Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 20 > Chapter 4

• advocates: includes , but is not limited to, advises, recommends, furthers by overt act, and admits belief in. See 26 USC 110
• Agency: means the Federal Housing Finance Agency, established under section 4511 of this title. See 21 USC 379j–61
• aggravated felony: means --

  (A) murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor. See 26 USC 110

• Agriculture: includes aquaculture and fisheries. See 22 USC 2403
• alien: means any person not a citizen or national of the United States. See 26 USC 110
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attorney General: means the Attorney General of the United States. See 26 USC 110
• Bank: means a bank established under the authority of this chapter. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. See 26 USC 4218
• child: means an unmarried person under twenty-one years of age who is--

  (A) a child born in wedlock. See 26 USC 110

• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• community financial institution: means a member--

  (i) the deposits of which are insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U. See 21 USC 379j–61

• Community Reinvestment Act: The Act is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. It was enacted by the Congress in 1977. ^{Source: OCC}
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• consular officer: means any consular, diplomatic, or other officer or employee of the United States designated under regulations prescribed under authority contained in this chapter, for the purpose of issuing immigrant or nonimmigrant visas or, when used in subchapter III, for the purpose of adjudicating nationality. See 26 USC 110
• conviction: means , with respect to an alien, a formal judgment of guilt of the alien entered by a court or, if adjudication of guilt has been withheld, where--

  (i) a judge or jury has found the alien guilty or the alien has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or has admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt, and

  (ii) the judge has ordered some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the alien's liberty to be imposed. See 26 USC 110

• crewman: means a person serving in any capacity on board a vessel or aircraft. See 26 USC 110
• Cross examine: Questioning of a witness by the attorney for the other side.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• eligible investor: means : (1) United States citizens. See 22 USC 2198
• expropriation: includes , but is not limited to, any abrogation, repudiation, or impairment by a foreign government, a political subdivision of a foreign government, or a corporation owned or controlled by a foreign government, of its own contract with an investor with respect to a project, where such abrogation, repudiation, or impairment is not caused by the investor's own fault or misconduct, and materially adversely affects the continued operation of the project. See 22 USC 2198
• Federal Home Loan Bank System: means the Federal Home Loan Banks under the supervision of the Director. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Federal prosecutor: A lawyer appointed by the President in each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for the federal government.
• foreign state: includes outlying possessions of a foreign state, but self-governing dominions or territories under mandate or trusteeship shall be regarded as separate foreign states. See 26 USC 110
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• home mortgage: means a mortgage upon real estate, in fee simple, or on a leasehold (1) under a lease for not less than ninety-nine years which is renewable or (2) under a lease having a period of not less than fifty years to run from the date the mortgage was executed, upon which is located, or which comprises or includes, one or more homes or other dwelling units, all of which may be defined by the Director and shall include, in addition to first mortgages, such classes of first liens as are commonly given to secure advances on real estate by institutions authorized under this chapter to become members, under the laws of the State in which the real estate is located, together with the credit instruments, if any, secured thereby. See 21 USC 379j–61
• immigrant: means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens--

  (A)(i) an ambassador, public minister, or career diplomatic or consular officer who has been accredited by a foreign government, recognized de jure by the United States and who is accepted by the President or by the Secretary of State, and the members of the alien's immediate family. See 26 USC 110

• immigrant visa: means an immigrant visa required by this chapter and properly issued by a consular officer at his office outside of the United States to an eligible immigrant under the provisions of this chapter. See 26 USC 110
• immigration judge: means an attorney whom the Attorney General appoints as an administrative judge within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, qualified to conduct specified classes of proceedings, including a hearing under section 1229a of this title. See 26 USC 110
• immigration laws: includes this chapter and all laws, conventions, and treaties of the United States relating to the immigration, exclusion, deportation, expulsion, or removal of aliens. See 26 USC 110
• immigration officer: means any employee or class of employees of the Service or of the United States designated by the Attorney General, individually or by regulation, to perform the functions of an immigration officer specified by this chapter or any section of this title. See 26 USC 110
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• ineligible to citizenship: when used in reference to any individual, means, notwithstanding the provisions of any treaty relating to military service, an individual who is, or was at any time permanently debarred from becoming a citizen of the United States under section 3(a) of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended (54 Stat. See 26 USC 110
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• insured depository institution: means --

  (A) an insured depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U. See 21 USC 379j–61

• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• investment: includes any contribution or commitment of funds, commodities, services, patents, processes, or techniques, in the form of (1) a loan or loans to an approved project, (2) the purchase of a share of ownership in any such project, (3) participation in royalties, earnings, or profits of any such project, and (4) the furnishing of commodities or services pursuant to a lease or other contract. See 22 USC 2198
• lawfully admitted for permanent residence: means the status of having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed. See 26 USC 110
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• member: means any institution which has subscribed for the stock of a Federal Home Loan Bank. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• national: means a person owing permanent allegiance to a state. See 26 USC 110
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• national of the United States: means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. See 26 USC 110
• naturalization: means the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever. See 26 USC 110
• noncredit account revolving fund: means the account in which funds under section 2196 of this title and all funds from noncredit activities are held. See 22 USC 2198
• noncredit activities: means all activities of the Corporation other than its loan guarantee program under section 2194(b) of this title and its direct loan program under section 2194(c) of this title. See 22 USC 2198
• nonimmigrant visa: means a visa properly issued to an alien as an eligible nonimmigrant by a competent officer as provided in this chapter. See 26 USC 110
• oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 19 USC 2291
• order of deportation: means the order of the special inquiry officer, or other such administrative officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated the responsibility for determining whether an alien is deportable, concluding that the alien is deportable or ordering deportation. See 26 USC 110
• organization: means , but is not limited to, an organization, corporation, company, partnership, association, trust, foundation or fund. See 26 USC 110
• passport: means any travel document issued by competent authority showing the bearer's origin, identity, and nationality if any, which is valid for the admission of the bearer into a foreign country. See 26 USC 110
• permanent: means a relationship of continuing or lasting nature, as distinguished from temporary, but a relationship may be permanent even though it is one that may be dissolved eventually at the instance either of the United States or of the individual, in accordance with law. See 26 USC 110
• person: means an individual or an organization. See 26 USC 110
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Point of order: A claim made by a legislator from the floor that a rule of the legislature is being violated. If the Chair sustains the point of order, the action in violation of the rule is not permitted.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• predecessor guaranty authority: means prior guaranty authorities (other than housing guaranty authorities) repealed by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969, and sections 1509(b)(3), 1872(b), and 1933(b) ¹ of this title (exclusive of authority relating to informational media guaranties). See 22 USC 2198
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• refugee: means (A) any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or (B) in such special circumstances as the President after appropriate consultation (as defined in section 1157(e) of this title) may specify, any person who is within the country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, within the country in which such person is habitually residing, and who is persecuted or who has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. See 26 USC 110
• representative: includes an officer, official, or spokesman of an organization, and any person who directs, counsels, commands, or induces an organization or its members to engage in terrorist activity. See 10 USC 1453
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• residence: means the place of general abode. See 26 USC 110
• savings association: has the meaning given to such term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Service: means the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice. See 26 USC 110
• Services: include any service, repair, training of personnel, or technical or other assistance or information used for the purposes of furnishing nonmilitary assistance. See 22 USC 2403
• special immigrant: means --

  (A) an immigrant, lawfully admitted for permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit abroad. See 26 USC 110

• State: includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 26 USC 110
• stowaway: means any alien who obtains transportation without the consent of the owner, charterer, master or person in command of any vessel or aircraft through concealment aboard such vessel or aircraft. See 26 USC 110
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• substantial: means , for purposes of paragraph (15)(E) with reference to trade or capital, such an amount of trade or capital as is established by the Secretary of State, after consultation with appropriate agencies of Government. See 26 USC 110
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: except as otherwise specifically herein provided, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 26 USC 110
• unmarried: when used in reference to any individual as of any time, means an individual who at such time is not married, whether or not previously married. See 26 USC 110
• unpaid principal: when used in respect of a loan secured by a home mortgage means the principal thereof less the sum of (1) payments made on such principal, and (2) in cases where shares or stock are pledged as security for the loan, the payments made on such shares or stock plus earnings or dividends apportioned or credited thereon. See 21 USC 379j–61
• Value: means --

  (1) with respect to an excess defense article, the actual value of the article plus the gross cost incurred by the United States Government in repairing, rehabilitating, or modifying the article, except that for purposes of section 2392(d) of this title such actual value shall not be taken into account. See 22 USC 2403

• VAWA self-petitioner: means an alien, or a child of the alien, who qualifies for relief under--

  (A) clause (iii), (iv), or (vii) of section 1154(a)(1)(A) of this title. See 26 USC 110

• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 19 USC 2293
• whoever: include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. See 19 USC 2291
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.