IMMIGRATION LAW BASICS
This 1997 court settlement sets national standards for how immigration authorities must treat and release children in custody
The Flores Settlement Agreement
This 1994 federal law lets an abused spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen or green-card holder apply for legal status on their own, without the abuser's help or knowledge
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
Asylum applicants generally must file within this amount of time after their most recent arrival in the U.S.
One year
Immigration court cases are heard by these officials, who work for the Department of Justice, not DHS
Immigration judges
This program, started in 2012, protects certain people brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and lets them get a work permit
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
Under Flores, children generally can't be held in an unlicensed immigration facility for longer than this number of days
20 days
True or False: despite its name, VAWA only allows women to self-petition
False — VAWA is gender-neutral; men can and do file self-petitions too
True or False: family members who qualify as derivatives on a U or T visa count against that visa's annual cap
False — only the principal applicant counts against the cap
This is the umbrella term for CBP, ICE, and USCIS — the three main agencies now handling immigration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
This program gives people from certain designated countries facing war, disaster, or crisis temporary permission to live and work in the U.S.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
This 2010 class-action settlement stopped USCIS from requiring extra "consent" before a child could seek Special Immigrant Juvenile status through state court, and protected kids who turned 18 while their case was pending
Perez-Olano v. Holder
This visa is for victims of certain crimes who cooperate with police or prosecutors
The U visa
The T visa has an annual cap of this many principal applicants
5,000
What does DHS stand for?
Department of Homeland Security
People protected under DACA are often nicknamed this
Dreamers
This federal law, first passed in 2000, created protections and a special visa (the T-visa) for victims of human trafficking
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)
A person pushed out of their home because of something bad.
What is a refugee
The U visa has an annual cap of this many principal applicants
10,000
What does ICE stand for?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
What does DACA stand for?
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
This immigration status lets certain abused, abandoned, or neglected children get a path to a green card, usually after a state court finds it's not safe to return them to a parent
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
This visa is specifically for victims of human trafficking
The T visa
This 2002 law created the Department of Homeland Security, splitting up the old INS into new agencies
The Homeland Security Act
This document formally starts removal (deportation) proceedings against someone
A Notice to Appear (NTA)
This federal official decides which countries get designated for TPS
The Secretary of Homeland Security