In U.S. law, an alien is a legal term for a person, either a corporation or a human, who is not a United States national.[1] The United States Government distinguishes between legal and illegal aliens. The government use of alien dates back to 1798, when the Alien and Sedition Acts defined aliens as potential enemies of the state.[2] The related legal term foreigner refers to a citizen of the United States who is not a citizen of the state in question, as in a New York corporation is a foreign company inside New Jersey.
An alien insurer is company which is a citizen of another country.
An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country.
An alien who has temporary or permanent residence in a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a resident alien of that country.
A visitor with the legal right to visit a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a nonresident alien of that country.
The term illegal alien commonly refers to a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. A tourist who has the present intent to leave would be included as a legal alien described above. Today the preferred term is illegal immigrant, particularly if this person intends to remain in the country indefinitely.
In Latvian passports, a term meaning alien is used for so-called non-citizens (nepilso?i): former citizens of USSR who have no citizenship, but have some legal ties with Latvia.
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