What does the INS do?
When most people think of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), they think of them as an organization that works at allowing, or keeping out aliens (people from foreign countries). This is one of their primary responsibilities, but they also handle immigration sponsorship, adjustment of status, naturalization, work permits and asylum. Tier 2 visas
The operations of INS is headquartered in Washington, D.C. INS field offices provide direct service to applicants for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The offices that are out of the country serve as important information channels between INS and U.S. Foreign Service government officials abroad. The first immigration office in the federal government was created in west sussex by a law intended to encourage immigration.
The Naturalization Act was passed in 1906, and shifted function away from the courts. Immigration and naturalization functions remained separate until 1933 when both functions under the Immigration and Naturalization Service within the Labor Department were consolidated.
In June of 1940, INS moved to the Department of Justice so that it could provide more effective control over aliens, at a time when tensions between the US and other countries was high.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act was enacted in 1986 and was used to penalize any employer who knowingly employed someone unauthorized to work in the United States. The INS did develop an amnesty program that allowed 3 million people, who had been in the United States illegally since 1982, to stay.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was developed in 1996 and stated that there would be increases in criminal penalties for immigration-related offenses. It also sought to have an increased presence at the borders.
Interesting facts about INS
- INS oversees 6,000 miles of U.S. border with Mexico and Canada
- Maintains 33 district offices and 21 Border Patrol sectors in the United States
- Apprehended 1,235,000 illegal aliens along the Southwest border in 2001
- Removed 176,549 criminal and other illegal aliens in 2001. The number of criminal aliens removed (71,346) alone exceeded the total number of all illegal aliens removed in FY 1995 (50,924)
- Successfully completed 9,370 criminal alien cases in 2001, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year 2000
- Received 7.9 million applications for immigration benefits, including naturalization, in 2001 (nearly 31 percent more than received in 2000).
- Received 7.4 million naturalization applications from 1998-2001; more than had been received in the previous 42 years combined