USCIS manages immigration, citizenship, and residency for foreign nationals in the US. It handles visas, work permits, naturalization, and deportations. USCIS is a division of the Department of Homeland Security and was formed in 2002. It issues green cards and administers the naturalization test. Its powers are limited to paperwork, and border patrol is handled by Customs and Border Protection. USCIS communicates with foreign students and monitors their status.
USCIS, also known as United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a government office charged with managing immigration, citizenship, and residency among people from foreign countries who wish to live in the United States. The staff at this office handles nearly every aspect of the immigration process, from processing visas and work permits to helping naturalize new citizens. Violations and deportations are also usually handled. The office is a division of the larger United States Department of Homeland Security and was formed in 2002 from what used to be the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS. The newer, retooled division is leaner and, at least in theory, more user-friendly. It is headquartered in the US capital, Washington, DC, but there are offices and branch offices in most major US cities; moreover, information and numerous forms are available on the official website of the Immigration Services.
Basic creation and organization
Until 2002, the INS handled all matters relating to legal immigration, customs policy enforcement and border security management. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 reorganized and shifted the focus of many major immigration and residency policies and, among other things, completely reorganized the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He envisaged the creation of a Department of Homeland Security and created three separate sub-agencies of that office; USCIS is one of them. In March of 2003, he officially took over all matters relating to the treatment of legal immigrants in the United States.
Although the inception of the Citizenship and Immigration Services branch only occurred in 2002, immigration regulation has been a part of the government’s responsibility since the late 1800s. The history of immigration to the United States has slowly evolved from the unrestricted access to formalized trials as more foreign nationals sought residency in the United States. For more than 100 years, federal administrative departments, agencies and offices have provided services to formalize and regulate immigration. Past incarnations of USCIS include the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration, the Bureau of Immigration, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. However, the modern immigration scene is perhaps one of the most complex and controversial in US history. Balancing many competing needs and interests and keeping up with a rapidly growing volume of paperwork and petitions are two of the most important immigration tasks today.
Scope and limitation of powers
As the administrative arm responsible for benefit applications, Immigration Services retains the ability to grant residency status, issue immigrants their green cards, and handle citizenship and naturalization issues. In terms of violations of immigration laws and other enforcement requirements, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, as part of the Department of Homeland Security, handles those responsibilities.
It is also important to note here that the Immigration Services’ powers are usually limited to paper. Division officials make plans and strategies for handling immigrants and processing their voices, but they aren’t interested in that voice itself, at least not on a physical level. In reality, the patrolling of the border and the treatment of people inside it is generally the responsibility of the separate, albeit closely related, Customs and Border Protection agency.
Preparation of paperwork and issue of residence permits
Under current immigration laws, all newcomers to the United States intending to reside permanently or semi-permanently must apply for an appropriate type of residency, based in most cases on the reason for immigration. There are usually a number of different requirements, but applicants must generally meet all information requests, documentation verification, and reporting requirements set forth by USCIS.
Foreign students are an example of this. Immigration services commonly issue student visas for international students studying in the United States, and officers and staff are responsible for processing and recording the appropriate documentation for all immigrant students. There is usually a communication component as well; the service is generally required to communicate with students regarding their filing requirements, is required to monitor and report on their status, and is generally required to undertake a variety of follow-up activities.
Naturalization issues
USCIS also administers the naturalization test for those immigrants who wish to become citizens of the United States through the naturalization process. The naturalization test and related requirements to become a citizen have been in place for decades, although the responsibility for oversight has only recently been vested in Immigration Services. In situations of adoption abroad by US citizens, the Services also deal with issues relating to the naturalization of adopted children. These children are typically too young to undergo naturalization testing, so in most cases the adoptive parents act as sponsors on their behalf.
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