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C-1 Visa
Alien in Transit.
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C-2 Visa
Alien in Transit to United Nations Headquarters District Under Sec. 11.(3), 4), or (5) of the Headquarters Agreement.
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C-3 Visa
Foreign Government Official, Immediate Family, Attendant, Servant or Personal Employee, in Transit. 212(d)(8).
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Cancellation of Removal
A discretionary benefit adjusting an alien’s status from that of deportable alien to one lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Application for cancellation of removal is made during the course of a hearing before an immigration judge.
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Certificate of Citizenship
Identity document proving US citizenship. Certificates of citizenship is issued to derivative citizens and to persons who acquired US citizenship.
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Child
Generally, an unmarried person under 21 years of age who is: a child born in wedlock; a stepchild, provided that the child was under 18 years of age at the time that the marriage creating the stepchild relationship occurred; a legitimated child, provided that the child was legitimated while in the legal custody of the legitimating parent; a child born out of wedlock, when a benefit is sought on the basis of its relationship with its mother, or to its father if the father has or had a bona fide relationship with the child; a child adopted while under 16 years of age who has resided since adoption in the legal custody of the adopting parents for at least 2 years; or an orphan, under 16 years of age, who has been adopted abroad by a US citizen or has an immediate-relative visa petition submitted in his/her behalf and is coming to the United States for adoption by a US citizen.
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CJA-24
Authorization and Voucher for Payment of Transcript.
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CJA-24 INST
Authorization and Voucher for Payment of Transcript INSTRUCTIONS.
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Country of Last Residence
The country in which an alien habitually resided prior to entering the United States.
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Country of Birth
The country in which a person is born.
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Country of Chargeability
The independent country to which an immigrant entering under the preference system is accredited for purposes of numerical limitations.
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Country of Citizenship
The country in which a person is born (and has not renounced or lost citizenship) or naturalized and to which that person owes allegiance and by which he or she is entitled to be protected.
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Country of Former Allegiance
The previous country of citizenship of a naturalized US citizen or of a person who derived US citizenship.
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Country of Nationality
The country of a person’s citizenship or country in which the person is deemed a national.
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Crewman
A foreign national serving in a capacity required for normal operations and service on board a vessel or aircraft. Crewmen are admitted for twenty-nine days, with no extensions. Two categories of crewmen are defined in the INA:D1, departing from the United States with the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived or some other vessel or aircraft; and D2, departing from Guam with the vessel on which he arrived.
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Crewman’s Landing Permit (I-95)
An INS Form I-95 (Crewman's Landing Permit) shows the date you arrived in the United States and the "Admitted Until" date, the date when your authorized period of stay expires. You will receive an INS Form I-95 from an INS inspector when arriving in the United States at a land border port-of-entry or from an airline or ship representative when arriving at an air or sea port-of-entry by aircraft or ship. The form must be completed and presented to an INS inspector who may ask you questions about the purpose of your trip, how long you will be in the United States, and your residence abroad. When you leave the country, you should give the INS Form I-95 to your airline or ship representative, or, if you are departing over a land border, give it to a Mexican or Canadian immigration inspector. An INS Form I-95 that has been approved by an INS inspector can prove that you arrived in the country legally and that you have not stayed beyond the period of stay authorized. In addition, turning in INS Form I-95 to the proper authorities when you leave the country can prove that you did not violate U.S. laws by staying in the country too long. Proof that you are willing to obey U.S. immigration laws will be very important if you again want to travel to the U.S. as an immigrant or nonimmigrant in the future.
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Criminal Removal
The deportation, exclusion, or removal of an alien who has 1) been charged under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that requires a criminal conviction and that charge is the basis for the removal or 2) a criminal conviction noted in the Deportable Alien Control System (DACS) for a crime that renders the alien removable. An alien with an appropriate criminal conviction is considered a criminal alien regardless of the section of law under which the alien was removed.
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Cross Chargeability
When a Green Card applicant is subject to a quota waiting list, but is the child or the spouse of persons born in a country with more favorable quota, the applicant may cross charge to the most favorable quota.
