§ 1151 Worldwide level of immigration
§ 1152 Numerical limitations on individual foreign states
§ 1153 Allocation of immigrant visas
§ 1153a Transparency
§ 1154 Procedure for granting immigrant status
§ 1155 Revocation of approval of petitions; effective date
§ 1156 Unused immigrant visas
§ 1157 Annual admission of refugees and admission of emergency situation refugees
§ 1158 Asylum
§ 1159 Adjustment of status of refugees
§ 1160 Special agricultural workers

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Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 > Subchapter II > Part I - Selection System

  • administrator: means the official designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 1104(b) of this title. See 8 USC 1101
  • aggravated felony: means &mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • alien: means any person not a citizen or national of the United States. See 8 USC 1101
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
  • Attorney General: means the Attorney General of the United States. See 8 USC 1101
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • child: means an unmarried person under twenty-one years of age who is&mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Congressional Record: The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings in Congress. It is printed for each day Congress is in session. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
  • consular officer: means any consular, diplomatic, or other officer or employee of the United States designated under regulations prescribed under authority contained in this chapter, for the purpose of issuing immigrant or nonimmigrant visas or, when used in subchapter III, for the purpose of adjudicating nationality. See 8 USC 1101
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • conviction: means , with respect to an alien, a formal judgment of guilt of the alien entered by a court or, if adjudication of guilt has been withheld, where&mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • extraordinary ability: means , for purposes of subsection (a)(15)(O)(i), in the case of the arts, distinction. See 8 USC 1101
  • facility: means a subsection (d) hospital (as defined in section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U. See 8 USC 1182
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • foreign state: includes outlying possessions of a foreign state, but self-governing dominions or territories under mandate or trusteeship shall be regarded as separate foreign states. See 8 USC 1101
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • handler: means any person (except a common or contract carrier of potatoes owned by another person) who handles potatoes in a manner specified in a plan issued pursuant to this chapter or in the rules and regulations issued thereunder. See 7 USC 2612
  • immigrant: means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens&mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • immigrant visa: means an immigrant visa required by this chapter and properly issued by a consular officer at his office outside of the United States to an eligible immigrant under the provisions of this chapter. See 8 USC 1101
  • immigration judge: means an attorney whom the Attorney General appoints as an administrative judge within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, qualified to conduct specified classes of proceedings, including a hearing under section 1229a of this title. See 8 USC 1101
  • immigration laws: includes this chapter and all laws, conventions, and treaties of the United States relating to the immigration, exclusion, deportation, expulsion, or removal of aliens. See 8 USC 1101
  • immigration officer: means any employee or class of employees of the Service or of the United States designated by the Attorney General, individually or by regulation, to perform the functions of an immigration officer specified by this chapter or any section of this title. See 8 USC 1101
  • importer: means any person who imports tablestock, frozen, or processed potatoes for ultimate consumption by humans or seed potatoes into the United States. See 7 USC 2612
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • intended spouse: means any alien who meets the criteria set forth in section 1154(a)(1)(A)(iii)(II)(aa)(BB), 1154(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(BB), or 1229b(b)(2)(A)(i)(III) of this title. See 8 USC 1101
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • lawfully admitted for permanent residence: means the status of having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed. See 8 USC 1101
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • mother: include in the case of a posthumous child a deceased parent, father, and mother. See 8 USC 1101
  • national: means a person owing permanent allegiance to a state. See 8 USC 1101
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • national of the United States: means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. See 8 USC 1101
  • naturalization: means the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever. See 8 USC 1101
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • organization: means , but is not limited to, an organization, corporation, company, partnership, association, trust, foundation or fund. See 8 USC 1101
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • permanent: means a relationship of continuing or lasting nature, as distinguished from temporary, but a relationship may be permanent even though it is one that may be dissolved eventually at the instance either of the United States or of the individual, in accordance with law. See 8 USC 1101
  • person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity. See 7 USC 2612
  • person: means an individual or an organization. See 8 USC 1101
  • potatoes: means all varieties of Irish potatoes grown by producers in the 50 States of the United States, and grown in foreign countries and imported into the United States. See 7 USC 2612
  • producer: means any person engaged in the growing of five or more acres of potatoes. See 7 USC 2612
  • profession: shall include but not be limited to architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in elementary or secondary schools, colleges, academies, or seminaries. See 8 USC 1101
  • professional athlete: means an individual who is employed as an athlete by&mdash. See 8 USC 1182
  • promotion: means any action taken by the National Potato Promotion Board, pursuant to this chapter, to present a favorable image for potatoes to the public with the express intent of improving their competitive positions and stimulating sales of potatoes and shall include, but shall not be limited to, paid advertising. See 7 USC 2612
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • refugee: means (A) any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or (B) in such special circumstances as the President after appropriate consultation (as defined in section 1157(e) of this title) may specify, any person who is within the country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, within the country in which such person is habitually residing, and who is persecuted or who has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. See 8 USC 1101
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • representative: includes an officer, official, or spokesman of an organization, and any person who directs, counsels, commands, or induces an organization or its members to engage in terrorist activity. See 8 USC 1182
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • residence: means the place of general abode. See 8 USC 1101
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture. See 7 USC 2612
  • Service: means the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice. See 8 USC 1101
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • special immigrant: means &mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • State: includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 8 USC 1101
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • subscription: includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such. See 1 USC 1
  • substantial: means , for purposes of paragraph (15)(E) with reference to trade or capital, such an amount of trade or capital as is established by the Secretary of State, after consultation with appropriate agencies of Government. See 8 USC 1101
  • terrorist activity: means any activity which is unlawful under the laws of the place where it is committed (or which, if it had been committed in the United States, would be unlawful under the laws of the United States or any State) and which involves any of the following:

    (I) The highjacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft, vessel, or vehicle). See 8 USC 1182

  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • United States: except as otherwise specifically herein provided, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 8 USC 1101
  • unmarried: when used in reference to any individual as of any time, means an individual who at such time is not married, whether or not previously married. See 8 USC 1101
  • VAWA self-petitioner: means an alien, or a child of the alien, who qualifies for relief under&mdash. See 8 USC 1101
  • vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
  • writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1