foreign perspective

Foreign direct investment: an overview

The International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) defines foreign direct investment (“FDI”) as a “cross-border investment” in which an investor that is “resident in one economy [has] control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy.” IMF, Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual 100 (6th ed. 2009).

Definition

A '90s class action case in which plaintiffs, undocumented aliens, challenged I.N.S. regulations for allegedly, unduly restricting the eligibility of undocumented aliens who might become public charges for legalization under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Definition

A federal anti-monopoly and anti-trust statute, passed in 1890 as 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-7 and amended by the Clayton Act in 1914 (15 U.S.C.

Definition

A trust for a surviving spouse, who is not a U.S. citizen, that qualifies for the marital deduction. 26 U.S.C. § 2056(d)(2). Also called QDOT.

Definition

An abbreviation for qualified domestic trust. See qualified domestic trust. 

Definition

The principle that one sovereign nation voluntarily adopts or enforces the laws of another sovereign nation out of deference, mutuality, and respect.

Unlike enforcement of judgments between states in the United States (which is governed by the Comity Clause of the Constitution), there is no Constitutional obligation on a U.S. court to recognize or enforce a foreign judgment. Neither is comity of nations embodied in international law.

Definition

The legal principle that political entities (such as states, nations, or courts from different jurisdictions) will mutually recognize each other’s legislative, executive, and judicial acts. The underlying notion is that different jurisdictions will reciprocate each other’s judgments out of deference, mutuality, and respect.

In Constitutional law, the Comity Clause refers to Article IV, § 2, Clause 2 of the U.S.

An accompanying relative is the spouse or child (under the age of 21) of the holder of an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, who is accompanying them to the U.S.

 See also

• Immigration

Abandonment is a determination by the USCIS that a permanent resident has surrendered his/her status as a lawful permanent resident (LPR). The intent of a LPR is a key factor in the USCIS's determination of whether the LPR has abandoned his/her permanent residence in the U.S.

Immigration law: an overview

Federal immigration law determines whether a person is an alien, the rights, duties, and obligations associated with being an alien in the United States, and how aliens gain residence or citizenship within the United States. It also provides the means by which certain aliens can become legally naturalized citizens with full rights of citizenship.