SPAM: Unfriendly nomenclature at the USCIS

W

wik

Registered Users (C)
Sitting for seven hours at the SF USCIS yesterday, I began to wonder why they use such unfriendly language for documentation.

Consider:

Alien Registration Receipt Card - why not "Permanent Residence Card"

- or -

Advance Parole of an Alien into the United States - why not "Foreign National Travel Permit"

The use of the word alien, vs. "foreign national" is particularly harmful when you consider some of it's meanings: outsider, different, strange, not understood, etc.

Just a thought...
 
wik said:
Sitting for seven hours at the SF USCIS yesterday, I began to wonder why they use such unfriendly language for documentation.

Consider:

Alien Registration Receipt Card - why not "Permanent Residence Card"

- or -

Advance Parole of an Alien into the United States - why not "Foreign National Travel Permit"

The use of the word alien, vs. "foreign national" is particularly harmful when you consider some of it's meanings: outsider, different, strange, not understood, etc.

Just a thought...
Click to expand...

Some of the nomenclature evolved with time. Nowadays they use "Permanent Residence Card" on I-551. In past, they used to use words like "Alien Registration Card". Probably some of the CIS office still use that old word.

On the other hand, "alien" is more generic word that classifies anything other than US citizens. I think the word "foreign national" has its issue because sometimes USA does not recognize the "nationalities" of some "foreign lands" (atleast officially). For example, Taiwan. So in generic term "foreign land" is more appropriate than "foreign national".
However, I myself don't like the word "alien" because somehow that implies that immigrants are "different" from citizens by nature - shape, size, look, color, behavior, culture, language, food etc. On the other hand except native americans all the people here actually aliens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top