A passport is a document issued by the foreign national's country of citizenship.  It will contain either foreign or U.S. visas issued to the passport holder and will reflect entries to the United States and other countries.  With rare exceptions, individuals will be denied entry to the U.S. unless they are in possession of a valid passport.

Visas come in two varieties, nonimmigrant and immigrant.  A nonimmigrant visa allows a foreign national to enter the U.S. temporarily for certain specific purposes (i.e. B-2s are admitted as visitors for business or pleasure, F-1s are admitted to study, H-1Bs are admitted to work as professionals for a specific employer, etc.).  A permanent visa (i.e. Green Card) allows an individual to work and reside indefinitely in the U.S.

This is the only U.S. government agency that has the authority to issue the visas mentioned in item #2 above.  Most visas are issued through American Embassies and Consulates located abroad; there are also procedures where the Dept. of State may revalidate certain categories of nonimmigrant visas without the need of the individual to travel abroad to make his/her visa application at the Consulate or Embassy.

(Prior to 3/1/2003)  The INS is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice and determines whether individuals can be admitted to the U.S., under what circumstances and for what period of time.  It both grants immigration benefits (i.e. extensions of stay, changes of nonimmigrant status, permanent residence, naturalization) and enforces the immigration laws, including the removal of individuals who have violated their status.

(From 3/1/2003 until 9/1/2003) The BCIS is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security charged with Immigration services.  The BCIS came into being on March 1, 2003.  On September 1, 2003, the BCIS was renamed "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services".

The USCIS is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security charged with Immigration services.  The USCIS originally came into being as the BCIS on March 1, 2003.  On September 1, 2003, the BCIS was renamed "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services".

The term "status" is utilized by the USCIS after it has admitted an individual with a certain type of visa to the U.S.  A person admitted with a visitor's visa has the status of a visitor, a person with a student visa has the status of a student, and a person entering with an immigrant visa has the status of a permanent resident.  As noted above, under appropriate circumstances the USCIS can approve an individual's request for a change from one nonimmigrant status to another, extend his/her period of authorized stay in a particular status, etc.

This is an arrival/departure record that is completed by foreign nationals during flights to the U.S. or when they enter this country by automobile.  If the individual is admitted to the United States, the "status" (see above) is noted on the Form I-94 as well as the period of authorized stay.  The document is usually stapled to the same page in the passport on which the nonimmigrant visa has been stamped.  When the individual departs the United States, the Form I-94 is surrendered to the airline carrier which in turn hands it over to the USCIS which will verify the individual's departure in its records.

This phrase refers to any action taken by an individual to violate the terms and conditions which relate to the status which he/she has.  Unauthorized employment is a violation of status for visitors, failure to complete a full-time program of study is a violation of status for students, and employment with an entity other than the sponsoring employer is a violation of status for an H-1B professional. "Out of Status" also refers to remaining in the U.S. beyond the date of one's I-94. Overstaying an I-94 is very serious and at best can result in the invalidation of one's visa and the need to travel back to one's home country for all future visa applications and at worst a 3- or 10-year bar on admission to the U.S. Violations of status can result in removal from the U.S., debarment from reentering the country and fines for employers who employ those not having a legal right to accept employment.

The "priority date" of a family-based petition is the date on which the petition is filed with the USCIS. For employment-based applicants subject to a labor certification requirement, the priority date is determined by the date on which the request for the labor certification is accepted for processing by a state employment service.  Employment-based applicants not subject to the labor certification requirement (i.e. extraordinary ability individuals, outstanding professors/researchers, multinational managers/executives, etc.) file their petitions directly with the USCIS, and their priority dates are determined by the date of acceptance of the petitions by the USCIS.  These dates can be very important for family-based applicants since substantial backlogs exist at the present time, and may become important in the future for employment-based applicants, particularly those from "heavy demand" countries such as India and China.

Separate preference categories apply to family-based and employment-based immigrants.  The family-based categories require an immediate family relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; the employment-based categories normally require a relationship with a U.S. employer.  The categories are generally divided by the level of education and/or experience which the underlying job requires, with higher preferences generally reserved for those with the highest qualifications.

Spouses and unmarried children (natural, adopted, step) who are under the age of 21 may be admitted to the U.S. for the same period of time as the principal visa holder.  They may reside with that principal for the period of time for which he/she is admitted (dependent status for children ends when they reach the age of 21; they must normally obtain their own independent status at that time) although they generally do not have permission to work.  They may become permanent residents at the same time that the principal visa holder is granted that status.

An attorney or other individual authorized to represent clients before the USCIS will execute a Form G-28 as evidence that he/she is representing an employer, an individual, or both before the agency.