USCIS Might Change ‘Foreign National’ to ‘Alien’

A USCIS spokesperson said in a statement the agency “proposes to use the legal term in the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

“It is important that our agency, which administers our nation’s lawful immigration system, align our internal materials with the INA,” they added. “Under the INA, the term ‘alien’ means ‘any person not a citizen or national of the United States.'”

Although the term “alien” is used is the U.S. Code and in court rulings, it has come under fire as being dehumanizing. Immigration advocates are also concerned the agency’s mission statement no longer includes the phrase “a nation of immigrants,” after it was removed in 2018.

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Ur Jaddou, formerly the USCIS’s chief counsel, told BuzzFeed that replacing the words will be a time-consuming process.

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