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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States.

USCIS officially assumed responsibility for the immigration service functions of the federal government on March 1, 2003 after the The Homeland Security Act of 2002 dismantled the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and separated the former agency into three components- USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Some of the services the USICS provides to immigrants include processing citizenship applications, managing immigration of family members, and regulating employment within the U.S.

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

A branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). USCIS is primarily responsible for handling immigration benefits, such as applications for asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship.

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:26 pm

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; http://www.uscis.gov