Following is an alphabetical listing of acronymns and other terms related to the work and history of LIRS. Many links within the various definitions point to other definitions on the page. To find an entry, scroll down or click on the initial letter in one of the gold navigation bars.

A

A number
identifying number—currently eight digits prefixed by the letter "A"—assigned to an immigrant’s Department of Homeland Security file, temporary resident cards, permanent resident cards and other DHS-issued documents

AAL / Aid Association for Lutherans
one of two fraternal benefits organizations that merged in 2002 to form Thrivent

ABA / American Bar Association
a voluntary professional association of attorneys that provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public

ABC / American Baptist Churches
umbrella name for plaintiffs in a major lawsuit against the Immigration and Naturalization Service which was settled in December 1990, opening the way for many refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala to receive asylum

ACF / Administration for Children and Families
agency of the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services that provides national leadership and direction to plan, manage and coordinate the nationwide administration of comprehensive and supportive programs for vulnerable children and families; parent agency of the Office of Refugee Resettlement

ACLU / American Civil Liberties Union

ACP / Associated Church Press
professional organization of denominational magazines and other publications

ADA / Americans With Disabilities Act

admissions
numbers of refugees approved by the U.S. government to enter the country in a given year

AELC / Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
one of three predecessor church bodies that formed the Evangelical Lutherna Church in America

affiliate
local program through which LIRS resettles refugees and provides immigration legal services

AFSC / American Friends Service Committee
Quaker organization that supports reconciliation and development and advocates for refugee rights throughout the world, including in the United States; founded in 1917

AFDC / Aid to Families With Dependent Children
former federally funded cash welfare program replaced by Transitional Assistance for Needy Families

AI / Amnesty International
worldwide organization that promotes internationally recognized human rights standards and seeks to prevent and end grave human rights abuses; based in London

AILA / American Immigration Lawyers Association
association of attorneys specializing in the field of immigration and nationality law; headquartered in Washington, D.C.

ALC / American Lutheran Church
one of three predecessor church bodies that formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

ALDE / Association of Lutheran Development Executives
association of fund raising executives for Lutheran agencies, schools, camps and other organizations; headquartered in Verona, Wis.

allocations
weekly meetings during which of representatives of U.S. refugee resettlement agencies receive allocations of refugees cases and biographical data on refugees requiring assurances from the Refugee Data Center

Amerasian
individual fathered by a U.S. citizen and born in Vietnam between January 1, 1962 and January 1, 1976

amnesty
program established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act through which eligible undocumented persons could receive permanent resident status; officially known as legalization

AOR / Affidavit of Relationship
form affirming the relationship between a former refugee or an asylee now living in the United States and a family member still living overseas in one of the countries indicated as eligible in the annual presidential determination; completion and notarization of this form begins the process of family reunification

AOS / Affidavit of Support
Department of Homeland Security forms I-134 and I-864 promising to support an alien entering the United States so that the alien will not become a public charge

ARC / American Red Cross
humanitarian organization founded in 1881 under a congressional charter to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies

ARMS / African Refugee and Migration Services
program of ECDC responsible for resettling refugees

assurance
written commitment submitted by the resettlement agency to the INS to (a) provide or ensure the provision of core services for a refugee or refugees or (b) assure the INS that an immigrant or immigrants will not become a burden on the U.S. Government

asylee
asylum winner; non-U.S. Citizen in the United States whose application for asylum has been adjudicated by the DOJ and about whom a determination has been made that he or she is "unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, based on the person’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion"

asylum seeker
person who has fled personal danger in his or her home country, has entered the United States directly in search of safety and protection and in order to stay must apply for asylum

B

BIA / Board of Immigration Appeals
division of the EOIR; highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws, hears appeals of decisions made in individual cases by Immigration Judges, INS District Directors, or other immigration officials

biodata
two- to three-page form containing biographical data about a refugee recorded by a refugee camp interviewer then sent to the RDC, where the allocation of the case to a resettlement agency takes place; generally the only advance information available about a refugee

BPRM / Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
government agency in the DOS that formulates, implements and directs U.S. refugee and migration policies and programs; responsible for the management of the U.S. admissions program and the initial resettlement of refugees in the United States

C

CAL / Center for Applied Linguistics
private, nonprofit organization that uses the findings of linguistics and related sciences to identify and address language-related problems through research, education, technical assistance and policy analysis

