United States 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 U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

(DHS) that administers the country's

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

system.

History

The USCIS is a successor to the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Refe ...

(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 (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Mission statement

USCIS's mission statement was changed on February 9, 2022. USCIS director Ur Jaddou announced the change. In 2021, USCIS leadership empowered employees to submit words they felt best illustrated the agency's work. The new mission statement reflects this feedback from the workforce, the Biden administration's priorities, and Jaddou's vision for an inclusive and accessible agency. The mission statement now reads:

Functions

USCIS processes immigrant visa petitions,

applications, asylum applications, applications for adjustment of status (green cards), and

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

applications. It also makes

adjudicative Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbitration, arbiter or judge reviews evidence (law), evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights ...

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 noncitiz ...

s (EAD) * Adjudicating petitions for non-immigrant temporary workers ( H-1B, 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 network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, and other channels. 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

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's predecessor, the INS (

), which is defunct as of March 1, 2003. USCIS handles two kinds of forms: those related to immigration, and those related to naturalization. Forms are designated by a specific name, and an alphanumeric sequence consisting of a 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

are designated by an N (for example, N-400, Application for Naturalization).

Directors

, -

Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas "Cooch” Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Pa ...

served from July 8 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, immigration judges, and the

Board of Immigration Appeals The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is an administrative appellate court, 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 ...

, which hears appeals from them, are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) within the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

. (USCIS is part of the Department of Homeland Security.)

Operations

Internet presence

USCIS's official website was redesigned in 2009 and unveiled on September 22, 2009. The last major redesign before 2009 was in October 2006. The 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 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 outside of the U.S., 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 (IEFA). The Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes USCIS to collect fees for its immigration case adjudication and naturalization services. In fiscal year 2020, USCIS had a budget of ; of it was funded by fees and by congressional appropriations.

Staffing

USCIS consists of approximately 19,000 federal employees and contractors working at 223 offices around the world.

Offices

A field USCIS office provides interviews for all non-asylum cases; naturalization ceremonies; appointments for information; and applicant services. USCIS Asylum offices schedule interviews only for asylum and suspension of deportation and special rule cancellation of removal under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). Asylum offices do not provide information services. Applications are not filed at asylum offices. International offices provide services to U.S. citizens, permanent U.S. residents, and certain other people who are visiting or residing outside the U.S. International offices are in the following cities

References

External links

*
Homeland Security Act of 2002USCIS
in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the government gazette, official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every wee ...

site:www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/
— Freedom of Information Act documents - USCIS * https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office/field-offices * https://egov.uscis.gov/office-locator/#/asy * https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices * https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office * https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history {{Authority control __FORCETOC__ 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.