Alien or foreigner?

[nq:1]Hi, Is there a difference in meaning between the two nouns "alien" and "foreigner"? Is any of them more common ... "alien" have the connotation of an extraterrestrial creature/being or is this only the case if used in a special context?[/nq]
In British English the noun "alien" generally refers to an extraterrestrial. "Alien" referring to someone from abroad/someone from a different count

[nq:1]Is there a difference in meaning between the two nouns "alien" and "foreigner"?[/nq]
British and American usage seem to differ.

1. To an American, a Canadian and a Brazilianare both foreigners and aliens. I.e. all foreigners are aliens and vice versa.

2. To an Englishman, a Scotsman is a foreignerbut not an alien (because Scotland is a different
country than England

Alien is the legal term, but in everyday conversation one would be referred to as a foreigner{or something like that but less polite}. Outerspacelings would be aliens to but E.T's is gaining ground.

[nq:1]Hi, Is there a difference in meaning between the two nouns "alien" and "foreigner"? Is any of them more common ... "alien" have the connotation of an extraterrestrial creature/being or is this only the case if used in a special context?[/nq]
In American English, in ordinary speech, "alien" has the connotation of an extraterrestrial except in the case of the expression "illegal alien," wh

[nq:2]Hi, Is there a difference in meaning between the two ... this only the case if used in a special context?[/nq]
[nq:1]In American English, in ordinary speech, "alien" has the connotation of an extraterrestrial except in the case of the expression ... has legally resided in the US for decades is amused by the idea that she is, legally speaking, an "alien."[/nq]
American journalists som

[nq:2]Hi, Is there a difference in meaning between the two ... this only the case if used in a special context?[/nq]
[nq:1]In American English, in ordinary speech, "alien" has the connotation of an extraterrestrial except in the case of the expression ... has legally resided in the US for decades is amused by the idea that she is, legally speaking, an "alien."[/nq]
As Sting averred:
I'

"Raymond S. Wise" schrieb:
[nq:1]In American English, in ordinary speech, "alien" has the connotation of an extraterrestrial except in the case of the expression ... has legally resided in the US for decades is amused by the idea that she is, legally speaking, an "alien."[/nq]
"I'm an alien
I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York"
Sting, "An Englishman in New York"

[nq:2]In American English, in ordinary speech, "alien" has the connotation ... by the idea that she is, legally speaking, an "alien."[/nq]
[nq:1]As Sting averred: I'm an alien I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York - - - - ... being married to a Canadian. "So my husband's an alien?" to which the answer, in Social Security terms, was "Yep".[/nq]
It is universally how the government

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[nq:2]In British English the noun "alien" generally refers to an ... we use "foreigner" to mean someone from a different country.[/nq]
[nq:1]Well, I know someone from Asia who was in England. At arrivals at the customs there was a sign Aliens. What woould that mean?[/nq]
As Peter pointed out, it's "not much used outside legal and government circles"; the corollary of which is that it *is*