# Acronyms

# ****Acronyms**** 

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;">You may notice a lot of acronyms being used in the discussion of U.S. immigration law. These are some of the most common immigration law acronyms you may have seen/heard. Any acronym used elsewhere in this wiki is defined below. </span>

****AAO****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Administrative Appeals Office</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Under authority that the Secretary of Homeland Security has delegated to USCIS, the AAO exercises appellate jurisdiction over approximately 50 different immigration case types filed with USCIS offices, as well as certain U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) determinations. Not every type of denied immigration benefit request may be appealed, and some appeals fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), part of the U.S. Department of Justice.</span>

****ACC**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Assistant Chief Counsel</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Government attorneys that represent the Department of Homeland Security, ICE at EOIR removal proceedings.</span>

****A Number / A File****

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“A” Number or “A” File is short for alien number or alien file. Every foreign national inside of the United States who has had contact with USCIS, ICE, or CBP will be issued an identifying A number, which will be used by the government as their file number and is how one can track their case or find information about their immigration matters.</span>

****AF**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Aggravated felony</span>

****AOS**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Adjustment of Status</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Changing status from a nonimmigrant or no status to that of legal resident. This is the process by which a non-citizen obtains a green card when they are already in the United States.</span>

****AP****

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Advance parole travel document</span>

****BIA**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Board of Immigration Appeals</span>

****CBP****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Customs and Border Enforcement</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A government agency created as part of the Department of Homeland Security Act in 2003. It replaced the legacy INS. CBP is primarily focused on border security and customs inspections at port of entry (like airports) as the name suggests. CBP does operate internally within the United States sometimes in states that are nowhere near any international borders.</span>

****CBP****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a sub agency of DHS.</span>

****CAT****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Convention Against Torture</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Article three if the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is last resort form of a relief for a person who fears they will be in danger if they return to their home country. If the person is unable to obtain Asylum or Withholding of Removal, CAT will not confer any immigration benefit but the U.S. Government will not deport a person to their country of nationality if that person would be in danger there. This not discretionary and it cannot be denied to an alien with criminal convictions.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The agency that handles immigration appeals from the EOIR Immigration Court.</span>

****CIMT**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Crime involving moral turpitude</span>

****DACA**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program launched in 2012. For more information, go to the </span>[<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 2017 Announcement page</span>](https://www.uscis.gov/archive/deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-2017-announcement)<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span>

****DED****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Deferred Enforced Departure (see glossary of terms for more info)</span>

****DHS**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Department of Homeland Security</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The largest government agency in the United States, DHS is massive with an annual budget of hundreds of billions of dollars. It was created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and came into existence in 2003. It includes ICE, CBP, and USCIS, among other agencies that will be less important for the purposes of this wiki.</span>

****DOJ****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Department of Justice</span>

****EAD****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Employment Authorization Document</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A document to authorizes a person to legally take employment in the United States, commonly referred to as a work permit.</span>

****EOIR**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Executive Office of Immigration Review</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The immigration court.</span>

****EWI**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Entry Without Inspection</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When a person crosses the border at location not so designated by the attorney general as a port of entry, and enters the United States without being formally inspected by immigration officials or without having a valid visa or travel document.</span>

****ESTA****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Electronic System for Travel Authorization</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Entry to the US as a visitor from countries that are part of a visa waiver program and do not require visitors to obtain a visitor visa.</span>

****FOIA**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Freedom of Information Act</span>

****ICE**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Immigration &amp; Customs Enforcement</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ICE is the enforcement branch of DHS. It is the agency that apprehends and prosecutes non-citizens accused of violating United States immigration law.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ICE officers are who we contact when a person is apprehended by immigration. They handle the initial arrest and detention of non-citizens and the enforcement of the removal of non-citizens.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ICE attorneys represent DHS in removal proceedings.</span>

****IJ**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Immigration Judge</span>

****INA**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Immigration and Nationality Act</span>

****LPR**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Legal Permanent Resident</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A legal permanent resident is a foreign national who obtained an immigrant visa and has been granted residency in the U.S. allowing them to permanently reside in the United States. Commonly referred to as a “green card”</span>

****NTA**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Notice to Appear</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The NTA is the document that initiates removal proceedings. ICE will serve the noncitizen with the NTA which will contain the factual allegations and charges against them and provide a date, time, and location, for them to appear in Immigration Court. ICE then files that NTA with the Court and removal proceedings are commenced.</span>

****NOID**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Notice of Intent to Deny</span>

****NOIR**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Notice of Intent to Revoke</span>

****PD****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> Prosecutorial discretion</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The legal authority of DHS/ICE to choose whether or not to take action against an individual for committing an offense, in the removal context to pursue their removal from the United States.</span>

****PSG**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Particular Social Group</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;">Asylum can be granted to a refugee who has been or fears they will be persecuted on the basis of their political beliefs, religion, nationality, race, or </span>*****particular social group.*****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> PSG is a sort of catch-all category for all other basis’s for which a person can be granted asylum.</span>

****RFE**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Request for Evidence</span>

****ROP**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Record of Proceedings</span>

****SIJS**** [<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Special Immigrant Juvenile Status</span>](https://www.nyvisalawyer.com/faq-special-immigrant-juvenile-status-adjustment/)

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;">SIJS stands for “special immigrant juvenile status.” Special immigrant juvenile status is an immigrant visa program that provides a path to legal permanent residency to minors (under 21 and unmarried in NY and most other states) who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused </span>*****by ONE or both of their parents*****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> and reunification with that parent is no longer possible because of said abandonment, neglect, or abuse</span>

****TPS****<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>[<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Temporary Protective Status</span>](https://www.nyvisalawyer.com/trump-cancels-tps-designation-for-venezuela/)

****USC**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">United States Citizen</span>

****USCIS**** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">US Citizenship &amp; Immigration Services</span>

<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">USCIS is the branch of DHS that deals with the granting of immigration benefits. USCIS is not concerned with the enforcement of laws or removal of non-citizens from the USCIS (unless they are violent criminals, terrorists, or individuals with very serious criminal convictions.</span>

****VAWA**** [<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Violence Against Women Act</span>](https://www.nyvisalawyer.com/livechat/)

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