United States: Definition of the terms "Removal Conditional" and "Voluntary Departure" on a United States Temporary Admission Card

According to several Deportation Officers and Special Agents at the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (US/INS) a "Voluntary Departure" is an order given by the court requesting that an individual who no longer has status in the United States to leave the country on his own accord within a specified period of time (15 Jan. 1999). The order is issued for those individuals who have not committed any serious offences in the United States or those who are not repeat offenders of United States Immigration Law (ibid.). 

A Deportation Officer in Harlington, Texas indicated that a judge's decision to issue a Voluntary Departure, as opposed to a forced deportation order, is largely a money-saving option since Voluntary Departure orders do not involve any deportation procedures (15 Jan. 1999). The individual would only be forcibly removed from the United States if that person remained in the United States after the specified expiration date of the Voluntary Departure (ibid.).

A Special Agent at the Status Verification Section of the US/INS in Washington indicated that Voluntary Departure orders are very common (15 Jan. 1999).  Asylum seekers, like any other individual seeking residency in the United States, could be issued this order if they failed to obtain refugee status in the United States (ibid.).

Specific information on the term "Removal Conditional" could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, a Deportation Officer in Harlington, Texas, stated that he has never seen this term on any card, but suggested that "Removal Conditional" on a temporary admission card could indicate a person that is permitted to remain in the United States as long as certain conditions are met (15 Jan. 1999). He indicated that this could be used when the specified number of visa numbers of a given country has been exceeded, and the individual is forced to wait for the issuance of new visa numbers. 

Other INS Agents also stated that they were familiar only with the term "Conditional Resident" which is used when an individual has been granted permanent residency status in the United States by marriage to an American citizen, or in the case of a person who is an entrepreneur who must meet certain conditions in order to qualify for permanent residency status (19 Jan. 1999).  This is termed "Conditional Residency Status" and the cards are marked with a large "CR" (ibid.).  The US/INS Federal Register Publications, 1994, indicates that Section 121 of the United States Immigration Act of 1990 provides "conditional resident status to certain aliens entrepreneurs, their spouses, and their unmarried minor children. ...this rule will allow alien entrepreneurs to continue their commercial enterprises while providing jobs in the United States".

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Deportation Officer, United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Harlington, Texas. 15 January 1999. Telephone interview.

Special Agent, Regional Office in Buffalo, United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). 15 January 1999.  Telephone interview.

Special Agent, Status Verification Section of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Washington, DC. 15 January 1999. Telephone interview.

Director, Enforcement Branch of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Washington, DC. 19 January 1999. Telephone interview.

Immigration Attaché, Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa. 19 January 1999. Telephone interview.

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (US/INS). 1994. "INS Federal Register Publications - 1994, Section 121of the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990, Folio Infobase". [Internet].   [Accessed 18 Jan. 1999]

Attachment

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (US/INS). 1994. "INS Federal Register Publications - 1994, Section 121of the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990, Folio Infobase". [Internet].   [Accessed 18 Jan. 1999]