Ace the Vocabulary Challenge for USCIS N-400 in 2026 – Speak Your Way to Citizenship Success!

The term that describes someone who does not live permanently in the United States is "nonresident." A nonresident is an individual who may be in the country temporarily but does not establish a permanent residence there. This classification is often used in various legal and immigration contexts to distinguish between those who have made the U.S. their home and those who are in the country for limited periods, such as tourists or temporary workers.

In contrast, a resident typically refers to someone who has established a permanent living situation in the U.S., while a citizen is a person who has obtained citizenship through birth or the naturalization process. An immigrant is someone who moves to the U.S. with the intention of living there permanently, which is the opposite of what a nonresident does.