Visa and More

Immigration terminology from A-Z (part I) In our newsletter and on (US) websites, you will quite frequently find a number of terms that you don't know immediately, when you are looking for visa information. Today, the second part of our series, that will introduce you to a few basic terminologies that will hopefully give you a better understanding of the subject.

Adjustment of status - the process in which someone holding a non-immigration status (e.g. H-1 B, B, L, or E-Visa, B or F-status) obtains a permanent residence status (green card).

Alien - A person who is not a citizen of the US.

Conditional permanent resident status - This is the initial status of a US citizen's foreign spouse (and children) when he or she first acquires permanent residence through (1) marriage to a US citizen or green card holder who has immigrated into the US within the last two years or (2) an EB-5 (immigrant investor) visa holder, in this case the status implies to the investor and the accompanying family. The conditional status will be issued for two years and can be changed to an unconditional one shortly before the conditional status expires.

Dual nationality - Term for being a national of two countries. Dual nationality can occur if a person is born in another country outside the US, gets married to a US citizen or becomes a national of another country. The US doesn't support dual nationality, but it recognizes their existence.

Green card - The widely known, popular term for the "Alien Registration Receipt Card" or "Resident Alien Card" issued to people who obtain a permanent resident status in the US. The card used to be green, then pink, and now yellow-white. It is an entry document and allows you to re-enter the US after an absence period. You can apply for a green card from anywhere, but the card itself can only be mailed to a US address. Furthermore, the green card has lifelong validity, unless you give up your permanent status or commit certain capital crimes. The plastic card itself is valid 10 years but can be extended without problems after that.

Immigrant - A person who permanently lives in the US and has - legally admitted and registered (verifiably) - his or her center of life there. That's why the US generally suspect all people entering the US to have the intention to immigrate unless they have a visa or the Visa Waiver Program to prove the contrary.

National of the United States - A citizen of the United States or a person who has permanent (legal) ties to the US. Currently the only nationals of the US who are not at the same time US citizens are the citizens of the American part of Samoa and the Swains Islands.

Naturalization - the process of becoming a national of the United States.

Non-immigrant - A person who is in the US for only a short time for a specific purpose.

Residence - The place of residence that is a person's center of living.

Status - Term for a person who obtains a right of residence in the US due to an application process as an immigrant or a person staying in the US temporarily. Such persons may lose their status if they leave American soil. It is important to differentiate between status and green card or visa, because both can become invalid if the status expires. So a green card or visa can still be valid formally even if the status has expired.

Visa - A visa is a kind of stamp or sticker that will be attached to your passport and can only be issued outside of the US. Visas are used as entry documents for immigrants (in the initial phase of immigration) and for non-immigrants.

Immigration services with new phone service The customer hotline of US immigration (BCIS) was introduced to answer questions about pending applications. Especially questions about unanswered applications or, during applications which are already being processed about the current status. These will be forwarded directly to the appropriate BCIS service center at which you have applied. You will receive your answer from there.

This is especially interesting for customers whose green card documents have not yet been issued or have some mistakes on them and require an inquiry or adjustment application (Form G-731 or I-90) or who want to apply for an extension of your non-immigration status (form I-539 e.g. for B, F or J-Visa).

The phone numbers are 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833. You can call both numbers from outside the US, but in that case they are not free of charge. You can reach the customer hotline from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm (local time). Find more information on www.bcis.gov/graphics/services/NCSC.htm.

New director of BCIS sets a new pace The new director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration, Eduardo Aguirre, said in an interview that first efforts have been made to defeat the massive and long-term backlog of the processing of visa applications, especially immigration visas. Aguirre said the goal was to reduce the time for visa processing to six months (excluding the time for the Labor Certification for the EB-3 Visa). They are using the $500 million funds provided by US Congress to invest in new technology.

As a consequence of September 11, the waiting times for immigration processes is about one year until the applicant gets a confirmation receipt at all.