Immigration Glossary_ I

US Immigration Glossary: I- L

I

ICE - See U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICHP (International Commission on Healthcare Professions) - a division of CGFNS that administers the VisaScreen Certification Program.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) - an examination which provides a complete assessment of English reading, writing, and speaking proficiency. The IELTS is jointly administered by the University of Cambridge ESOL (English as a Second Language) Examinations, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia, and is offered throughout most regions of the world. The IELTS is one of the approved exams that satisfies the spoken and written English language proficiency requirements for obtaining a CGFNS Certificate and VisaScreen Certification.

Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) - legislation that created a series of major changes in immigration law, including the shift from deportation proceedings to removal proceedings.

Immediate Relatives - Certain immigrants who because of their close relationship to U.S. citizens are exempt from the numerical limitations imposed on immigration to the United States. Immediate relatives are: spouses of citizens, children (under 21 years of age and unmarried) of citizens, and parents of citizens 21 years of age or older.

Immigration Act of 1990 - Public Law 101-649 (Act of November 29, 1990), which increased the limits on legal immigration to the United States, revised all grounds for exclusion and deportation, authorized temporary protected status to aliens of designated countries, revised and established new nonimmigrant admission categories, revised and extended the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, and revised naturalization authority and requirements.

Immigrant - Person with the intention of staying in the U.S. permanently.

Immigrant Visa (IV) - A permanent visa issued at a consulate. Upon entering the U.S. with the IV packet from the consulate, one is admitted as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).

Immigrant Intent - all visitors to the U.S. are presumed to have the intention to remain permanently, unless they demonstrate otherwise.

Immigration Information Officer (IIO) - the person one reaches by phone when calling a USCIS Service Center. Those at the information counter at a local District Office of the USCIS may also be known as IIOs.

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) - Formerly the federal government agency with the primary responsibility for immigration issues until March 1, 2003. Now referred to as Legacy INS, all duties formerly performed by this agency are now carried out by government agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including but not limited to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement (ICE). The U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) also have key immigration-related responsibilities.

Immigration Judge - An attorney appointed by the Attorney General to act as an administrative judge within the Executive Office for Immigration Review. They are qualified to conduct specified classes of proceedings, including removal proceedings.

Immigration and Nationality Act - The Act (INA), which, along with other immigration laws, treaties, and conventions of the United States, relates to the immigration, temporary admission, naturalization, and removal of aliens.

Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 - Public Law 99-639 (Act of 11/10/86), which was passed in order to deter immigration-related marriage fraud. Its major provision stipulates that aliens deriving their immigrant status based on a marriage of less than two years are conditional immigrants. To remove their conditional status the immigrants must apply at an Immigration and Naturalization Service office during the 90-day period before their second-year anniversary of receiving conditional status. If the aliens cannot show that the marriage through which the status was obtained was and is a valid one, their conditional immigrant status may be terminated and they may become deportable.

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 - Public Law 99-603 (Act of 11/6/86), which was passed in order to control and deter illegal immigration to the United States. Its major provisions stipulate legalization of undocumented aliens who had been continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S. borders.

Inadmissible - An alien seeking admission at a port of entry who does not meet the criteria in the INA for admission. The alien may be placed in removal proceedings or, under certain circumstances, allowed to withdraw his or her application for admission.

Inspection - The process by which a person is questioned, and his or her documents are examined, at a Port of Entry (POE) to the U.S. In order to enter the U.S. legally, one must be inspected and either admitted or paroled. (See also definitions of Admission, Deferred Inspection, Inspector, and, Parole.)

Inspector - The CBP officer conducting the check or Inspection. One encounters inspectors at airports as well as at land borders.

Interfiling - It is a procedure that allows an applicant to change the I-140 petition upon which the I-485 is based in order to proceed through a new or different I-140 petition for the same beneficiary

International Representative - As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming temporarily to the United States as a principal or other accredited representative of a foreign government (whether officially recognized or not recognized by the United States) to an international organization, an international organization officer or employee, and all above aliens’ spouses and unmarried minor (or dependent) children.

Intracompany Transferee - An alien, employed for at least one continuous year out of the last three by an international firm or corporation, who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to work for the same employer, or a subsidiary or affiliate, in a capacity that is primarily managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the alien’s spouse and minor unmarried children.

