A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2019, there are an estimated 13.9 million green card holders of whom 9.1 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 65,000 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
In law, an alien is any person who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ to some degree depending upon the continent or region of Earth. More generally, however, the term "alien" is perceived as synonymous with foreign national.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of Pub.L. 104–208 (text)(pdf), 110 Stat. 3009-546, enacted September 30, 1996, made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States, which the bill's proponents argued was mainly because of the rapidly-growing undocumented immigrant population in the country. "These IIRIRA changes became effective on April 1, 1997."
Deportation of Cambodian refugees from the United States violates the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) and other laws, unless it is done rationally in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This deportation process is designed to forcefully expel, return or extradite Cambodian-Americans to Cambodia. Some of these individuals in removal proceedings have been convicted of a common crime in the United States. Among them are those who were originally admitted as children with their stateless refugee family members after they escaped from totalitarianism, genocide, torture, persecution, etc., and have continuously spent decades in the United States as potential U.S. nationals (Americans).
Waiver of inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States is a federal relief available to certain removable aliens. It statutorily links cancellation of removal, which is another form of relief under the INA that operates parallel to waiver of inadmissibility. As such, an alien in removal proceedings needs only satisfy the requirements of one of them to be effectively saved from removal from the United States.
Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals who have entered the United States illegally, as well as those who entered legally but then remained after the expiration of their entry visa or parole documents. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.
Cancellation of removal is a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States that allows some aliens who are in removal proceedings, who have lived in the United States for a long period of time and meet certain other conditions, to apply to remain in the United States and have the removal proceedings terminated. Cancellation of removal was crafted by the U.S. Congress to replace "suspension of deportation," a similar form of relief available prior to April 1, 1997.
The term aggravated felony was created by the United States Congress as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to define a special category of criminal offenses. The INA says that certain aliens "convicted of an aggravated felony shall be considered to have been convicted of a particularly serious crime." Every "legal immigrant," including a "national but not a citizen of the United States," who has been convicted of any aggravated felony is ineligible for citizenship of the United States, and other than a refugee, every alien who has been convicted of any aggravated felony is ineligible to receive a visa or be admitted to the United States, if his or her "term of imprisonment was completed within the previous 15 years."
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 (2001), is a United States Supreme Court case involving habeas corpus and INA § 212(c) relief for deportable aliens.
Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court by an immigration judge (IJ).
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a non-profit legal services organization in Washington state. NWIRP's mission is to promote justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States, such as freedom of expression, due process, the rights to vote, live and work in the United States, and to receive federal assistance. The implementation of citizenship requires attitudes including pledging allegiance to the United States and swearing an oath to support and defend the constitution thereof.
Undocumented youth in the United States are young people living in the United States without U.S. citizenship or other legal immigration status. An estimated 1.1 million undocumented minors resided in the U.S. as of 2010, making up 16% of the undocumented population of 11 million. Undocumented students face unique legal uncertainties and limitations within the United States educational system. They are sometimes called the 1.5 generation, as they have spent a majority of their lives in the United States.
Expedited removal is the term for a process related to immigration enforcement in the United States during which certain aliens are denied entry to and/or physically removed from the United States, without going through the normal removal proceedings. Whereas the legal authority for expedited removal allows for its use against most unauthorized entrants who have been in the United States for less than two years, its rollout so far has been restricted to people seeking admission and those who have been in the United States for 14 days or less, and excludes first-time violators from Mexico and Canada.
Reinstatement of removal in the United States refers to an immigration enforcement procedure in which a previously removed (deported) alien can again be removed for subsequent illegal reentry with no required judicial review except in very limited exceptional circumstances. The term "alien" means any person who is not an American.
The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act of 2000, also known as the LIFE Act and as the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act, along with its Amendments, made some changes to laws surrounding immigration for family members of United States citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents, as well as people eligible for employment-based immigrant visas, in the direction of making it easier for family members and immigrant workers to move to and adjust status within the United States. It was passed on December 21, 2000, as title XI of Pub.L. 106–553 (text)(pdf).
Voluntary departure in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States is a legal remedy available to certain aliens who have been placed in removal proceedings by the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or the now Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Deportation of Afghan immigrants from the United States violates the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) and other laws, unless it is done rationally in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This deportation process is designed to forcefully expel, return or extradite Afghan asylum seekers and certain Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan. Some of these individuals in removal proceedings have been convicted of a common crime in the United States. Among them are those who were originally admitted as children with their stateless refugee family members after they escaped from totalitarianism, genocide, torture, persecution, etc., and have continuously spent decades in the United States as legal immigrants and potential U.S. nationals (Americans).
Deportation of Americans from the United States violates the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) and other laws. It refers to the forceful expulsion, return or extradition of Americans to other countries after getting convicted of a crime in the United States. These individuals in removal proceedings are Americans by birth, including those that were naturalized under 8 U.S.C. § 1427 or admitted as nationals of the United States under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. As such, they can return to the United States at any time, even if it includes crossing the U.S. border like done in the 1987 American comedy film Born in East L.A.
