Immigration 101

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

Why Don’t Immigrants Apply for Citizenship?

There is no line available for undocumented immigrants and the “regular channels” do not include them.

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Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

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How the United States Immigration System Works

U.S. immigration law is very complex. Here's basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Blog

Updates to USCIS Policy Manual Give Broad Discretion to Issue More Denials

August 11, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has imposed new requirements on its officers for exercising discretion that will substantially increase time and expense for the agency and...

  • Blog

Why a Shorter Census Timeline Hurts Immigrant Communities

August 6, 2020

The Trump administration announced on August 3 plans to end the 2020 Census one month earlier than previously planned. The change has led to fears that immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and...

  • Blog

USCIS Fee Hikes Will Go Into Effect for These Applications

July 31, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advance copy of a final rule on July 31 that will impose significant fee increases across many facets of the legal immigration system...

  • Blog

Trump’s Public Charge Rule Is Blocked Again Over Impact of COVID-19

July 30, 2020

A federal judge in New York has once again put the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule on hold, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 national emergency. This rule, which went into...

  • Blog

Canadian Court Rules US Is No Longer a ‘Safe Third Country’ for Asylum Applicants

July 23, 2020

A Canadian court has ruled that the United States is no longer a country to which the Canadian government could safely return asylum seekers who crossed the U.S-Canada land border.  This upends...

  • Blog

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Unconstitutional Census Executive Order

July 22, 2020

President Trump issued an executive order on June 21 that laid out a plan to violate the U.S. Constitution by excluding undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. An accurate census count is...

  • Blog

USCIS Wastes Time and Money With Increased Vetting in Citizenship Processing

July 21, 2020

The Trump administration has justified major changes to citizenship processing to “safeguard” the U.S. immigration system from application fraud. Yet the increased vetting has not lowered the...

  • Blog

USCIS Upends the Lives of Immigrants by Refusing to Print Their Work Permits and Green Cards

July 15, 2020

Update: On August 3, 2020, a federal court in Ohio granted a temporary restraining order requiring USCIS to print a work permit within 7 days for all individuals who had been approved for one. The...

  • Blog

USCIS Holds Drive-Thru Naturalization Ceremonies to Work Through COVID-19 Backlog

July 13, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects, by the end of July, to have worked through nearly the entire backlog of naturalization oath ceremonies put on hold in response to the...

  • Blog

ICE Says International Students Must Take Classes in Person or Leave the Country

July 7, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across the United States, many universities have chosen to temporarily move to online-only classes to protect public health. However, new guidance from...

  • Letters

Council Urges Biden Administration to Ensure All Immigrant Visas are Processed

Publication Date: 
July 21, 2021
The Council led a letter urging the Biden administration to ensure that all immigrant visas are processed up to the numerical limits by September 30, 2021 to avoid the loss of visas and further...
  • Fact Sheet

Employment-Based Visa Categories in the United States

Publication Date: 
July 8, 2021
Current U.S. immigration law provides several paths for foreign workers to enter the United States for employment purposes on a temporary or permanent basis. This fact sheet provides basic...
  • Blog

The COVID-19 Pandemic Made USCIS Backlogs Go from Bad to Worse

July 6, 2021

Backlogs, processing delays, and revenue shortfalls are nothing new at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency has long suffered from severe structural problems that hurt...

  • Advocacy

Statement for the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee on "How Outdated U.S. Immigration Policies Push Top Talent to Other Countries"

Publication Date: 
June 24, 2021
This written statement submitted by the Council to Congress shares our analysis of the archaic U.S. immigration policies which are making the United States a less attractive destination for highly...
  • Fact Sheet

U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement

Publication Date: 
June 24, 2021
Deportations of parents and family members have serious consequences that affect children and extend to communities and the country as a whole.
  • Blog

Biden Signals Big Changes to Legal Immigration and Asylum Law with Spring Regulatory Agenda

June 16, 2021

Twice each year, the federal government publishes a “regulatory agenda,” a preview of all the proposals that are in the pipeline to become federal regulations. Last week, the Biden administration...

  • Blog

The Supreme Court Limits the Crimes That Can Lead to Near-Automatic Deportation

June 14, 2021

The Supreme Court issued a decision last Thursday in a criminal case that will have an immediate impact on immigration law. The new decision set a limit on the types of crime that can be...

  • Blog

Biden’s First Budget Is A Missed Opportunity to Overhaul Immigration Enforcement

June 1, 2021

President Biden released the first budget proposal of his presidency on May 29, a landmark for any new president. A presidential budget generally reflects the goals of the administration and can...

  • Blog

Biden Administration Revokes Trump’s Health Insurance Visa Ban

May 18, 2021

President Biden revoked a proclamation issued by former President Trump in 2019 that required nearly all prospective immigrants to demonstrate that they would be covered by private health...

  • Blog

As US Birth Rate Declines, Programs Like Social Security Need Immigration to Survive

May 11, 2021

Birth rates are falling in the United States at the same time more Americans are reaching retirement age. Together, these two trends present enormous economic challenges for the nation. A growing...

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