Admission. Lawful entry into the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer. Admission occurs at a Port of Entry. Ports of Entry are INS offices where the person is admitted. They are at all international airports in the U.S., at entry stations across the U.S. Canadian/Mexican borders and pre-clearance/pre-flight stations. The latter are INS offices at international airports in other countries, for instance, Pearson Airport in Toronto, and Shannon Airport, Ireland. There are three classes of Ports of Entry, A, B, and C defined at 8 CFR 100.4(c)(2). Most people will arrive at Class A Ports of Entry.

Adjustment of Status. The process by which a person in the United States becomes a permanent resident of the United States without having to leave the U.S. The person's status is 'adjusted' from a valid non-immigrant status to permanent residency. Adjustment requires the person to have consistently maintained his/her non-immigrant status. Traditionally, adjustment of status has been considered a privilege since the Immigration Laws envision a person coming to the U.S. as an immigrant, having been bestowed this status abroad. The laws pertaining to Adjustment of Status are set forth at Section 245 of the Act.

Automatic visa revalidation. Persons in the United States in valid non-immigrant status, e.g. F-1 , H-1B , L-1A , may leave the U.S. to a contiguous territory (Canada or Mexico) for up to 30 days and return without having to renew or obtain a new visa. 'Automatic visa revalidation' is a poor term in that the visa being 'revalidated' by the return within 30 days may be a visa not corresponding to the person's current status. For example, a person in H-1B status may have only the F-1 student visa in her passport, having changed to H-1B status while in the U.S. Nevertheless, visa revalidation applies.

Change of Status. A foreign national in the United States under a valid non-immigrant visa may apply to change to another non-immigrant status, as long as they fulfill the requirements of the new visa status and as long as they continue to maintain the status they wish to change from. In other words, a person cannot change status if he is no longer in a valid status. For instance, a person whose student status has expired cannot apply to change to a new status. This person would have to leave the U.S. and seek a new visa and new admission to the U.S. Note that there are exceptions to this rule generally applicable to those who are not able to maintain their status for reasons beyond their control. It is quite common for a person in the U.S. on an F (student) visa to transfer to an H-1B (professional) visa after graduating and obtaining a job. This leads to the potentially befuddling state of affairs in which the foreign national is actually in H-1B status while carrying an F (student) visa in his or her passport. This happens when the person has changed status and has not left the country, and therefore has not needed a new visa to return. Should a person leave the country subsequent to changing status, he or she must go to the Embassy to obtain a new visa corresponding to their new status. Entry under the old visa (for instance under an F visa when the person has changed status to an H-1B) is considered visa fraud.

Consular Processing. When a person obtains a non-immigrant or immigrant visa out of the United States at an Embassy or Consular Post, he/she has consular processed to obtain the visa.

Dual Intent. A concept supported by law at section 214(b) of the INA applying to holders of H-1 and L visas which allows them to have the 'conflicting' intent of staying in the US temporarily under the non-immigrant visa and of planning to remain permanently evidenced by an application for permanent residency. Dual intent allows these visa holders to travel and reenter the US without violating immigration laws that conceive that persons coming to the US may have only one legal purpose for entering.

EWI. Means "entry without inspection," i.e. those who entered the U.S. by avoiding INS detection.

I-94 Card. This is the white card provided all non-immigrants admitted into the Unites States. It specifies the lawful period of stay for the non-immigrant. The only non-immigrants who are not issued this card are those from visa waived countries, who receive a green I-94 card, and visitors from Canada who are often admitted without an I-94 being issued.   I-94 Issuance. A visa allows a foreign national to get on a plane and fly to the United States (or travel in any other manner to the U.S. border), but does not automatically ensure admission to the U.S. At the port of entry, the foreign national will be examined and interviewed anew to determine their eligibility for entry. There are many grounds for exclusion, including health grounds, criminal grounds, etc.. The suspicion on the part of a border official that a person entering the United States under a non-immigrant visa actually has the intention to stay in the U.S. permanently can be a ground for denying entry. If granted entry, the foreign national will be issued an I-94 card which reiterates the type of visa they are entering on and stipulates the exact duration of stay permitted. For those entering on visas such as the H-1B , L-1 , or O-1, the time period designated on the I-94 card normally corresponds to the time period designated on the visa. There is an exception in the case of those entering on visitor visas. While the visa may designate multiple entries, or be valid for a ten year or other time period, the time of any given visit is determined separately by regulations governing entry at the border which restrict entry on visitor visas to a period not exceeding 6 months at a time. Thus, the I-94 card will have an end-point which indicates the maximum time the person can remain in the United States without falling out of status.   Note regarding duration of stay: Grace periods apply to certain non-immigrant statuses. The F status carries a 60-day grace period; the H-1B carries a 10-day grace period. That is, when the status expires, the holder has an additional 60 or 10 days before falling out of status. Also note that particular restrictions determine the date at which a foreign national can enter under a particular status. For example, one coming here on an H visa can enter only ten days prior to beginning date on the visa; the holder of an F visa can enter only on the date on which the status commences.

I-94W Card. A green I-94 card issued to those entering under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program.

Immigrant. A person who resides permanently in the United States. See Lawful Permanent Resident.

