IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
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A Bureau of Immigration was first established in the Treasury Department in
1891. In 1903 it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor. Two
years later, under the terms of the Act of June 29, 1906, providing for the federal
supervision of naturalization, the Bureau of Immigration became the Bureau of
Immigration and Naturalization. Under Reorganization Plan No. V on June 14, 1940,
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was transferred to the Department
of Justice.
The mission of the INS is to facilitate entry of those legally admissible as
visitors or immigrants and to grant them benefits to which they are entitled;
prevent improper entry and the granting of benefits to those not legally entitled
to them; apprehend and remove those aliens who enter illegally and/or whose stay
is not in the public interest; and to enforce sanctions against those who act
or conspire to subvert the requirements for selective and controlled entry, including
sanctions against employers who knowingly hire aliens not authorized to work in
the United States.
The major functions of the INS are to:
- Determine the admissibility of persons seeking entry into the country, ensure
appropriate documentation at entry, and control the status of aliens in the country
during their stay.
- Provide service to the public including adjudication of applications and
petitions submitted for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act and
the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; process naturalization and citizenship
petitions and applications; and provide information and forms to clients at INS
offices.
- Patrol the borders of the United States to prevent entry of aliens into the
country in violation of the law.
- Deter future illegal entry and stay, including enforcement of criminal provisions
against those who act or conspire to promote illegal entry and stay.
- Locate, apprehend and remove those aliens whose entry was illegal, whether
undocumented or fraudulent, and those found to have violated the conditions of
their stay within the nation.
- Enforce the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
relative to sanctions against employers who knowingly hire aliens not authorized
to work in the United States.
Immigration and Naturlization Service Field Districts
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