Immigration Laws

Visas

A visa is an indication that a person is authorized to enter the country which "issued" the visa, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport. Some countries do not require a visa in some situations, such as a result of reciprocal treaty arrangements. The country issuing the visa typically attaches various conditions to the visa, such as the time that the visa is valid, the period that the person may stay in the country, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, etc.

Nativist Resurgence

After the Great War in Europe ended in 1918 millions of devastated Europeans were seeking refuge in other parts of the world. Many of them tried to come to the United States. As with all other major waves of new immigrants came the resurgence of nativism. Americans were disillusioned by the war and had returned back to a doctrine of isolationism. They shunned diplomatic commitments to foreign countries, denouced foreign "radical" ideas, condemned "un-american" lifestyles, and shut the gates to immigration. This spirit furnaced great prosperity economically, but it spelled doom for Blacks, Catholics, Jews, and other foreigners. The formations of hate groups, legal action, and court decisions helped promote these new feelings.

Student Visa

Allows its holder to study at an institution of higher learning in the issuing country.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952

Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarren-Walter Act) created one comprehensive statue from the previous immigration related laws, eliminating race as a basis of exclusion, but retained the racist national-origins quota system. For countries outside the western hemisphere the annual quota was set at 1/6th of one percent of the number of persons of that ancestry living in the U.S. as of 1920 (mainly benefiting the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany), and a quota for skilled workers.

Quota Law

In the United States, the Emergency Quota Act also known as the Emergency immigration Act of 1921, also known as the Johnson Quota Act of May 19, 1921 was an immigration quota that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 3% of the number of persons from that country living in the United States in 1910, according to United States Census figures. The National Origins Quota of 1924, according to the Immigration Act, was the first permanent limitation on immigration into the United States and established the "national origins quota system." In conjunction with the Immigration Act of 1917, it governed American immigration policy until 1952.

Know-Nothings

Nickname of the "American political party" for their ambiguity. see American Party

Permanent Resident

Permanent residency refers to a person's visa status: the person is allowed to reside indefinitely within a country of which he or she is not a citizen. A person with such status is known as a permanent resident.

Magnuson Act of 1943

Repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Magnuson Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943, was immigration legislation proposed by U.S. Representative (later Senator) Warren G. Magnuson of Washington and signed into law on December 17, 1943 in the United States. It allowed Chinese immigration for the first time since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and permitted Chinese nationals already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens. This marked the first time since the Naturalization Act of 1790 that any Asians were permitted to be naturalized.

Employment Visas

Temporary worker visa, for approved employment in the host country.

Citizenship Test

The United States Citizenship Test (also called "civics exam") is a required step in the Naturalization process. Most applicants for United States citizenship are required to pass the Citizenship Test.

"Asia-Pacific Triangle"

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"Refugee"

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Asian Naturalization

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Asylum

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Citizenship Process

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Data Collection

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Amnesty Program

see Immigration Reform & Control of 1986

Steerage

A large open area beneath a ship's deck, often used to house traveling immigrants. The most basic and cheapest accommodations on a steamship; where most immigrants traveled.

Family Visas

A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States. If you want to become a lawful permanent resident based on the fact that you have a relative who is a citizen of the United States or is a lawful permanent resident, your relative in the U.S. will need to sponsor you and prove he/she has enough income or assets to support you, the intending immigrant(s) when in the United States.

Ellis Island

A reception center in New York Harbor through which most European immigrants to America were processed from 1892 to 1954. Due to corruption rumors of the state-run Castle Garden receiving center in New York, Congress ordered an investigation which resulted in the closing of the Garden and the federal government's new Bureau of Immigration took over immigration.

Fiance Visa

Granted for a limited period prior to intended marriage or civil partnership based on a proven relationship with a citizen of the destination country. If you are a US citizen planning to marry someone who is not a US citizen in the United States, your fiancé(e) will need a visa to enter the United States. Specifically, you will need a K-1 visa, which will allow you to get married and then pursue permanent residency.

