A special immigrant is a person who qualifies for a green card
(permanent residence) under the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) special immigrant program. In order
to apply for immigration documents under this status, an
immigrant must fill out a petition documenting his or her
circumstances and submit the petition to USCIS. Religious
workers, Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone government
employees, physicians; international organization employees or
family members, Juvenile Court dependents, Armed Forces members,
Afghanistan or Iraq nationals who supported the U.S. Armed
Forces as translators, and Iraq nationals who worked for or on
behalf of the U.S. Government in Iraq are eligible for special
immigrant visas. Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law
Dictionary A catchall category of people made eligible to apply
for U.S. green cards by specially passed laws. Commonly used
special immigrant types include workers for recognized
religions, former U.S. government workers, and foreign