CARECEN / Central American Refugee Center
any of various centers serving the Central American refugee communities in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston and several other cities

CAT / Convention Against Torture
UNHCHR document published in 1984 to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms

CBO / community-based organization

CCMC / Communications Consortium Media Center
for-profit organization that helps nonprofit organizations use media and telecommunications technologies as tools for public education and policy change

CCR / Canadian Council for Refugees
nonprofit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada; serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its member organizations; based in Montreal, Quebec

CFR / Code of Federal Regulations
set of volumes giving regulations that each administrative agency writes to further delineate the meaning of laws that govern the agency; regulations for the INS are given in Title 8 of the code

CIEJ / Citizens and Immigrants for Equal Justice
advocacy group made up of LPRs and others directly impacted by immigration laws enacted in 1996

CIS / Center for Immigration Studies
nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States

CIS / Commonwealth of Independent States
created in 1991 upon the disbanding of the Soviet Union by its former republics

CLINIC / Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.
cofounder of the DWN

cooperative agreement
agreement between the BPRM and a VOLAG outlining the core services the agency is responsible for providing to newly arrived refugees; for family reunion cases these services cover the refugees’ first 90 days and for free cases the first six months after arrival in the United States

CPA / Comprehensive Plan of Action
international plan for the resettlement of Indochinese refugees which ended in 1989

Cuban/Haitian entrant
status accorded to (a) Cubans who entered the United States illegally between April 15 and October 10, 1980, and (b) Haitians who entered the country illegally before January 1, 1981, who have continuously resided in the United States since before January 1, 1982, who were known to the INS before that date and who are therefore eligible to adjust to permanent residence status under the law

CWS / Church World Service
relief, development and refugee service arm of the NCCC; its Refugee and Immigration Program was established in 1946; based in New York City

D

DED / Deferred Enforced Departure
temporary legal status that the administration can confer

DFMS / Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society
agency of the Episcopal Church in which EMM is located

DHHS / Department of Health and Human Services

DHS / Department of Homeland Security
U.S. government department created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002; comprises 22 agencies including those that took over the functions of the former INS

DOD / Department of Defense

DOJ / Department of Justice

DOS / Department of State

DWN / Detention Watch Network
organization founded in 1997 by LIRS, CLINIC and FIRRP dedicated to the fair treatment of asylum seekers and others held in immigration detention

E

ECDC / Ethiopian Community Development Council
agency established in 1983 to respond to the service delivery needs of Ethiopians fleeing repressive governmental poilicies in their homeland; parent of ARMS; based in Arlington, Va.

ECRE / European Council on Refugees and Exiles

ELCA / Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
church body formed in 1988 by the merger of three predecessor bodies; headquartered in Chicago; one of three supporting church bodies of LIRS

EMM / Episcopal Migration Ministries
organization through which the Episcopal Church responds to refugees, displaced persons and asylum seekers; based in New York City

EOIR / Executive Office of Immigration Review
agency within the DOJ that administers and interprets Federal immigration laws and regulations through the conduct of immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings in individual cases through BIA, OCIJ and OCAHA; located in Falls Church, Va.

ERP / European refugee processing

EWI / entry without inspection

F

FAM / Federal Affairs Manual

family reunification
resettlement case in which refugees are reunited with relatives already residing in the United States

FIRRP / Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project
agency in Florence, Ariz., also know as the Florence Project, that provides pro bono legal services to detainees; cofounder of DWN

FOIA / Freedom of Information Act
means of public access to information on activities of the federal government

FR / Federal Register
U.S. government publication that announces all federal regulations and guidelines

free case
refugee case without family ties in the United States; may be placed in any geographic area at the discretion of the resettlement agency

FSU / Former Soviet Union

FY / fiscal year
for the federal government, the 12-month period from October 1 to September 30; for LIRS, the 12-month period from January 1 to December 31

G

GANO/CARECEN / Gulfton Area Neighborhood Association/Central American Refugee Center
merged community-based organization in Houston that serves asylum seekers

GME / Global Mission Event
annual conferences sponsored by the ELCA

green card
DHS document—Form I-551—certifying lawful permanent resident status; also known as a permanent resident card, alien registration receipt card or resident alien card; not necessarily green in color

guardian ad litem
a person appointed by a court to represent the best interests of a minor child involved in legal proceedings