Medical Inspection

New arrivals had to pass rigorous medical and document examinations and pay entry before being allowed into the U.S. European immigrants had to wait in line for hours to receive medical examinations.

American Party

Political organization that was created after the election of 1852 by the Know-Nothings, was organized to oppose the great wave of immigrants who entered the United States after 1846. AKA the Know-Nothing Party, this political group was an extreme wing of nativist movement. The group opposed immigration and the election of Roman Catholics to political office. The members of the party met in secret and would not tell anyone what they stood for, instead saying, "I know nothing" when asked.

Immigration Act of 1924 ("National Origins" Act)

The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson-Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, Asian Exclusion Act, was a United States federal law that limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890, down from the 3% cap set by the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, according to the Census of 1890. It excluded immigration of Asians. It superseded the 1921 Emergency Quota Act. The law was aimed at further restricting the Southern and Eastern Europeans who were immigrating in large numbers starting in the 1890s, as well as prohibiting the immigration of East Asians and Asian Indians. The National Origins Quota of 1924, according to the Immigration Act, was the first permanent limitation on immigration into the United States and established the "national origins quota system." In conjunction with the Immigration Act of 1917, it governed American immigration policy until 1952.

Immigration Act of 1990

The Immigration Act of 1990, enacted November 29, 1990, increased the number of legal immigrants allowed into the United States each year. It also created a lottery program that randomly assigned a number of visas. This was to help immigrants from countries where the United States did not often grant visas. Importantly, the modifications also removed homosexuality as a grounds for exclusion from immigration. The Act also provided for exceptions to the English testing process required for naturalization set forth by the Naturalization Act of 1906.

Immigration Reform & Control of 1986

The Immigration and Control Act allowed for the legalization of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. (cut-off date 1982?) and created sanctions against employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants. IRCA also increased funding for border enforcement. And created the H-2A category for temporary, seasonal agricultural work. IRCA did not raise the cap on legal immigration. Created a blue ribbon commission to study undocumented immigration. In brief the act: Required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to certain illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously Made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants (immigrants who do not possess lawful work authorization). Granted a path towards legalization to certain agricultural seasonal workers and immigrants who had been continuously and illegally present in the United States since January 1, 1982.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (the Hart-Cellar Act) abolished the system of national-origin quotas. By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations which changed the ethnic make-up of the United States. 1965 Immigration Act abolished the Asia-Pacific triangle put into place by the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act and removed the discriminatory national origin quotas dating back to the Immigration Act of 1924. The 1965 act set an allocation of twenty thousand visas for every country not in the Western Hemisphere, and established a preference system based on reunited families and meeting the needs of the American economy through the entry of professional and skilled workers.

"Nonimmigrant" Immigrants

This status is for people who enter the U.S. on a temporary basis - whether for tourism, business, temporary work, or study. Once a person has entered the U.S. in nonimmigrant status, they are restricted to the activity or reason for which they were allowed entry. Some people may have more than one visa in their passport, but they can only be admitted into the U.S. in one type of nonimmigrant status at a time. Most nonimmigrant visas are issued only to applicants who can demonstrate their intentions to return to their home country.

Nativism & Xenophobia

Xenophobia is the uncontrollable fear of foreigners. Xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, pogroms or in other cases, genocide. Nativism favors the interests of certain established inhabitants of an area or nation as compared to claims of newcomers or immigrants. Nativism typically means opposition to immigration or efforts to lower the political or legal status of specific ethnic or cultural groups because the groups are considered hostile or alien to the natural culture, and it is assumed that they cannot be assimilated. Nativist movements included the Know Nothing or American Party of the 1850s, the Immigration Restriction League of the 1890s, the anti-Asian movements in the West, resulting in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the "Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907" by which Japan's government stopped emigration to the U.S. Labor unions were strong supporters of Chinese exclusion and limits on immigration, because of fears that they would lower wages and make it harder to organize unions.

Department of Homeland Security

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Diversity Visas

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Employment Focus

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Hemispheric Restrictions

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Marriage Fast Track

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Refugee Act of 1980

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

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Western Hemisphere Exemption

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