U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
(DHS) that administers the country's
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
and
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
system. It is a successor to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
(INS), which was dissolved by the
Homeland Security Act of 2002
The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, () was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of ...
and replaced by three components within the DHS: USCIS,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE), and
Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
USCIS performs many of the duties of the former INS, namely processing and adjudicating various immigration matters, including applications for work visas, asylum, and citizenship. Additionally, the agency is officially tasked with safeguarding national security, maintaining
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
case backlogs, and improving efficiency.
Ur Jaddou
Ur Mendoza Jaddou (born 1974) is an American attorney who is the current director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security.
Early life and education
Jaddou was born and raised in Chula Vista, ...
has been the director of USCIS since August 3, 2021.
Functions
USCIS processes immigrant
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
petitions,
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
applications,
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
applications, applications for adjustment of status (green cards), and
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. applications. It also makes
adjudicative decisions performed at the service centers, and manages all other immigration benefits functions (i.e., not immigration enforcement) performed by the former INS. The USCIS's other responsibilities include:
* Administration of immigration services and benefits
* Issuing
employment authorization document
A Form I-766 employment authorization document (EAD or EAD card, known popularly as a work permit, is a document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that provides temporary employment authorization to nonciti ...
s (EAD)
* Adjudicating petitions for non-immigrant temporary workers (
H-1B
The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H) that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation requires the application of ...
,
O-1, etc.)
While core immigration benefits functions remain the same as under the INS, a new goal is to process immigrants' applications more efficiently. Improvement efforts have included attempts to reduce the applicant backlog and providing customer service through different channels, including the USCIS Contact Center with information in English and Spanish, Application Support Centers (ASCs), the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, and other channels. Enforcement of immigration laws remains under
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE).
USCIS focuses on two key points on the immigrant's path to civic integration: when they first become permanent residents and when they are ready to begin the formal
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
process. A lawful permanent resident is eligible to become a U.S. citizen after holding the
Permanent Resident Card for at least five continuous years, with no trips out of the country of 180 days or more. If the lawful permanent resident marries a U.S. citizen, eligibility for U.S. citizenship is shortened to three years so long as the resident has been living with their spouse continuously for at least three years and the spouse has been a resident for at least three years.
Forms
USCIS handles all forms and processing materials related to immigration and naturalization. This is evident from USCIS' predecessor, the
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to:
Places
* Ins, Switzerland, a municipality
* Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS)
* Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS
Biology
*'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies
* INS, the gene for the insul ...
, (
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
) which is defunct as of March 1, 2003.
USCIS currently handles two kinds of forms: those relating to immigration, and those related to naturalization. Forms are designated by a specific name, and an alphanumeric sequence consisting of one letter, followed by two or three digits. Forms related to immigration are designated with an I (for example,
I-551, Permanent Resident Card) and forms related to
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
are designated by an N (for example,
N-400 N400 or N-400 may refer to:
* N400 (neuroscience), an event-related potential component elicited by meaningful stimuli (words, pictures, etc.)
* N-400 road (Spain), a highway connecting Toledo to Cuenca
* Honda N400, a car similar to the Honda N360 ...
, Application for Naturalization).
List of directors of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, ...
served from July 8, 2019 to December 31, 2019 as ''de facto'' Acting Director. His tenure as Acting Director was
ruled unlawful. He remained Principal Deputy Director at USCIS for the remainder of his tenure.
Immigration courts and judges
The
United States immigration courts
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These a ...
and immigration judges and the
Board of Immigration Appeals
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is an administrative appellate body within the Executive Office for Immigration Review of the United States Department of Justice responsible for reviewing decisions of the U.S. immigration courts and certa ...
which hears appeals from them, are part of the
Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These a ...
(EOIR) within the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
. (USCIS is part of the Department of Homeland Security.)
Operations
Internet presence
USCIS' official website was redesigned in 2009 and unveiled on September 22, 2009. The last major redesign before 2009 was in October 2006. The USCIS website now includes a virtual assistant, Emma, who answers questions in English and Spanish.
Inquiry and issue resolution
USCIS's website contains self-service tools, including a case status checker and address change request form. Applicants, petitioners, and their authorized representatives can also submit case inquiries and service requests on USCIS's website. The inquiries and requests are routed to the relevant USCIS center or office to process. Case inquiries may involve asking about a case that is outside of normal expected USCIS processing times for the form. Inquiries and service requests may also concern not receiving a notice, card, or document by mail, correcting typographical errors, and requesting disability accommodations.
If the self-service tools on USCIS's website cannot help resolve an issue, the applicant, petitioner, or authorized representative can contact the USCIS Contact Center. If the Contact Center cannot assist the inquirer directly, the issue will be forwarded to the relevant USCIS center or office for review. Some applicants and petitioners, primarily those who are currently outside of the United States, may also schedule appointments on USCIS's website
Funding
Unlike most other federal agencies, USCIS is funded almost entirely by user fees, most of it via the
Immigration Examinations Fee Account
The Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA) is an account in the Treasury of the United States into which all revenues collected from fees for immigration and naturalization are deposited, and that is used to fund the costs associated with prov ...
(IEFA). USCIS is authorized to collect fees for its immigration case adjudication and naturalization services by the
Immigration and Nationality Act The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act may refer to one of several acts including:
* Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
* Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
* Immigration Act of 1990
See also
* List of United States immigration legisla ...
. In fiscal year 2020, USCIS had a budget of ; of the budget was funded through fees and through
congressional appropriations.
Staffing
USCIS consists of approximately 19,000 federal employees and contractors working at 223 offices around the world.
Mission statement
USCIS's mission statement was changed on February 9, 2022. USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou announced the new mission statement. In 2021, USCIS leadership empowered employees to submit words that they felt best illustrated the agency's work. The new mission statement reflects this feedback from the workforce, the priorities of the Biden administration, and Jaddou's vision for an inclusive and accessible agency.
The mission statement now reads:
See also
*
Visa policy of the United States
The visa policy of the United States consists of the requirements for foreign nationals to travel to, enter, and remain in the United States. Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless the ...
**
H-1B Visa
The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H) that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation requires the application of ...
**
Permanent residence (United States)
A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...
("Green card")
**
Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. It ...
* The other two major U.S. immigration-related agencies:
**
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
(CBP)
**
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE)
Comparable international agencies
*
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...
*
Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service is part of the civil service of the Republic of Ireland. It serves as an executive agency of the Department of Justice.
Overview
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) was est ...
*
Directorate General of Immigration (Indonesia)
The Directorate General of Immigration ( id, Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi abbreviated ) is an Indonesian government agency under Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Indonesia) that serves the community in the field of immigration.
History
Task ...
*
UK Visas and Immigration
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system.
History
The then Home Secre ...
References
External links
*
Homeland Security Act of 2002USCISin the
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
what is USCIS by Cacftisite:www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/—
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
documents - USCIS
{{Authority control
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United States Department of Homeland Security agencies
Immigration to the United States
Immigration services
History of immigration to the United States
Government agencies established in 2003
2003 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Organizations based in Washington, D.C.