H

H1-B visa
temporary work permit commonly issued to high-tech foreign workers

HIAS / Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
refugee and migration agency of the organized Jewish community in the United States; based in New York City

HRW / Human Rights Watch
advocacy group that investigates human rights abuses in some 70 countries, including the human rights of refugees and displaced persons

I

I-864
AOS form

I-94
DHS control document that notes every non-U.S. Citizen’s or permanent resident’s immigration status, arrival in and departure from the United States, and period of time for which the person is admitted

IAJVS / International Association of Jewish Vocational Services
a not-for-profit trade association of 29 social service agencies in the United States, Canada, and Israel that provide educational, vocational, and rehabilitation services

ICMC / International Catholic Migration Commission
coordinates Catholic assistance to refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons, regardless of creed

ICPC / Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
a binding contract that establishes uniform legal and administrative procedures regarding the interstate placement of children in treatment facilities, foster homes or other settings

ICRC / International Committee of the Red Cross

ICVA / International Council of Voluntary Agencies
advocacy network that facilitates a "policy to implementation" partnership between NGOs and international agencies; founded in 1962

IDHS / Iowa Department of Human Services
department of the Iowa state government which includes the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services; reception and placement agency and the state’s provider of social services to refugees

IDP / internally displaced person
civilians of a country internally displaced by persecution or armed conflict; share many characteristics with refugees who cross an international border but because they remain inside their own countries are not protected under international refugee law

IGLHRC / International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
organization that advocates for people subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status; based in San Francisco

IIRIRA or IIR/IRA / Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

IJ / immigration judge

ILLL / International Lutheran Laymen’s League
auxiliary of the LCMS

ILRC / Immigration Legal Resource Center

ILWML / International Lutheran Women’s Missionary League
auxiliary of the LCMS

IMMACT / Immigration Act of 1990
legislation that increased the number of permanent visas available each year for family- and work-sponsored immigration, reorganized the visa preference system, created a program of temporary safe haven with the status TPS for persons fleeing their countries of origin under certain circumstances, granted TPS to Salvadorans, created a family unity program, revised the grounds of exclusion, shifted the responsibility from Congress to the executive branch for deciding whether HIV-infected persons or persons with AIDS should be barred from entering the United States, and brought changes to the administrative naturalization process

immigrant
alien admitted to the United States as a LPR via an immigrant visa issued overseas by the DOS or a status adjustment by the INS

INA / Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
legislation that defines most immigration statutes now in use and forms the basis for U.S. immigration law and policies; contained in Title 8 of the USC

INS / Immigration and Naturalization Service
federal agency within the DOJ that administers immigration law and gives final clearance for admission to the United States

InterAction / American Council for Voluntary International Action
association of some 160 U.S. private and voluntary organizations working in humanitarian emergency relief, international development, public policy and federal relations, and development education

interest
document filed with the RDC by the resettlement agency on behalf of U.S.-based relatives or friends to indicate the agency’s relationship with a case

IOM / International Organization for Migration
governmental agency established in 1951 to arrange resettlement processing and transportation for migrants and refugees; administers interest-free transportation loans for most refugees who resettle in the United States; often provides programs for medical screening, language training and cultural orientation

IRC / International Rescue Committee
nonsectarian national resettlement agency founded in 1933; based in New York

IRCA / Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
legislation that provided for the legalization of specific groups of non-U.S. citizens, prohibited the employment of persons who were not authorized by the INS to work, and established sanctions against employers who hired persons not authorized to work

IRIM / Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries
affiliate of LIRS for Illinois based in Chicago; formerly InterChurch Refugee and Immigration Ministries

IRSA / Immigration and Refugee Services of America
nonsectarian national resettlement agency; parent agency of the USCR; based in Washington, D.C.

ISS / International Social Service
nonsectarian agency whose 146 autonomous national branches, affiliated bureaus and correspondents provide services to individuals and families who encounter sociolegal problems around the world and bridge and strengthen family ties that have weakened as a result of forced migration or family mobility; founded in 1924; based in Geneva, Switzerland

ISS-USA Branch / International Social Service-United States of America Branch
nonsectarian subsidiary of LIRS and national branch of ISS providing intercountry social work and repatriation services to U.S. Citizens

IV / immigration visa
INS endorsement granted to individuals who plan to seek permanent resident status

J

JF / Jewish Federation

JFS / Jewish Family Services
name of several member agencies of The Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies throughout the United States and Canada that provide social and human services to Jews

JRS / Jesuit Refugee Service
founded in 1983 to provide direct services to refugees worldwide; based in Washington, D.C.

