United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

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The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is a bureau in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The priorities of the USCIS are to promote national security, continue to eliminate immigration case backlogs, and improve customer services. The Bureau is headed by a director who reports directly to the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security. The USCIS processes all immigrant and non-immigrant benefits provided to visitors of the United States, including:

  • Family-based petitions - facilitating the process for close relatives to immigrate, gain permanent residency, work, etc.;
  • Employment-based petitions - facilitating the process for current and prospective employees to immigrate or stay in the U.S. temporarily;
  • Asylum and refugee processing - adjudicating asylum and the processing of refugees;
  • Naturalization – approving citizenship of eligible persons who wish to become U.S. citizens;
  • Special status programs – adjudicating eligibility for U.S. immigration status as a form of humanitarian aid to foreign nationals; and,
  • Document issuance and renewal – including verification of eligibility, production and issuance of immigration documents.

[edit] History

On November 25, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 into law. This law transferred the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) functions to the DHS. Immigration enforcement functions were placed within the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security and the immigration service functions were placed into the sperate USCIS. On March 1, 2003, the INS ceased to exist and services provided by that organization transitioned into USCIS.

[edit] External links

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