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Glossary of Immigration Terms & Legal Terms Begining with C

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
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Cancelled Without Prejudice

From travel.state.gov A stamp an embassy or consulate puts on a visa when there is a mistake in the visa or the visa is a duplicate visa (two of the same kind). It does not affect the v
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Capital Offense

A crime punishable by death.

Case File

A complete collection of every document filed in court in a case.

Case Law

The United States is a "Common Law" country, which means that prior rulings by the courts are considered to be equivalent to law; therefore, published opinions of Appellate Courts or .

Case Number

From travel.state.gov The National Visa Center (NVC) gives each immigrant petition a case number. This number has three letters followed by ten digits (numbers). The three letters are a
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Caseload

The number of cases handled by a judge or a court.

Cause of Action

A legal claim.

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 (see definitions for Acquired and
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Certificate of Naturalization

From travel.state.gov A document issued by the Department of Homeland Security as proof that the person has become a U.S. citizen (naturalized) after immigration to the United States .

Chambers

The offices of a judge and his or her staff.

Change Status

From travel.state.gov Changing from one nonimmigrant visa status to another nonimmigrant visa status while a person is in the U.S. is permitted for some types of visas, if approved by U
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Charge/Chargeable

From travel.state.gov There are numerical limits on the number of immigrant visas that can be granted to aliens form any one foreign country. This limit is the same for all countries. T
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Chief Judge

The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court; chief judges are determined by seniority.

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 creati
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Civil Surgeon

A medically trained, licensed and experienced doctor practicing in the U.S. who is certified by USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service). These medical professionals receive U.S
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Claim

A creditor's assertion of a right to payment from a debtor or the debtor's property.

Claimed Status Review

If an alien in expedited removal claims under oath to be a U.S. citizen, to have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, to have been admitted as a refugee, or to have been gran
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Class Action

A lawsuit in which one or more members of a large group, or class, of individuals or other entities sue on behalf of the entire class. The district court must find that the claims of th
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Clerk of Court

The court officer who oversees administrative functions, especially managing the flow of cases through the court. The clerk's office is often called a court's central nervous
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Cohabit

From travel.state.gov To live together without a legal marriage ceremony.

Collateral

Property that is promised as security for the satisfaction of a debt.

Common Law

The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States that relies on the articulation of legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions.
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Common-Law Marriage

From travel.state.gov An agreement between a man and woman to enter into marriage without a civil or religious ceremony. It may not be recognized as a marriage for immigration purposes.

Community Service

special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to work–without pay–for a civic or nonprofit organization.

Complaint

A written statement that begins a civil lawsuit, in which the plaintiff details the claims against the defendant.

Concurrent Sentence

Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. Example: Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served concurrentl
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Conditional Residence Visa

From travel.state.gov If you have been married for less than two years when your husband or wife (spouse) gets lawful permanent resident status (gets a green card), then your spouse get
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Conditional Resident

Any alien granted permanent resident status on a conditional basis (e.g., a spouse of a U.S. citizen; an immigrant investor), who is required to petition for the removal of the set cond
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Confirmation

Approval of a plan of reorganization by a bankruptcy judge.

Consecutive Sentence

Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served one after the other. Example: Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served consecutively, result in a maximum of 13
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Consumer Bankruptcy

A bankruptcy case filed to reduce or eliminate debts that are primarily consumer debts.

Consumer Debt

Debts incurred for personal, as opposed to business, needs.

Contingent Claim

A claim that may be owed by the debtor under certain circumstances, e.g., where the debtor is a cosigner on another person's loan and that person fails to pay.

Contract

An agreement between two or more persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing.

Conviction

A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Counsel

As a verb, it is any legal advice; as a noun it refers to the lawyers in a case.

Count

An allegation in an indictment or information, charging a defendant with a crime. An indictment or information may contain allegations that the defendant committed more than one crime.
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Country of Birth

The country in which a person is born.

Country of Chargeability

The independent country to which an immigrant entering under the preference system is accredited for purposes of numerical limitations.

Country of 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 protec
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Country of Former Allegiance

The previous country of citizenship of a naturalized U.S. citizen or of a person who derived U.S. citizenship.

Country of Nationality

The country of a person's citizenship or country in which the person is deemed a national.

Country of Residence

The country in which a person habitually resides.

Court

Government entity authorized to resolve legal disputes. Judges sometimes use "court" to refer to themselves in the third person, as in "the court has read the briefs."

Court Reporter

A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the procee
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Credible Fear Review

If an alien seeks to enter the United States without documents, or with fraudulent documents, and expresses a fear of persecution or an intention to apply for asylum, an DHS asylum offi
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Creditor

A person to whom or business to which the debtor owes money or that claims to be owed money by the debtor.

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 cat
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Cuban or 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 parole
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Current/non-current

There are numerical limits on the number of immigrant visas that can be granted to aliens from any one foreign country. The limit is based on place of birth, not citizenship. Because of
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Cut-off Date

From travel.state.gov The date that determines whether a preference immigrant visa applicant can be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview in any given month. The cut-off date is the
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