JVA / Joint Voluntary Agency
agency under contract with the U.S. DOS to document and process overseas refugee cases for admission to the United States

JVAR / Joint Voluntary Agency representative
official representative of the U.S. voluntary agencies overseas who functions under contract with the DOS to carry out interviewing, documenting and processing of refugees in those countries from which refugees are being resettled in the United States

L

LB / Lutheran Brotherhood
one of two fraternal benefits organizations that merged in 2002 to form Thrivent

LCA / Lutheran Church in America
one of three church bodies that merged to form the ELCA

LCFS / Lutheran Children and Family Service
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement services in Eastern Pennsylvania; based in Philadelphia

LCHR / Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
public interest law center based in New York concerned about the fields of international human rights and refugee law

LCMS / Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
national church body based in St. Louis; one of three sponsors of LIRS

LCUSA / Lutheran Council in the USA
cooperative Lutheran agency that functioned from 1967 through 1987; parent agency of the Department of Immigration and Refugee Services, former name of LIRS

LDR / Lutheran Disaster Response
cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS that assists in meeting emergency needs following major U.S. disasters

LECNA / Lutheran Educational Conference of North America
organization that encourages, assists and promotes cooperation among Lutheran colleges and universities; formed in 1910

LELCA / Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
national church body formed by Latvian-Americans in 1975 having no fixed headquarters; one of three sponsors of LIRS

LFCS / Lutheran Family and Community Services
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services in metropolitan New York City; based in Manhattan

LFS / Lutheran Family Service(s)
affiliates of LIRS for resettlement and/or immigration services are LFS of Colorado based in Denver; LFS in the Carolinas based in Greensboro, N.C.; and LFS of Oregon and Southwest Washington based in Portland.

LHRA / Lutheran Human Relations Association of America
an association of individuals and Lutheran congregations that seeks to do justice by bridging racial, cultural, gender, age, ability, class and income gaps, and building human community

LIRS / Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
cooperative agency of the ELCA, LCMS and LELCA for ministry with refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented persons and immigrants; begun in 1939; headquartered in Baltimore

LIS / Lutheran Immigration Service
name of LIRS from 1960 through 1966 as part of the NLC

LMM / Lutheran Men in Mission
men's ministry of the ELCA

LOGA / Lutheran Office of Governmental Affairs
Washington, D.C., advocacy office of the ELCA to which LIRS’s director for legislative affairs relates

LPR / lawful permanent resident
non-U.S. Citizen who enters the United States with an immigrant visa or who has achieved permanent status after entering; entitled to live and work in the United States and collect entitlement benefits, if categorically qualified

LRS / Lutheran Refugee Service
name of LIRS from its beginning in 1939 to 1948 and again during 1954-59 as part of the NLC

LRS / Lutheran Resettlement Service
name of LIRS from 1948 to 1954 as part of the NLC

LSA / Lutheran Services in America
alliance of the ELCA, the LCMS and their SMOs; national network of social service and long term care programs; headquartered in St. Paul

LSF / Lutheran Services Florida
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services based in Tampa

LSG / Lutheran Services of Georgia
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services based in Atlanta, formerly Lutheran Ministries of Georgia

LSM / Lutheran Social Ministry
affiliates of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services are LSM of the Southwest based in Phoenix, Ariz., and LSM of New Jersey based in Trenton

LSS / Lutheran Social Service(s)
affiliates of LIRS for resettlement, immigration and/or children’s services are LSS of Iowa based in Des Moines; LSS of the National Capital Area based in Falls Church, Va.; LSS of Michigan based in Southfield; LSS of Minnesota based in Minneapolis; LSS of New England based in West Springfield, Mass., And Concord, N.H.; LSS of the North Dakota based in Fargo; LSS of Northeast Florida based in Jacksonville; LSS of South Dakota based in Sioux Falls; LSS of Washington and Idaho based in Seattle; and LSS of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan based in Milwaukee

LTD / long-term detainee
individual held in INS detention for long or indefinite period of time, usually scheduled for deportation to a country with which the United States has no formal relations

LVC / Lutheran Volunteer Corps
agency that provides opportunities for community service to adult volunteers; founded in 1979; based in Washington, D.C.