I-94 Card (also, Arrival / Departure Record) - official record indicating the date of entry / extension / change, the status in which one is admitted and the expiration date of that status. The I-94 can either be the small card, generally white, that was issued at the Port of Entry (POE) or, if the person changed or extended status in the U.S., the latest I-94 would be attached to the bottom of a USCIS Approval Notice (I-797). Visa Waiver Program travelers obtain a green I-94W. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) and U.S. citizens receive stamps in their passports, but are not issued I-94s.

I-797 - a USCIS notice that can be a Receipt Notice, an Approval Notice or a Request for Evidence (RFE), though people typically use the term to refer to the Approval Notice, specifically.

J

J-1 - Exchange Visitor nonimmigrant visa. J-2 is the dependent classification.

K

K-1 - Fiancé/e Visa. K-2 is the dependent classification.

K-3 - A nonimmigrant visa permitting the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is the beneficiary of a currently-pending I-130 immigrant petition to come to the United States.

Labor Certification (LC) - Requirement for U.S. employers seeking to employ certain persons whose immigration to the United States is based on job skills or nonimmigrant temporary workers coming to perform services for which qualified authorized workers are unavailable in the United States. Labor certification is issued by the Secretary of Labor and contains attestations by U.S. employers as to the numbers of U.S. workers available to undertake the employment sought by an applicant, and the effect of the alien’s employment on the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. Determination of labor availability in the United States is made at the time of a visa application and at the location where the applicant wishes to work.

Labor Condition Application (LCA) - It is a form filed by the H1B employer with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) as part of the H1B petition process, making several attestations or promises. The employer agrees to pay the H1B employee the greater of (a) the actual wage paid to U.S. workers in the same position with the employer or (b) the prevailing wage for the position in that local area. The employer promises to provide the same working conditions to H1B workers as to U.S. workers, that there is no strike or work stoppage, and that notice of the LCA has been posted at the worksite. A copy of the LCA must also be given to the H1B worker. For employers defined as "H1B dependent" there are additional attestations with regard to recruitment and displacement of U.S. workers.

Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR; Also Green Card Holder) - One having the right to reside permanently and work in the U.S. Unlike a U.S. citizen, however, an LPR does not have the right to vote and can be removed (deported) if, for example, convicted of certain crimes.

LCA - See Labor Condition Application.

Legacy INS - the term used in reference to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), prior to its being replaced by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), following the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002

Legalization Dependents - A maximum of 55,000 visas were issued to spouses and children of aliens legalized under the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 in each of fiscal years 1992-94.

Legalized Aliens - Certain illegal aliens who were eligible to apply for temporary resident status under the legalization provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. To be eligible, aliens must have continuously resided in the United States in an unlawful status since January 1, 1982, not be excludable, and have entered the United States either 1) illegally before January 1, 1982, or 2) as temporary visitors before January 1, 1982, with their authorized stay expiring before that date or with the Government’s knowledge of their unlawful status before that date. Legalization consists of two stages--temporary and then permanent residency. In order to adjust to permanent status aliens must have had continuous residence in the United States, be admissible as an immigrant, and demonstrate at least a minimal understanding and knowledge of the English language and U.S. history and government.

ICHP (International Commission on Healthcare Professions) - a division of CGFNS that administers the VisaScreen Certification Program.

Immigrant Visa (IV) - A permanent visa issued at a consulate. Upon entering the U.S. with the IV packet from the consulate, one is admitted as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).

Immigrant Intent - all visitors to the U.S. are presumed to have the intention to remain permanently, unless they demonstrate otherwise.

Inspector - The CBP officer conducting the check or Inspection. One encounters inspectors at airports as well as at land borders.

K

K-1 - Fiancé/e Visa. K-2 is the dependent classification.

K-3 - A nonimmigrant visa permitting the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is the beneficiary of a currently-pending I-130 immigrant petition to come to the United States.

LCA - See Labor Condition Application.

ICHP (International Commission on Healthcare Professions) - a division of CGFNS that administers the VisaScreen Certification Program.

Immigrant Visa (IV) - A permanent visa issued at a consulate. Upon entering the U.S. with the IV packet from the consulate, one is admitted as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).

Immigrant Intent - all visitors to the U.S. are presumed to have the intention to remain permanently, unless they demonstrate otherwise.

Inspector - The CBP officer conducting the check or Inspection. One encounters inspectors at airports as well as at land borders.

K

K-1 - Fiancé/e Visa. K-2 is the dependent classification.

K-3 - A nonimmigrant visa permitting the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is the beneficiary of a currently-pending I-130 immigrant petition to come to the United States.

LCA - See Labor Condition Application.