USCIS

U.S. federal government (executive branch)

Background

USCIS was created on March 1, 2003, when Congress abolished the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as part of a sweeping post-9/11 reorganization that established the Department of Homeland Security. The INS's functions were split among three new agencies: USCIS (benefits and adjudications), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Initially called the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), the agency was renamed USCIS in 2004. Unlike most federal agencies, USCIS operates almost entirely on fees charged to applicants rather than taxpayer-funded congressional appropriations, making it financially dependent on application volume. This fee structure came under strain during the COVID-19 pandemic when filings dropped sharply. Because USCIS is a component of the executive branch, its public statements, press releases, and policy guidance directly mirror the immigration priorities of whichever administration is in power. Under the Biden administration, USCIS expanded humanitarian parole programs and asylum processing; since January 2025, under the second Trump administration, the agency has issued statements and policy changes sharply curtailing those programs, expanding enforcement authority, implementing travel-ban-related holds on benefit requests, issuing hundreds of thousands of Notices to Appear to initiate removal proceedings, and reducing refugee admissions to historic lows. USCIS does not function as an independent journalistic outlet; its communications are official government statements and should be read as such.

Sources

1. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services — Wikipedia
2. Our History | USCIS
3. Making America Safe Again: USCIS End-of-Year Review | USCIS
4. Remaking USCIS: Supplementing a Fee-Funded Agency — National Immigration Forum
5. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): Operations and Issues for Congress | Congress.gov
6. Budget, Planning and Performance | USCIS
7. DHS Strengthens Integrity in Nation's Immigration System | USCIS
8. United States Immigration and Naturalization Service — Wikipedia

Profile compiled 2026-07-09; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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