Glossary of Immigration Terms:
Alien
any person who is not a legal citizen of the United States
Assimilation
the cultural absorption of a minority group into the main cultural group; this
implies the loss of all or most of the minority group's cultural characteristics
Asylum
protection from arrest and extradition or deportation given to refugees by a nation, an
embassy or other agency that has diplomatic immunity
Emigrant
a person who leaves one country to lie in another country
Illegal alien
or
undocumented immigrant
a person who enters the United States without
permission of the Immigration and naturalization Service (INS), or with fraudulent
documentation; also, a person who enters legally but subsequently violates the visa terms
Immigrant
a person admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident
(Note: Not all immigrants are refugees)
Naturalization
the conferring of citizenship upon a person
Refugee
a person who is outside his or her country of nationality and who is unable or
unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution,
based on the person's race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular
social group
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
(formerly the INS or Immigration and
Naturalization Service) the agency that administers and enforces the immigration laws of the
United States; formerly part of the Department of Justice, it is now part of the Department of
Homeland Security
Visa
an official document or passport issued by a country, granting an individual entry into
that country
©2003 MHz NETWORKS
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