LWF / Lutheran World Federation
worldwide communion of Luthean church bodies formed in 1947; headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland

LWML / Lutheran Women's Missionary League
women's organization of the LCMS with over 250,000 members that encourages and equips women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to financially support global missions

LWR / Lutheran World Relief
international relief and development arm of the ELCA and LCMS formed in 1945; headquartered with LIRS in Baltimore

M

MAA / mutual assistance association
ethnic organization that provides culturally relevant and community-based services to refugees

MGP / matching grant program
program funded by ORR with the goal of helping refugees attain self-sufficiency within four months after their arrival in the United States without access to public cash assistance; gives up to $2,000 per refugee, which must be matched by the VOLAGs participating in the program

migration-asylum nexus
the presence of asylum seekers among larger migrant groups

MIRC / Midwest Immigrant Rights Center
program of the Heartland Alliance based in Chicago that provides pro bono legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees in immigration-related matters

MRA / Migration and Refugee Assistance Account
account within the DOS budget that funds refugee protection and assistance programs overseas such as those of the UNHCR and IOM and an array of activities relating to the admission of refugees to the United States including agreements with JVA offices, costs of refugee processing and documentation, cultural orientation programs, transportation through IOM and R&P grants to U.S. resettlement agencies

MVRCR / Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services in Utica, N.Y.

MRS / Migration and Refugee Services
USCCB office responsible for developing policy on migration, immigration and refugee issues and for providing program support and regional coordination for its regional network

N

N-400
INS application form for naturalization

NACARA / Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act
legislation enacted in 1997 allowing certain long-term aliens from Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala and El Salvador to adjust to permanent resident status

NAE / National Association of Evangelicals
voluntary association of individuals, denominations, congregations, schools, organizations and parachurch ministries in the United States

NATO / North Atlantic Treaty Organization

naturalization
process of becoming a U.S. Citizen after five years of lawful permanent residency in the United States

NCCC / National Council of Churches of Christ
ecumenical organization of 36 Protestant and Orthodox communions

NCLR / National Council of La Raza
nonprofit organization working for equal opportunities for Hispanic Americans

NGO / nongovernmental organization

NIF / National Immigration Forum
association of some 250 ethnic, religious and service organizations, including LIRS, that advocates and builds public support for public policies that are fair and supportive to refugees and immigrants

NILC / National Immigration Law Center
national support center that protects and promotes the rights of low income immigrants and their family members through policy analysis, impact litigation, publications, technical advice and training; based in Los Angeles

NIV / nonimmigrant visa
DOS endorsement granted to individuals who are not planning to seek permanent resident status

NLC / National Lutheran Council
cooperative Lutheran agency that functioned from 1918 to 1967, when it was succeeded by the LCUSA; LIRS began as a NLC program in 1939

NLG / National Lawyers Guild
association of law professionals and students that seeks to further economic justice, social equality and the right to political dissent; based in New York City

NNIRR / National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

NPO / nonprofit organization; not-for-profit organization

NRSV / New Revised Standard Version
translation of the Bible sponsored by the NCCC; used for biblical quotes in LIRS materials

NTA / Notice to Appear
INS written notice to a person alleging that the person is removable from the United States and listing the particular charges against the person

NWIRP / Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
project that provides legal representation to low-income immigrants and asylum seekers; based in Seattle

NYANA / New York Association for New Americans
resettlement and rehabilitation agency for Jewish and other refugees in metropolitan New York City

O

OCIJ / Office of the Chief Immigration Judge
office of EOIR that oversees all the Immigration Courts and their proceedings throughout the United States

OCAHO / Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer
office of EOIR that resolves cases concerning employer sanctions, document fraud, and immigration-related employment discrimination

ODP / Orderly Departure Program
program established in 1979 by the government of Vietnam and the UNHCR that allowed Vietnamese who had been accepted by the United States and other countries to emigrate legally from Vietnam; provided an alternative to clandestine and hazardous boat departures from that country

OFDA / Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
office of USAID that provides U.S. assistance to victims of natural disasters and complex emergencies in foreign countries

