An immigration judge, formerly known as a special inquiry officer, is an employee of 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 Sta ...

who confers U.S. citizenship or

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

upon lawful permanent residents who are statutorily entitled to such benefits. An immigration judge also decides cases of aliens in various types of

removal proceedings Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court (the Executive Office for Immigration Review) by ...

. During the proceedings, an immigration judge may grant any type of immigration relief or benefit to an alien, including to his or her family members. An immigration judge is appointed by (and works under the direction of) the U.S. Attorney General. In other words, under 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 legisl ...

(INA), immigration judges act as representatives of the Attorney General and can only act according to authority delegated by the Attorney General (such as under the regulations) or by the INA. There are approximately 465 immigration judges located across the United States. An immigration judge can either be a citizen or a national of the United States. ("The term ' national of the United States' means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States." (emphasis added);

Black's Law Dictionary ''Black's Law Dictionary'' is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States. Henry Campbell Black (1860–1927) was the author of the first two editions of the dictionary. History The first edition was published in 1891 by West ...

at p.87 (9th ed., 2009) (defining the term "permanent allegiance" as " e lasting

allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al- ...

owed to a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

by its citizens or ermanent resident.") (emphasis added).

References

External links

Office of the Chief Immigration Judge
{{authority control United States Department of Justice agencies Immigration to the United States