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Glossary of Immigration and
Naturalization Terms
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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.
Certificate of Citizenship: Identity
document proving U.S. citizenship. Certificates
of citizenship are issued to derivative citizens
and to persons who acquired U.S. citizenship
Chargeability: The independent country
to which an immigrant entering under the
preference system is accredited for purposes of
numerical limitations.
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 U.S. citizen or has an
immediate-relative visa petition submitted in
his/her behalf and is coming to the United
States for adoption by a U.S. citizen.
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.
Civil Surgeon: A medically trained,
licensed and experienced doctor practicing in
the U.S. who is certified by the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Service. These
medical professionals receive U.S.
immigration-focused training in order to provide
examinations as required by the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention and the USCIS.
Conditional Resident: Any alien
granted permanent resident status on a
conditional basis, who is required to petition
for the removal of the set conditions before the
second anniversary of the approval of his or her
conditional status.
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.
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
Immigration before that date, may adjust to
permanent residence under a provision of the
Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986. | 
