What is Immigration and Naturalization Services?

As an immigrant that has permanently moved into the United States, you probably know what your goal is: to become a citizen of the US. People of a certain status may receive their citizenship through naturalization, depending on where they were born or from whom they were born. In order to obtain that status, they would have to go through the INS first. But what is the INS? This article should guide you into that.

What Is Immigration and Naturalization Services?

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization services were formed 87 years ago, in 1933. From 1933 to 1940, the agency was a part of the U.S. Department of Labor, whereas from 1940 until 2003 it was part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Its purpose was to help foreign people that moved to the United States to live there on a permanent basis. At the same time, it was necessary for those who simply wanted to visit the United States for a certain period.

Some people actually refer to it as the “former INS,” as the agency stopped functioning around March 2003. Most of the functions of the INS were transferred to other agencies, but up until then, the INS encouraged free and open immigration.

What Does Immigration and Naturalization Services Do?

The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services) was responsible for the administration of regulations and federal immigration laws – including the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bottom line was that the foreigners had to be checked upon arrival in the US – determining and detecting illegal entry with the help of the Border Patrol. Obviously, those that were in violation of the terms of the act were turned away by the INS.

The INS also had the job of adjudicating the green card applications (permanent residency, change of status, as well as naturalization). When someone wished to become a citizen of the United States, they would have to get the paperwork past the INS first. The INS carried out the administrative services that are currently carried out by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

To put it simply, whether you wanted to visit, temporarily work, or become a citizen of the United States, the INS was the agency that handled all of these matters. It ensured that people would not enter the United States illegally and that their stay was accounted for. As long as the person in question proved to them that their intentions were clean and would not become a liability to the United States, the INS would give them the “green card.”

What Became of INS?

Things were good for a few years but would begin to change after various events such as 9/11. The INS would add stricter clauses, but acted as a protective coat for the United States against the issues that would harm its well-functioning.

With the number of immigrants rising in 1880 and the economic conditions becoming worse and worse in certain areas, the Congress decided that certain immigration legislation had to come to pass. Moreover, the Alien Contract Labor Law and the Chinese Exclusion Act began to prohibit certain workers from immigrating into the United States. Those who were deemed to become a public charge were denied entry in the States.

The 9/11 event led to even more shifts in the immigration policy of the United States. The new purpose was to increase border security and to remove any criminal aliens – therefore protecting the citizens against terrorist attacks. For this reason, the INS disbanded in 2003 and was broken into 3 constituent parts. These parts would, later on, serve under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – a department that had just been formed. The sections related to the INS job go as following:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

USCIS is like a small version of the INS. Like the main agency did in the past, USCIS now sees over lawful immigration into the United States. A component of the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS provides several services, including applications for citizenship, visas for working in the United States, family visas, adoptions, and so on.

Other responsibilities that USCIS undertook include:

• The administration of benefits and immigration services.
• Adjudicating the petitions filed by non-immigrant temporary workers – for example, those on O1 visa or H1B visa.
• Releasing EADs (Employment Authorization Documents).

The core functions and benefits of USCIS are the same as they were with the INS. The goal became to process the immigration application faster and more efficiently – something that could not be done with the bigger agency INS. Backlog was reduced this way, and the employers were now able to focus on the matters at hand.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The purpose of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is to enforce civil and criminal laws governing customs, border control, trade, and immigration. Its mission is to protect the United States from any illegal immigration and cross-border crime that can threaten public safety and national security.

To go deeper into the matter, ICE is responsible for catching and removing any border, transportation, and economic vulnerabilities, as well as those to infrastructure security. There are about 400 ICE offices within the United States, and they have two main components: Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and Homeland Security Investigations. If anything seems suspicious about a visa or citizenship application, or a green card holder has committed a crime, the chances are that their status would go through Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the next hearing.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The CBP, Customs and Border Protection, has a similar role but a bit more oriented towards crime-fighting as compared to ICE. CBP’s role is to prevent weapons, drugs, terrorists, and other people that are deemed inadmissible from entering the US. While ICE enforces the law towards the resident or citizen that is currently in the United States, the CBP stops them straight at the border.

The CBP is what you would normally call the CBP frontline. Every person passing through the airport would have to go through them – and in case they are carrying dangerous or illegal objects, the CBP has the right to seize that merchandise. Moreover, people are also “scanned” at the CBP, where the agents will determine whether they are a danger to public safety or not. In these cases, their criminal record will be the one to give them the data.

Wrap Up

As one can see, the INS no longer exists in theory and law enforcement – but practically speaking, the principles of the INS live on. The INS started as an organization to allow immigrants to come into the United States, later on limiting the ones that could prove to be a liability.

All of these agencies that were formerly part of the INS now continue to do their job separately while cooperating for the good of the United States. Thanks to what used to be the INS, lawful immigrants may continue coming to the US under safe administration.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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