INS Immigration: INS vs. USCIS

INS Immigration

Free Reports to read BEFORE you decide to file an Immigration case or to hire an Immigration Attorney.
These reports will save you time and money.

Read These Reports to Learn:
How you can always represent yourself in an Immigration Case
That not all Immigration Attorneys are the same
The questions you should always ask your Immigration Attorney before you hire him
How Immigration cases can be needlessly delayed or denied and what you can do to avoid that fate.
How not to rely on advice given by friends, family, and surprisingly Immigration information officers
How every document you file with USCIS can affect you and your family for years.
Little known secrets of fiancé visa interviews and green card interviews from an attorney with 20 years of experience

 

INS Immigration

This blog article is about INS Immigration and the difference between INS and USCIS.  If you are an immigrant or foreigner looking to come to the United States for work or to live permanently, you are probably doing your research online. There are many resources where you can obtain information about forms and instructions on becoming a U.S. citizen and related information. Over the past ten years, the U.S. has changed the infrastructure of immigration government entities and their functions. The avenues in which you can obtain information about becoming a U.S. citizen have changed.

The Immigration Naturalization Service or INS was started in 1933. It was the avenue to administer services related to becoming a U.S. citizen and originally to establish immigration and naturalization policies. However in March 2003, the INS was broken up and its policies and services were sent to three different entities.

Services transferred to:

USCIS – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is currently the government agency that oversees lawful immigration into the country. Their website contains all the forms needed for immigration and naturalization. This serves as a great resource in this regard.

U.S.  Customs and Border Protection – This is the federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. Homeland Security. This entity regulates international trade, collects import duties and enforces U.S. immigrations laws.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – This is also a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. Homeland Security. It regulates and investigates suspicions/vulnerabilities with the national border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security.

As you can see, the INS no longer exists. The USCIS handles most immigration and naturalization related questions, provides an avenue to become a U.S. citizen, maintains the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. The USCIS has 250 offices across the world that are on a mission to reach common goals related to integrity of the system,  strengthening security, supporting immigrants, promoting policies and programs and providing immigration benefit and information services.

 This blog post has been about INS Immigration and the difference between INS and USCIS.  If you have an immigration case then you should always speak to an experienced immigration lawyer prior to filing any paperwork with USCIS.  We would be happy to talk to you about your immigration options.

 Lawrence Gruner is an experienced Immigration Attorney in Sacramento and an adjustment of status attorney Sacramento with almost 20 years of experience handling immigration cases. He has office locations throughout northern California. His office handles immigration cases throughout California (including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento) the United States and the World. You may reach us from anywhere in the world toll free at 888-801-6558 . You may also email us your questions. Attorney Gruner would be happy to review your situation and all of your options. He can help you  come up with the best solutions to your immigration issues.