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Cuban/Haitian Entrant Status accorded
1) Cubans who entered illegally or were paroled into the United States between April 15, 1980, and October 10, 1980, and 2) Haitians who entered illegally or were paroled into the country before January 1, 1981. Cubans and Haitians meeting these criteria who have continuously resided in the United States since before January 1, 1982, and who were known to the INS before that date, may adjust to permanent residence under a provision of the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986.
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D Visa
Crewmember (Sea or Air).
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Deferred Inspection
A procedure in which a person arriving at an airport is allowed to come into the United States for purposes of resolving a complicated immigration issue. This usually occurs when it is not clear to the officer at the airport that the alien is eligible to be admitted or refused entry.
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Department of Labor (DOL)
It is the government agency, which receives applications for Labor Certifications and decides whether a shortage of American workers available to fill a particular position in a U.S. company exists. The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements.
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Department of State (DOS)
The Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and the Secretary of State is the President's principal foreign policy adviser. The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in shaping a freer, more secure, and more prosperous world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy. The Department also supports the foreign affairs activities of other U.S. Government entities including the Department of Commerce and the Agency for International Development. It also provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the U.S.
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Departure Under Safeguards
The departure of an illegal alien from the United States which is physically observed by an Immigration and Naturalization Service official.
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Dependent
Spouse, and unmarried children under the age of 21.
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Deportable Alien
An alien in and admitted to the United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any alien illegally in the United States, regardless of whether the alien entered the country by fraud or misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant classification or status.
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Deportation
The formal removal of an alien from the United States when the alien has been found removable for violating the immigration laws. Deportation is ordered by an immigration judge without any punishment being imposed or contemplated. Prior to April 1997 deportation and exclusion were separate removal procedures. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 consolidated these procedures. After April 1, 1997, aliens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to removal based on deportability.
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Derivative Citizenship
Citizenship conveyed to children through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, to foreign-born children adopted by US citizen parents, provided certain conditions are met.
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District
Geographic areas into which the United States and its territories are divided for the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s field operations or one of three overseas offices located in Rome, Bangkok, and Mexico City. Each District Office, headed by a District Director, has a specified service area that may include part of a state, an entire state, or many states. District Offices are where most INS field staff are located. District Offices are responsible for providing certain immigration services and benefits to people resident in their service area, and for enforcing immigration laws in that jurisdiction. Certain applications are filed directly with District Offices, many kinds of interviews are conducted at these Offices, and INS staff is available to answer questions, provide forms, etc.
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Diversity
A category of immigrants replacing the earlier categories for nationals of underrepresented countries and countries adversely "affected" by the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (P.L. 89-236). The annual limit on diversity immigration was 40,000 during fiscal years 1992-94, under a transitional diversity program, and 55,000 beginning in fiscal year 1995, under a permanent diversity program.
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Docket Control
The INS mechanism for tracking the case status of potentially removable aliens.
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DS-117
Application to Determine Returning Resident Status.
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DS-156
Nonimmigrant Visa Application. This form is required for each person traveling to U.S. - even children and babies listed in parents' passports.
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DS-156E
Nonimmigrant Treaty Trader or Treaty Investor Visa Application.
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DS-156K
Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) Visa Application Supplement to Form DS-156.
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DS-157
Nonimmigrant Visa Application. All male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality and regardless of where they apply, must complete and submit a DS-157 in addition to the Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS-156.
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DS-169
Instructions for Immigrant Visa Applicants.
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DS-1858
Sponsor's Financial Responsibility Under The Social Security Act.
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DS-230
Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration.
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DS-3032
Choice of Address and Agent for Immigrant Visa Purposes.
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DS-3052
Nonimmigrant V Visa Application.
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DS-11
Application for Passport.
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DSP-122
Supplemental Registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
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DS-19
Passport Amendment/Validation Application.
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DS-64
Statement Regarding Lost or Stolen Passport.
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DS-82
Application for Passport by Mail.
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Dual Citizenship
The concept of dual citizenship means that a person is a citizen of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own citizenship laws based on its own policy. Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. citizen parents may be both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country of birth. | 