Non-immigrant. Anyone in the United States for a limited period of time with a foreign domicile he has no intention of abandoning. The limited period of time can be quite long as in the case of graduate students or professional workers, but non-immigrants are nevertheless in the U.S. for a limited duration. All non-immigrants have a letter from A to V corresponding to the status they hold

Lawful Permanent Resident Status (LPR). Immigrants are lawful permanent residents. This is the status often referred to as "green card" status. A lawful permanent resident (LPR) has all the rights and duties of a U.S. citizen with the exception of the ability to vote. Lawful permanent residents can be deported if they violate the criminal laws of the United States. LPRs can lose status if they leave the United States for one year or more. LPR status is not acquired easily. It is normally based upon immediate family connections (father/mother/children)* or employment. The employment required must normally be at a minimum a "skilled worker" position requiring two or more years' experience. Petitions are often quite complicated, requiring skillful representation of the issues and facts. Brothers and sisters can acquire LPR status if they are related to a U.S. citizen; however, the waiting period--10 to 15 years-- is so long that the attempt is often futile.

Passport Validity. Generally, a person's passport must be valid at least 6 months beyond the date of INS or DOS action. Thus, a person in the United States who is approved for permanent residency may not get the important I-551 stamp in her passport if it is expired or will expire within 6 months. A person applying for a non-immigrant visa must show a passport that is valid for longer than six months of the holder's departure from the United States. The six month requirement is waived for citizens of the U.K and many other countries. Nevertheless, these citizens must show a passport valid for the period of stay in the United States. A British national seeking visa waived admission who presents a passport valid for 80 days will, therefore, be admitted for 80 days. Some of the countries not subject to the 6 month requirement are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay.

Re-Entry Permit. The Reentry Permit is a travel document issued to LPRs allowing them to return to the United States after an absence of more than one year. Absences of longer than one year create a presumption of abandonment of permanent residency. This presumption is essentially overcome by one traveling with this permit. The permit is valid for two years and may be renewed.

Status. Generally, the term applies to those who are permanent residents, "LPRs," and to non-immigrants. For non-immigrants, status references the category set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act that applies to the purpose of an individual's visit to the U.S. Thus, a person coming to study would have student status, a person working for a company might be in H-1B or L-1A status. "Status" thus relates to "visa" but is not the same as 'visa.'. Any person applying for admission to the U.S. must have the visa corresponding with her status. However, once in the U.S., an individual may change status and thus have a status different from the status reflected on the visa upon which he entered the U.S. For example, a person who was admitted to the U.S. in valid L-1B status, may change her status to H-1B based upon a change of employment. She would therefore have valid non-immigrant H-1B status but would have an L-1B visa in her passport. Please refer to the discussion below at "Visa." A critical aspect of "status": it must be maintained. Thus, an F-1 student must be in full time studies at the school he said he would be in; an H-1B professional worker must be working for the company, entity which petitioned for the H-1B status being paid the wage offered on a full time or part time basis as was represented by the company when it petitioned for the status. "Illegal aliens" in general are those whose status has expired or who have never had a status, i.e., those who entered the country illegally.

Unlawful Presence. Unlawful presence is defined at Section 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) of the INA: "...an alien is deemed to be unlawfully present in the United States if the alien is present in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled."   3 and 10 year bars to admission Section 212(a)(9)(B) further sets forth that aliens unlawfully present for 180 days but less than one year who voluntarily depart the U.S. are inadmissible to the U.S. for three years. Unlawful presence for one year or more results in inadmissibility for 10 years.

Visa. A visa is a stamp placed in a foreign national's passport by a United States Embassy which grants the holder permission to travel to the United States. Issuance of the visa by the consular post is acceptance by the officer that the individual meets the requirements of a given visa. The consular posts and embassies are part of the Department of State (DOS). The individual may have to demonstrate this eligibility before the INS when he/she asks to be admitted to the U.S. at the Port of Entry. The visa is the "ticket" which gets the foreign national to the U.S. border in a particular status or classification (e.g., student, visitor, exchange worker, professional, etc.), but once here the status is separable from the visa in that it can be changed, extended, or, restricted upon entry. There are two types of visas:   Immigrant Visa: a visa granted to one entering the United States as a permanent resident.   Non-Immigrant Visa: a visa stamped into the passport indicating that the holder has been given a specific status which allows him to enter the United States under the terms and conditions peculiar to that status. There are numerous types of Non-immigrant visas , ranging from the A visa to the V visa. Some of the most common types are visitor visas ( B-1 or B-2), student visas ( F), the exchange visitor visa ( J), the professional worker (the H-1B), and the multinational executive visa ( L). Non-immigrant visas can be issued for periods of months or of years. They can restrict the holder to one entry or permit multiple entries.

Visa Waived Admission. Foreign nationals from certain countries where experience demonstrates low rates of fraud in entering the United States are allowed to enter without visas. These people merely need to show a passport from an eligible country of origin. They are issued a special green I-94 card at the port of entry and they are restricted to an absolute limit of 90 days in the United States. Failure to abide by the 90 day restriction can lead to serious consequences from which there is no appeal. This is an ideal way to enter if a person is certain that their visit will not exceed 90 days; if they are uncertain, it is not an advisable mode of entry. The 90 days cannot be renewed by traveling to a contiguous country, such as Canada, and re-entering. Current visa waived countries: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

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