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USCISUSCIS is in charge of processing immigrant visa petitions, naturalization petitions, and asylum and refugee applications, as well as making adjudicative decisions performed at the service centers, and managing all other immigration benefits functions (i.e., not immigration enforcement) performed by the former INS. Other responsibilities include: * Administration of immigration services and benefits * Adjudicating asylum claims * Issuing employment authorization documents (EAD) * Adjudicating petitions for non-immigrant temporary workers (H-1B, O-1, etc.) * Granting lawful permanent resident status * Granting United States citizenship The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which includes the Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and which reviews decisions made by USCIS, remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. The bureau consists of approximately 15,000 federal government employees and contractors who work in 250 local and field offices in the U.S. and all around the world. While core immigration benefits functions remain the same as under the INS, a new goal is to process applications efficiently and effectively. Improvement efforts have included attempts to reduce the applicant backlog, as well as providing customer service through different channels, including the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) with information in English and Spanish, Application Support Centers (ASCs), the Internet and other channels. USCIS focuses on two key points on the immigrant's journey towards civic integration: when they first become permanent residents and when they are ready to begin the formal naturalization process. A lawful permanent resident is eligible to become a citizen of the United States after holding the Permanent Resident Card for at least five continuous years, with no trips out of the United States that last for 180 days or more. If, however, 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 the spouse continuously for at least three years and the spouse has been a citizen for at least three years. www.uscis.gov There are two separate parts of the immigration law that may trigger removal based on a criminal offense—the grounds of “deportability” found at INA 237(a)(8 U.S.C. 1227(a)) and the grounds of “inadmissibility” found at INA 212(a)(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)). Which set of grounds may apply to an individual, or whether both apply, depends on the individual’s particular immigration status and situation. "Deportability" refers to the power of USCIS to expel an alien from the United States, whereas "inadmissibility" refers to the power USCIS to refrain anyone from entering the United States. Deportation The grounds for deportation are applicable to individuals who have been “lawfully admitted” to the United States, e.g., a lawful permanent resident or an alien in H-1B status. An alien has been “admitted” or made a lawful entry into the US only after they have been inspected by an immigration officer and that immigration officer has authorized their admission. Inadmissibility The grounds of inadmissibility apply to everyone else, even individuals who are in the United States but who have not been lawfully admitted to the United States, i.e., undocumented immigrants. In addition, the inadmissibility grounds may be applied to lawful permanent resident immigrants when such individuals travel abroad and seek re-admission.
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Helpful Links USCIS Passports Greencards Adoption Field Offices |
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