U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and performs some of the functions formerly carried out by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was part of the Department of Justice.

USCIS was created on March 1, 2003 from what was formerly the Immigration Services Division (ISD) of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which is now abolished. The INS was widely seen as ineffective, particularly after scandals that arose after September 11, 2001. Eduardo Aguirre was appointed the first USCIS Director by President Bush.

The new agency is charged with 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)
Granting lawful permanent resident status (getting your "Green Card")
Granting citizenship.

While core Immigration Benefits functions remain the same, a new goal is to process applications more efficiently and effectively. Improvement efforts have included reducing 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.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which includes the U.S. Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and which reviews decisions made by USCIS, remains under the jursidiction of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The new bureau consists of approximately 15,000 federal employees and contractors who work in 250 local and field offices in the US and around the world.

As of April 5, 2006, Emilio T. Gonzales, Ph.D., is the Director of USCIS.

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