigrants on student visas, temporary work visas, tourist visas or other types of temporary visas. Nonimmigrants are not permanent residents and therefore do not receive green cards.
"PRUCOL" (Permanently Residing Under Color of Law): Immigrants legally residing in the country who have not secured "legal permanent resident" status. Many of these people were formerly eligible for public assistance under the same criteria as legal permanent residents and citizens. Under the new welfare law, however, they are classified along with undocumented immigrants as "unqualified" for federal public benefits. This category includes, among others: foreign nationals in the country under a nonimmigrant visa; applicants for asylum, registry, cancellation of removal, or adjustment of status; those granted deferred action, Family Unity, temporary protected status (TPS), or an order of supervision.
Refugee: A person outside his or her country of nationality who cannot return because of a well founded fear of future persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees are generally granted asylum, a legal protective status, by a U.S. consulate outside the U.S.
Sponsor: A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who petitions for an employment-based or family based visa on behalf of an immigrant who wishes to become a lawful permanent resident. Employers must demonstrate that no prospective U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident applicant can fulfill the job requirements. For family based petitions, U.S. citizens can only sponsor spouses, children, parents and siblings. Legal permanent residents can only sponsor spouses and children. A family sponsor must prove regular employment and the ability to support his or her dependents and the immigrant at 125% of the poverty level.
Third Country Resettlement: Third-country resettlement is usually the last option of the three solutions. When repatriation would be unsafe and the first-asylum country refuses local integration, a third country must be found to accept the refugees. Voluntary Departure: An alternative to deportation that allows an individual to leave the United States under his own volition rather than being deported/ removed. Because deportation/removal creates obstacles for returning legally to the U.S. in the future, this is often a preferable alternative for undocumented immigrants who have been caught in this country without a visa, and may be awaiting a visa appointment.
Voluntary Repatriation: When conditions in the home country have changed so much that refugees no longer believe their lives or liberty are threatened, they may return home voluntarily.
Undocumented ("illegal") Immigrants: Immigrants who have entered the U.S. without a valid visa, or have remained in the country after their temporary visa has expired.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Established in 1951, UNHCR is the branch of the United Nations charged with the international protection of refugees. UNHCR has increasingly been asked not only to protect refugees, but to provide assistance to them. More information about the UNHCR is available at their web page.
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