U.S. Government Agencies Involved in Immigration

A confusing feature of U.S. immigration law is that many government departments and agencies are involved in making immigration decisions. Sometimes, more than one agency reviews the same petition or application.

For example, if you are outside the United States and want to enter you may have to apply for immigration benefits with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), formerly known as INS. The U.S. Department of Labor may also be involved in the process. Assuming these departments approve your paper work, you will then have to apply for a visa through the U.S. State Department. Once you get a visa and try to enter the U.S., a Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officer will inspect you and decide whether you can enter and for how long. If you are inside the United States and want certain immigration benefits, you will have to apply to USCIS and again, the U.S. Department of Labor may also play a role.

Even though the different agencies are supposed to enforce immigration law consistently, they sometimes have conflicting rules and policies. As a result, it is not uncommon for one agency to approve an immigration application, only to have another agency deny it. The overlapping bureaucratic jurisdictions cause much frustration for those applying for immigration benefits, and make it even more important to hire a knowledgeable and experienced immigration lawyer to navigate the many administrative barriers to immigrating to America.
The United States government departments and agencies involved in making immigration decisions and their respective areas of responsibility include:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): An agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for ruling on immigration and naturalization matters and establishing immigration policies and priorities. USCIS was formerly called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and was part of the U.S. Department of Justice. On March 1, 2003, INS transitioned into DHS and subsequently was renamed USCIS. Thus, INS no longer exists.

USCIS functions include adjudication of Alien Worker and Alien Relative Petitions (Form I-130), adjudication of Adjustment of Status, Employment Authorization Document, Travel Document, naturalization and other applications and other functions formerly performed by the INS.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB): An agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for patrolling the border (including airports and seaports) and determining which aliens attempting to enter the United States can do so. Many non-U.S. citizens do not understand that even if they get a visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate, or can enter legally without a visa, the CPB officer at the airport, seaport or border is authorized to perform an inspection, decide whether the alien can enter and determine how long he or she can stay.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: The department of the United States government responsible for securing America’s borders, responding to terrorist attacks and natural disasters, implementing immigration policies and enforcing immigration laws.

U.S. Department of Labor: The department of the United States government responsible for developing employment opportunities and protecting the American workforce. With respect to immigration law, the Department of Labor often processes paperwork relating to employment based green card applications.

U.S. Department of State: The department of the United States government responsible for implementing foreign policy (including those designed to protect the United States and advance its interests and foster democracy, health and economic development in other countries) and assisting United States citizens abroad. With respect to immigration law, the Department of State, through U.S. embassies and consulates, processes immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications. Thus, a foreign national outside the United States will often have to apply to the State Department for a visa in order to enter the U.S. legally.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): An agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in America’s border, economic, transportation and security infrastructure.

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS): See USCIS.