OIG / Office of the Inspector General
office that promotes economy, efficiency and effectiveness and enforces criminal and civil laws, regulations and ethical standards within a department of the U.S. Government

OJP / Office of Justice Programs
office of DOJ that provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, improve the criminal and juvenile justice systems, increase knowledge about crime and related issues, and assist crime victims

OMB / Office of Management and Budget White House
office that assists the president in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget and to supervise its administration in executive branch agencies

OPE / Overseas Processing Entity
agency under contract with the U.S. DOS to document and process overseas refugee cases for admission to the United States

ORR / Office of Refugee Resettlement
agency within the DHHS/ACF that funds services aimed at helping refugees achieve self-sufficiency after their arrival in the United States through state-administered and voluntary refugee resettlement programs; funds refugee cash and medical assistance, aid to unaccompanied refugee minors, supplementary welfare payments, the MGP, demonstration and other special projects, English language instruction, employment services, targeted assistance for counties with high concentrations of dependent refugees, and other support services

OTM / other than Mexican
term used by the INS

P

P1, P2, P3, etc.
processing priorities for the admission of refugees into the United States

PA / principal applicant
usually refers to the head of the household in a refugee case

PAIR Project / Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project
volunteer program that provides pro-bono legal services to asylum seekers; based in Boston

PAPA / Political Asylum Project of Austin
volunteer program that provides pro-bono legal services to asylum seekers; based in Austin, Texas

parole
action taken at the discretion of the INS to permit a person to come into the United States without actually being admitted

PCUSA / Presbyterian Church (USA)
works jointly with LIRS to provide grants to community-based asylum projects

per capita grant
grant, whose terms are spelled out in the cooperative agreement, to a VOLAG by DOS/BPRM for each refugee resettled for provision of services during the refugee’s first 80 or 90 days in the United States

PIRC / Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center

preferred communities
communities that are considered especially favorable for the resettlement of refugees

presidential determination on refugee admissions
an annual memorandum from the U.S. president to the secretary of state setting ceilings for U.S. refugee admissions, indicating

PL / public law

port of entry
any location in the United States or its territories designated as an entry point for aliens and U.S. Citizens including all INS district offices since they become locations of entry for aliens adjusting to immigrant status

PRUCOL / person residing under color of law

PVA / private voluntary agency

R

R&P / reception and placement
program dealing with the initial reception and placement of refugees in the United States as carried out by the VOLAGs under agreements with the DOS/BPRM

RC / regional consultant
title used by LIRS for directors of affiliate resettlement programs

RCA / refugee cash assistance
need-based cash assistance provided to refugees who do not qualify for cash assistance under the TANF or SSI programs but who meet income eligibility requirements of the state’s TANF program and time limitations set forth by ORR

RCUSA / Refugee Council USA
coalition of U.S. NGOs that advocates on issues affecting the protection and rights of refugees and displaced persons in the United States and across the world; formed in 2000

refugee
person admitted to the United States who is "unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, based on the person’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion;" applies for admission from a country of first asylum outside the United States whereas an asylum seeker applies on U.S. soil

Refugee Act of 1980
legislation that incorporated into U.S. law the essence of the international definition of a refugee derived from the 1951 U.N. Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Protocol of 1967; replaced the previous parole system for the admission of refugees with an annual quota determined by the president after consultations with Congress

refugee authorized admissions
number of refugees, divided by region (Africa, East Asia, South Asia and Near East, Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union, Latin America and the Caribbean and some unallocated) to be admitted to the United States in a given federal fiscal year as determined by the president after consultations with Congress

RFP / Request for Proposal

RIM / Refugee Immigration Ministry
ministry serving asylum seekers and immigrants; based in Boston

RMA / Refugee Medical Assistance
ORR-funded medical coverage available to all refugees through the states

RPC / Refugee Processing Center
DOS/PRM center in Arlington, Va., that uses WRAPS to process and track the movement of refugees from various countries around the world to the U.S. for resettlement under the USRP; operates refugee case allocations and R&P grant verification

RST / Refugee Services of Texas
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement services, formerly Refugee Services of North Texas; based in Dallas

RTS / Refugee Tracking System
LIRS database system containing information on refugees

S

SCORR / State Coordinators of Refugee Resettlement
professional association of directors and managers who oversee state refugee programs

SEARAC / Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
organization that advocates for and represents of Americans of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese descent; founded in 1979; based in Washington, D.C.

