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Immigration Policies in the United States


What Are Immigration Policies?

Immigration policies are the rules and regulations created by the US government to determine how many people can enter the country, the amount of time they could stay, and how they are able to become citizens. These rules come from a law called the Immigration and Nationality Act Immigration policies cover areas including:


  • Legal immigration 

  • Refugees and asylum seekers

  • Enforcement and deportation


Legal immigration paths use various visa categories. A visa is an official document that allows an individual to enter a country. 


Family-based visas are ways people immigrate through U.S citizens who can sponsor their spouse, their children, siblings, and their parents. This is the largest category of legal immigration. Since there are yearly limits on the amount of people getting these visas, the wait can be long. Employment-based visas are given out based on an individual's job skills. There are temporary and permanent work visas. Temporary work visas only allow for a limited time. Permanent work visas can lead to a Green Card (a Green Card allows you to live and work permanently in the United States). About 140,000 employment-based green cards are available each year. The Diversity Visa Program allows 55,000 visas to be randomly given to people from countries that don’t have many people immigrating to the US each year.  


Refugee and Asylum seekers are not people who have moved to the US for family or jobs. They move because they are in danger and seek help in the US. Refugees apply from outside the US because they may face persecution in another country. Asylum is for people already in the US or at the border who need protection. Other forms of humanitarian aid include Temporary Protected Status, Deferred Enforced Departure, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and Humanitarian parole.


How Immigration Policies Are Enforced

Immigration policies are enforced through federal agencies and laws. 


  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - Visas, green cards, citizenship.

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Immigration investigation and deportation proceedings

  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - Border security


If a noncitizen enters the U.S. without proper permission or overstays a visa, they are at risk of facing deportation (removal from the country).


Why does it Matter?

If you want to live or work in the U.S. Immigration laws determine the time and process of applying for a visa or seeking protection and are important because they affect millions of individuals. Because immigration involves addressing national security and human rights, it is a widely discussed/debated topic. Since immigration can affect everyday lives it is important to understand how the policy works and the processes that it includes.


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