United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for administering and overseeing the United States’ naturalization and immigration system. It was created as a subsidiary to the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 by the Homeland Security Act.
Upon its creation, USCIS inherited many of the responsibilities of Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was dissolved in 2002. This includes processing immigrant visa petitions, naturalization petitions, affirmative asylum applications, and refugee applications.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services also conducts credible fear and reasonable fear interviews. When individuals facing expedited removal claim a fear of returning to their country, USCIS asylum officers determine whether it’s a significant possibility the individual could establish eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal. According to the most recently available report, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services granted 1.1 million people lawful permanent residency and processed 2.1 million employment authorization applications in 2018.