SI / Survivors International
multidisciplinary professional network that provides psychological and medical treatment and other support services to survivors of torture and training to individuals and agencies that work with refugees and immigrants; based in San Diego

SIJ / Special Immigrant Juvenile status
unique INS status available only to unaccompanied minors who are dependent on the state and eligible for long-term foster care

SMO / Social Ministry Organization
organizations within the ELCA and LCMS that care for persons in need

SPC / Service Processing Center
term INS uses for its detention facilities

SSI / Supplemental Security Income
federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income by providing cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter

SSN / Social Security number

SWOT / Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

T

TANF / Transitional Assistance for Needy Families
federal program, also known as welfare reform, that provides assistance and work opportunities to needy families with children under age 18 by granting states the federal funds and wide flexibility to develop and implement their own welfare programs

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
fraternal society providing insurance coverage, financial products and services, and other membership benefits

Title 8
Section of the USC that contains U.S. Immigration laws

TPS / Temporary Protected Status
status granted by the U.S. attorney general to nationals of a foreign country with a finding that conditions in that country pose a danger to personal safety due to ongoing armed conflict or an environmental disaster; initially made for periods of 6 to 18 months and may be extended depending on the situation

TLS / Tressler Lutheran Services
affiliate of LIRS for resettlement and immigration services based in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

U

UCC / uniform commercial code

undocumented person
individual who enters the United States without documentation or remains after the time authorized to stay by the INS; often does not seek the protection of civil rights and anti-discrimination laws, minimum wages, fair labor standards or health care for fear of detection

UNHCHR / United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNHCR / United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
office established in 1950 to provide international protection, care and maintenance for refugees who fall within the scope of its mandate through voluntary repatriation, local integration in the country of first asylum or resettlement in a third country; also, the individual in charge of that office

URM / unaccompanied refugee minor
refugee child or adolescent who comes to the United States without a parent or guardian

URM Program
ORR-funded program of support for URMs that provides foster care and other benefits

USAID / U.S. Agency for International Development
federal agency that works to achieve sustainable development and advance U.S. foreign policy objectives

USC / United States Code
set of volumes of U.S. laws passed by Congress divided into sections called titles

USC / U.S. Citizen
under the INS, a person who is born in the United States, including the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands; or who become a citizen through naturalization; or who is born outside the United States to U.S. Citizen parents under qualifying circumstances (derivative citizenship) and who has not renounced U.S. citizenship

USCCB / United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
public policy and social action agency of the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States; formerly United States Catholic Conference (USCC); founded in 1920; based in Washington, D.C.

USCR / U.S. Committee for Refugees
public education and information program of IRSA

USG / U.S. Government

USIA / U.S. Information Agency

USRP / U.S. Refugee Program

V

VAWA / Violence Against Women Act

Visa
DOS document authorizing a non-U.S. Citizen to enter and remain in the United States for certain periods of time and for certain purposes

VIVE
organization which assists political asylum-seekers who intend to enter Canada; founded in 1984; based in Buffalo, N.Y.

VOLAG / voluntary agency
one of ten agencies (CWS, ECDC, EMM, HIAS, IDHS, IRC, IRSA, LIRS, USCCB and WR) that resettles refugees admitted to the United States

W

WCC / World Council of Churches

WCRWC / Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
organization that monitors the care and protection of refugee women and children and advocates for refugee and displaced women, children and adolescents; based in New York City

WELCA / Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
women's organization of the ELCA comprising over 7,800 local units committed to growth in faith, affirmation of women and women’s ministries, leadership development, education, advocacy, and service

Wheat Ridge Ministries
independent Lutheran charitable organization that provides seed grants to congregations and agencies who are beginning new health-related ministries; partner with LIRS in giving grants to Lutheran congregations for outreach ministries to refugees and immigrants which go beyond initial resettlement

WHO / World Health Organization

WOAT / World Organization Against Torture

WRAPS / Worldwide Refugee Admissions and Processing System
global system operated by RPC to track movements of refugees from various countries around the world to the United States for resettlement

WR / World Relief
international assistance arm of the NAE that provides overseas relief and development help in countries of first asylum and domestic refugee resettlement with the involvement of local evangelical churches; based in Baltimore