Immigration and Nationality Act Basics and Resources

The information is provided by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS)
By Ko Vang, Community Outreach Coordinator

What is the Immigration and Nationality Act?

The Immigration and Nationality Act, often referred to as the INA, was created in 1952. Before the INA, a variety of statutes governed immigration law but were not organized in one location. The McCarran-Walter bill of 1952, Public Law No. 82-414, collected and codified many existing provisions and reorganized the structure of immigration law. The INA has been amended many times over the years, most recently in 1996, but is still the basic body of immigration law in the U.S.

As a federal law, the INA regulates citizenship; asylum; deportation; lawful permanent residency; employment authorization; refugee status; adjustment of status; inter-country adoptions; replacement immigration documents; visas: family and employment related immigration, foreign student authorization, and travel documentation among others; and many other services.

The INA is divided into titles, chapters, and sections (§). Although it stands alone as a body of law, the Act is also contained in the United States Code (U.S.C.)—a collection of all the laws of the U.S—under Title 8 dealing with “Aliens and Nationality”. When browsing the INA or other statutes, you will often see reference to the U.S.C.

The following are some basic information and provisions under the INA.

Asylum INA Title II – Immigration, Chapter 1, § 208

Asylum may be granted to people who are already in the U.S. and are unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

To be eligible for asylum, you must ask for asylum at a port-of-entry (airport, seaport or border crossing), or file an application within one year of your arrival in the U.S. (A non-exhaustive list of circumstances that may excuse you from the one-year deadline is outlined in the INA.)

You may apply for asylum regardless of your immigration status, meaning that you may apply even if you are illegally in the U.S.

Your eligibility will be based on information you provide on your application and during an interview with an Asylum Officer or Immigration Judge. If you are granted asylum, you will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. You also will be able to apply for permanent resident status one year after you are granted asylum. To get more information on applying for asylum, call the INS at 415-744-8411.

Battered Spouse or Child INA Title II – Immigration, Chapter 1, § 204(a)

Generally, U.S. citizens (USC) and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) file an immigrant visa petition with the INS on behalf of a spouse or child, so that these family members may emigrate to or remain in the U.S. Unfortunately, some USC and LPRs misuse their control of this process to abuse their family members, or by threatening to report them to INS. As a result, most battered immigrants are afraid to report the abuse to the police or other authorities.

Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed by Congress in 1994, the spouses and children of UCS or LPRs may self-petition to obtain lawful permanent residency. This means that certain battered immigrants can file for immigration relief without the abuser’s assistance or knowledge, in order to seek safety and independence from the abuser.

You may self petition if you are: (1) a battered spouse married to a USC or LPR, (2) the parent of a child (under 21 years of age and unmarried) who has been abused by your USC or LPR spouse, or (3) a battered child (under 21 years of age and unmarried) who has been abused by your USC or LPR parent.

To self-petition, call INS at 1-800-870-3676 for an application or call the INS Field Office nearest you.

Refugee INA Title II – Immigration, Chapter 1, § 207-209 & Title IV – Refugee Assistance, § 404-414

Under U.S. law, a refugee is a person who has fled his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based upon race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or a membership in a particular social group. If the person is not in the U.S., he or she may apply overseas for inclusion within the U.S. refugee program. If the person is already within the U.S., he or she may apply for the U.S. asylum program.

Removal INA Title II – Immigration, Chapter II, § 212 & Chapter IV, 231-244

The 1996 Act became effective April 1, 1997 and effects a comprehensive reorganization of the procedures for the removal of aliens by combining the former exclusion and deportation proceedings into a single removal proceeding (INA § 235(b)(1)). The provisions give immigration officers at ports-of-entry the authority to order aliens removed, without further hearing or review, if they attempt entry by fraud or misrepresentation or arrive without proper documents.

An expedited removal order entered against a claimed LPR, refugee, asylee or U.S. citizen is referred to an immigration judge for review of the order. An expedited removal order carries the same weight as a removal order by an immigration judge and results in a 5-year bar to re-entry. Following a second or subsequent removal, the alien is barred for 20 years. To find out more about exclusion or deportation proceedings, go to the INS website at www.ins.usdoj.gov or call the INS.

VISAS INA Title II, Immigration, Chapter I-III

A visa is a permit to apply to enter the U.S. It is normally obtained at an American consulate outside the U.S. It classifies the visit as business, tourism, etc. and is usually valid for multiple visitis to the U.s. during a specified period of time.

An immigrant visa is given to someone who intends to live and work permanently in the U.S. In most cases, your relative or employer sends an application to the INS for you (the beneficiary) to become an immigrant. (Certain applicants such as workers with extraordinary ability, investors, and certain special immigrants can petition on their own behalf.)

In addition, each year, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. The State Department’s National Visa Center holds the lottery every year, and chooses winners randomly from all qualified entries. Anyone who is given a visa through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program will be authorized to live and work permanently in the U.S. You will also be allowed to bring your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 to the U.S. Call the State Department’s Visa Lottery Information Center at 1-900-884-8840 for more information. Please note: there is a charge for each call. You may also contact your nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

A nonimmigrant visa is given to someone who lives in another country and wishes to come temporarily to the U.S. for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrant visas are given to people such as tourists, business people, students, temporary workers, and diplomats.

For more information on visas, contact the INS or the U.S. State Department. The numbers should be in the phone book.

Resources

INS Offices for Washington State Residents

(1) District Office

USINS Seattle District Office
815 Airport Way S Seattle, WA 98134
Service Area: Western Washington

(2) Sub Office

Yakima Sub-Office
INS Yakima Sub Office
417 E. Chestnut Yakima, WA 98901
Service Area: Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat, Franklin, and Benton counties.

Spokane Sub-Office
USINS Spokane Sub Office

U.S. Courthouse
920 W. Riverside Room 691 Spokane, WA 99201
Service Area: Adams, Chelan, Asotin, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend O’reille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman counties

(3) Service Center (most applications filed here)

U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service
Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 82521 Lincoln, NE 68501-2521
INS Direct (402) 323-7830

(4) Asylum Application

U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service
Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 82521 Lincoln, NE 68501-2521
INS Direct (402) 323-7830

(5) Asylum Office

Street: 75 Hawthorne Street, #303S
an Francisco, CA 94107
Mailing: INS San Francisco Asylum Office
PO Box 77530
San Francisco, CA 94107

(6) Other Contacts

PHONE: call INS at (206) 553-5956 for information about the INS office that serves your area.
Call the National Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-800-375-5283, 1-800-767-1833 (TTY)

For more information, please go to http://www.uscis.gov.