wex definitions

Definition

Suitable for courts to hear and decide on the merits.

Definition

A federal statute (46 U.S.C. § 688) that extends the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) to seamen. The Act enables seamen who have been injured at sea during the course of their employment to bring a personal injury action against their employers.

Under the Jones Act, the plaintiff may bring an action in federal district court or in state court.
The defendant is not entitled to remove the case from a state court to federal court.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was the Department of Justice agency which, prior to 2003, handled legal and illegal immigration and naturalization. The INS was abolished in 2003 and its functions placed under three agencies – the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE was formed in 2003 pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was passed following the events of September 11, 2001.

Under U.S. immigration rubric, an immediate relative is the spouse of a U.S. citizen, an unmarried child under 21 years of age of a U.S. citizen, an orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen, an orphan to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen, or the parent of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old.

Immediate relatives have special immigration priority and do not have to wait in line for a visa number to become available for them to immigrate because there are an unlimited number of visas for their particular categories.

An immigrant visa is a document issued by a U.S. consular officer abroad that allows a foreign citizen to travel to the United States and apply for admission as a legal permanent resident.

In general, in order to be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa, a foreign citizen must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen relative or by a prospective employer. Additionally the Diversity Visa provides a certain number of permanent resident visas annually.

Nonimmigrant visitors entering the United States with a visa are required to complete a Arrival-Departure Record (CBP Form I-94) or the Crewman Landing Permit (CBP Form I-95). The Form I-94 shows the date of arrival in the United States, the date when the authorized period of stay expires (the “Admitted Until” date), and the class of admission.

The common term for a permanent resident card. This plastic photo identification card is given to persons who are legal permanent residents of the United States as proof that they are authorized to live and work in the United States. It serves as a U.S. entry document, enabling holders to return to the United States after temporary absences, and it proves their right to work in the United States.

An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS that allows certain aliens them to work legally in the U.S. during the time the EAD is valid. Aliens who require an EAD include asylum seekers, foreign students and refugees.

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, nitroglycerine charge, shotgun charge, and third-degree instruction.