CIA Status Adjustments & Naturalization Flashcards
6 cards from real CIA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 CIA Status Adjustments & Naturalization flashcards as text
What is the 'Child Status Protection Act' (CSPA) and what problem does it address?
Answer: It freezes a child's age for petition purposes to prevent aging out of child status (under 21) due to USCIS processing delays
The CSPA calculates a child's 'CSPA age' by subtracting the time a petition was pending from the child's biological age, helping preserve child status during government-caused delays.
What is 'registry' as a path to permanent residency and who qualifies?
Answer: A provision under INA Section 249 allowing individuals who entered before January 1, 1972 and have continuously resided in the U.S. to apply for a green card
Registry under INA 249 allows individuals who entered the U.S. before January 1, 1972, have continuously resided in the U.S. since then, are persons of good moral character, and are not inadmissible under certain grounds, to apply for lawful permanent residence.
What is an 'immigrant visa number' and how does its availability relate to processing adjustment of status applications?
Answer: A numerical allocation in a visa preference category; an I-485 cannot be approved until a visa number is available for the applicant's priority date
Congress limits the number of immigrant visas issued per preference category and country annually; an applicant's priority date must be current in the Visa Bulletin before USCIS can approve the I-485.
Under INA Section 316(a), what is the continuous residence requirement for naturalization for most LPRs?
Answer: 5 years of continuous residence immediately preceding the application
The standard naturalization requirement is 5 years of continuous residence as a lawful permanent resident immediately preceding the date of filing the N-400 application.
What is 'dual intent' in U.S. immigration law and which visa categories allow it?
Answer: The ability to hold a nonimmigrant visa while simultaneously harboring an intent to immigrate permanently, recognized for H-1B and L-1 visa holders
Dual intent allows certain nonimmigrant visa holders (notably H-1B and L-1) to have immigrant intent without that intent rendering them inadmissible for their nonimmigrant visa.
What is the significance of the 'lawful admission for permanent residence' (LAPR) date on a green card?
Answer: It is the date on which the individual officially becomes a lawful permanent resident, which anchors the start of the continuous residence clock for naturalization
The LAPR date marks when permanent residence officially begins; it typically coincides with I-485 approval for AOS applicants or the date of entry into the U.S. on an immigrant visa for consular processing applicants.