Immigration court vocabulary, aligned to USCIS and EOIR
Seven modules covering removal proceedings and USCIS interviews: relief, procedure, the vocabulary of persecution testimony, institutions on both sides of the border, the civil documents that get sight translated, USCIS forms, and the criminal crossover. Where USCIS or EOIR publish a Spanish rendition, that is the one shown first.
Source codes: USCIS means the USCIS glossary and Spanish form instructions, EOIR the Spanish respondent materials EOIR publishes. CF means CourtFluent wrote the rendition and reviewed it; it is not from an official source, so prefer a USCIS or EOIR rendition when one is shown. A rendition shown with an official source is the safer choice on an exam.
The forms of relief an immigration judge can grant and the statuses a respondent can hold. These are the terms that frame every merits hearing: which relief is being sought, what the respondent has to prove, and what happens if it is denied.
abandonment of permanent resident status→abandono de estatus de residente permanente legalUSCIS
asylum officer→oficial de asiloUSCIS
changed circumstances→cambio de circunstanciasCF
DACA recipient→beneficiario de DACAUSCIS
derivative status→estatus derivadoUSCIS
good moral character→buen carácter moralUSCIS
NACARA→NACARAUSCIS
parolee→persona con permiso de permanencia temporalUSCIS
qualifying criminal activity→actividad criminal cualificadaUSCIS
self-petition→autopeticiónUSCIS
Temporary Protected Status→Estatus de Protección TemporalUSCIS
What the judge, the government attorney and the respondent's counsel say on the record. Master calendar colloquy, pleadings to the charges, scheduling, the advisals read at the start and end of every hearing, and the appeal rights read at the end.
A-number→número AUSCIS
asylum-only proceedings→procedimientos solo de asiloCF
change of address→cambio de direcciónUSCIS
denial→denegaciónUSCIS
evidence→evidenciaUSCIS
grant→concederUSCIS
inadmissible→inadmisibleUSCIS
next friend→representante legalUSCIS
order of removal→orden de expulsiónEOIR
reasonable fear screening→verificación de temor razonableUSCIS
Asylum testimony is where the respondent's own words carry the case. This module covers how witnesses describe threats, extortion, gang recruitment, violence and the people who did it, in the register they actually use, alongside the legal terms the judge and attorneys attach to that testimony.
The agencies on the US side and the institutions respondents name from home. Which name to use for a US agency in Spanish is a recurring question in the booth, and the home-country side (fiscalía, juzgado de paz, policía nacional) rarely maps one to one.
Application Support Center→Centro de Asistencia en SolicitudesUSCIS
consulate→consuladoUSCIS
Department of Justice→Departamento de JusticiaUSCIS
Most sight translation in immigration court runs Spanish to English: a birth certificate from Honduras, a police report from Guatemala, a letter from a pastor. This module covers the headings, stock phrases and official titles that appear on those documents.
adoption decree→decreto de adopciónEOIR
baptismal certificate→certificado de bautismoUSCIS
certification→certificaciónUSCIS
criminal record certificate→antecedentes penalesUSCIS
divorce decree→decreto de divorcioUSCIS
fingerprint (in place of signature)→huella digitalEOIR
USCIS interviews are a different setting from the courtroom: an officer, an applicant, a form on the desk. This module covers the forms by number, the standard interview questions, and the administrative vocabulary (biometrics, fee waiver, request for evidence) that comes with them.
Affidavit of Support→Declaración Jurada de Patrocinio EconómicoUSCIS
Application for Temporary Protected Status→Solicitud de Estatus de Protección TemporalUSCIS
civics test→examen de educación cívicaUSCIS
fee waiver→exención de tarifasUSCIS
Form G-325A→Formulario G-325AUSCIS
Form I-290B→Formulario I-290BUSCIS
Form I-751→Formulario I-751USCIS
Form I-864→Formulario I-864USCIS
Freedom of Information Act→Ley de Libertad de InformaciónUSCIS
joint sponsor→patrocinador conjuntoUSCIS
Notice of Intent to Reinstate Prior Order→Notificación de Intención de Restablecer una Orden AnteriorUSCIS
Where a criminal record meets immigration law. The terms are a hybrid: statute sections, criminal charge names, and the immigration consequences attached to them. Court interpreters moving into immigration work usually know half of this module and need the other half.
aggravated felony→delito grave agravadoCF
arrested→arrestadoUSCIS
controlled substance offense→delito de sustancias controladasCF
crime of domestic violence→delito de violencia domésticaUSCIS
detained by police→detenido por la policíaUSCIS
felony→delito graveUSCIS
misdemeanor→delito menorUSCIS
obstruction of justice→obstrucción de la justiciaUSCIS
plead guilty→declararse culpableEOIR
prostitution→prostituciónUSCIS
sentence of a year or more→sentencia de un año o másEOIR