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Glossary of Immigration Terms & Legal Terms Begining with S
This is a glossary of legal & immigration related terms provided by Crossings Immigration Lawyers for convenience purposes only. Nothing in this glossary or on this site should be taken as legal advice. You should contact us directly for a free consultation with an immigration lawyer.
- Safe Haven
- Temporary refuge given to migrants who have fled their countries of origin to seek protection or relief from persecution or other hardships, until they can return to their countries saf
[ read more on Safe Haven ] - Sanction
- A penalty or other type of enforcement used to bring about compliance with the law or with rules and regulations.
- SAW
- From travel.state.gov See Special Agricultural Worker.
- Schedule
- Lists submitted by the debtor along with the petition (or shortly thereafter) showing the debtor's assets, liabilities, and other financial information. (There are official forms a
[ read more on Schedule ] - Schedule "A" Occupations
- From travel.state.gov The Department of Labor (DOL) has given the DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services authority to approve labor certifications for these occupations. TheseÂ
[ read more on Schedule "A" Occupations ] - Second Preference
- From travel.state.gov A category of family immigration (F2) for spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
- Section 213A
- From travel.state.gov A section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which establishes that sponsors have a legal duty to support immigrants they want to bring (sponsor) to the
[ read more on Section 213A ] - Secured Creditor
- A secured creditor is an individual or business that holds a claim against the debtor that is secured by a lien on property of the estate. The property subject to the lien is the secure
[ read more on Secured Creditor ] - Secured Debt
- Debt backed by a mortgage, pledge of collateral, or other lien; debt for which the creditor has the right to pursue specific pledged property upon default. Examples include home mortgag
[ read more on Secured Debt ] - Senior Judge
- A federal judge who, after attaining the requisite age and length of judicial experience, takes senior status, thus creating a vacancy among a court's active judges. A senior judge
[ read more on Senior Judge ] - Sentence
- The punishment ordered by a court for a defendant convicted of a crime.
- Sentencing Guideline
- A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant.
- Sequester
- To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
- Service Centers
- Four offices established to handle the filing, data entry, and adjudication of certain applications for immigration services and benefits. The applications are mailed to USCIS Service C
[ read more on Service Centers ] - Service of Process
- The delivery of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- Settlement
- Parties to a lawsuit resolve their dispute without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in at least partial satisfaction of the other party
[ read more on Settlement ] - Sibling
- From travel.state.gov Brother or sister.
- Son/daughter
- From travel.state.gov In immigration law a child becomes a son or daughter when he/she turns 21 or marries. A son or daughter must have once met the definition of a child in immigration
[ read more on Son/daughter ] - Special Agricultural Worker
- Aliens who performed labor in perishable agricultural commodities for a specified period of time and were admitted for temporary and then permanent residence under a provision of the Im
[ read more on Special Agricultural Worker ] - Special Immigrant
- Certain categories of immigrants who were exempt from numerical limitation before fiscal year 1992 and subject to limitation under the employment-based fourth preference beginning in 19
[ read more on Special Immigrant ] - Special Naturalization Provision
- Provisions covering special classes of persons whom may be naturalized even though they do not meet all the general requirements for naturalization. Such special provisions allow: 1) wi
[ read more on Special Naturalization Provision ] - Sponsor
- There are many ways to sponsor an alien. The term "sponsor" in the immigration sense, often means to bring to the United States or "petition for". If you would like to sponsor, or petit
[ read more on Sponsor ] - Sponsored Immigrant
- From travel.state.gov An immigrant who has had an affidavit of support filed for him/her.
- Spouse
- From travel.state.gov Legally married husband or wife. A co-habiting partner does not qualify as a spouse for immigration purposes. A common-law husband or wife may or may not qualify a
[ read more on Spouse ] - Standard of Proof
- Degree of proof required. In criminal cases, prosecutors must prove a defendant's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." The majority of civil lawsuits require proof "by
[ read more on Standard of Proof ] - State Workforce Agency
- The agency or bureau in each State that deals with employment and labor issues. For the address of workforce agency in each State go to the U.S. Department of Labor, Foreign Labor
[ read more on State Workforce Agency ] - Stateless
- Having no nationality.
- Statement of Financial Affairs
- A series of questions the debtor must answer in writing concerning sources of income, transfers of property, lawsuits by creditors, etc. (There is an official form a debtor must use.)
- Statement of Intention
- A declaration made by a chapter 7 debtor concerning plans for dealing with consumer debts that are secured by property of the estate.
- Statute
- A law passed by a legislature.
- Statute of Limitations
- The time within which a lawsuit must be filed or a criminal prosecution begun. The deadline can vary, depending on the type of civil case or the crime charged.
- Stepchild
- From travel.state.gov A spouseâs child from a previous marriage or other relationship. In order for a stepchild to be able to immigrate as a âchild,â the marriage creatin
[ read more on Stepchild ] - Stowaway
- An alien coming to the United States surreptitiously on an airplane or vessel without legal status of admission. Such an alien is subject to denial of formal admission and return to the
[ read more on Stowaway ] - Student
- As a nonimmigrant class of admission, an alien coming temporarily to the United States to pursue a full course of study in an approved program in either an academic (college, university
[ read more on Student ] - Sua Sponte
- Latin, meaning "of its own will." Often refers to a court taking an action in a case without being asked to do so by either side.
- Subject to the Numerical Limit
- Categories of legal immigrants subject to annual limits under the provisions of the flexible numerical limit of 675,000 set by the Immigration Act of 1990. The largest categories are: f
[ read more on Subject to the Numerical Limit ] - Subordination
- The act or process by which a person's rights or claims are ranked below those of others.
- Subpoena
- A command, issued under a court's authority, to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Subpoena Duces Tecum
- A command to a witness to appear and produce documents.
- Substance Abuse Treatment
- A special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to undergo testing and treatment for abuse of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or alcohol. Treatment may include inpa
[ read more on Substance Abuse Treatment ] - Substantial Abuse
- The characterization of a bankruptcy case filed by an individual whose debts are primarily consumer debts where the court finds that the granting of relief would be an abuse of chapter
[ read more on Substantial Abuse ] - Substantive Consolidation
- Putting the assets and liabilities of two or more related debtors into a single pool to pay creditors. (Courts are reluctant to allow substantive consolidation since the action must not
[ read more on Substantive Consolidation ] - Summary Judgment
- A decision made on the basis of statements and evidence presented for the record without a trial. It is used when it is not necessary to resolve any factual disputes in the case. Summar
[ read more on Summary Judgment ] - Supervised Release
- term of supervision served after a person is released from prison. The court imposes supervised release during sentencing in addition to the sentence of imprisonment. Unlike parole, sup
[ read more on Supervised Release ] - Surviving Parent
- From travel.state.gov A childâs living parent when the childâs other parent is dead, and the living parent has not remarried.
- SWA
- From travel.state.gov See State Workforce Agency.
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