USCIS Changes “Foreign National” to “Alien” in Policy Manual

The INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) which was signed into law in 1952, defines “any person not a citizen or national of the United States” as an “alien.” That term, however, is widely viewed as offensive and over the course of the last 50 years has been replaced in government memoranda and elsewhere with the term “foreign national.” In a gratuitous gesture, USCIS just released a technical update to its policy manual replacing all instances of the term “foreign national” with “alien.” Just another attempt by the current administration to demean foreign nationals.

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