Twelve pairs of words that get used interchangeably in the news and mean different things in the law. Nearly every confused argument about an immigration policy traces back to one of these.
This is a general reference for understanding news and policy discussion. It is not legal advice, it describes broad structures rather than the rule applying to any particular person, and immigration rules change frequently and sometimes without warning. Anyone with a real matter needs a licensed immigration lawyer and current official guidance, not a page on the internet.
The Two Routes
An approved employment petition leads to one of two completely different processes depending on where the person is standing. This single fork explains most of what looks arbitrary in immigration policy.
Why this matters beyond procedure. A restriction written to operate on entry has an obvious application to someone arriving from abroad and a far less obvious one to someone already inside who never leaves. That is not a loophole, it is what the word entry means, and it is the reason exemption lists in this area so often turn on location rather than on who the person is.
Who Does What
Six bodies touch a single employment case and they are routinely confused with each other. Knowing which one issued a decision tells you what kind of decision it is and where a challenge would go.
What Entry Rules Reach
A general walkthrough of how a restriction on entry interacts with the different positions a person can be in. Educational only, and not a determination about anybody.
Read this as a map of the questions rather than as an answer. Real restrictions carry their own definitions, effective dates, exemptions and national interest waivers, and the text of the specific instrument governs everything. Two people in apparently identical situations can be treated differently because of a date, a filing route, or a category defined in the instrument itself.
The Lifecycle
A specialty occupation employment case from first filing to the end of the maximum period, so you can see where in the sequence any given policy actually bites.
Extending This
Everything renders from five arrays. Adding a distinction, a route step, an actor or a lifecycle stage is appending one object.