Terms for Immigration Documents- Middle School

These are the official legal statuses and travel documents issued by the government to allow people to enter or stay.

• Immigration: The act of permanently moving from one's native country to settle in a foreign country.

• Immigration status: An individual's legal standing in the eyes of the government (e.g., student status, tourist status, or permanent resident status). This status dictates what the person is legally allowed to do, such as whether they can work or how long they can stay.

• Visa / Nonimmigrant visa: A document (usually a stamped sticker inside a passport) issued by a U.S. embassy abroad. It gives a foreign traveler permission to travel to a U.S. border and request entry for a specific temporary reason.

• Green card / Lawful Permanent Resident card: The official physical ID card issued to Lawful Permanent Residents. It serves as proof that the holder has the legal right to live and work anywhere in the United States permanently.

• B-2 nonimmigrant visa (tourist): A temporary visa designed for foreign nationals who want to visit the U.S. for leisure, vacations, visiting family, or receiving medical treatment.

• F non-immigrant visa (student): A temporary visa that allows a foreign citizen to enter the U.S. full-time to attend an accredited school, college, university, or language training program.

• H-1B nonimmigrant visa (temporary employment): A highly sought-after work visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialized fields that require a college degree, such as technology, engineering, or medicine.

• H-4 nonimmigrant visa: A dependent visa issued to the immediate family members (spouse and children under 21) of an H-1B visa holder, allowing them to live together in the U.S.

• TN NAFTA visa: A special, expedited temporary work visa created under trade agreements specifically for professional citizens of Canada and Mexico.

• Diversity visa lottery: A program run by the Department of State that randomly selects around 55,000 people each year from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S., giving them a chance to apply for a Green Card.

• Derivative status: Where a spouse or child automatically obtains the same visa or green card status as the applicant, allowing families to stay unified on one application.

• EB-1A:  an employment-based first-preference visa for individuals with "extraordinary ability" in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.