The Immigration and Naturalization Services, also known as the INS, was part of the United States Department of Justice. The INS was authorized to handle all the legal and illegal immigration and naturalization issues. The purpose of INS was to protect and enforce the laws of naturalization and handle the process of an individual becoming a citizen of United States. The INS was divided into three new agencies called USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration services), CBP (Customs Border and Protection), and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), all under the purview of the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

The USCIS administers all the immigration services including permanent residence, naturalization and other functions, CBP handles the border functions which include border patrol and ICE administers all the investigation, deportation and intelligence.

Immigration and Citizenship

Immigration INS is the process of a foreign individual moving into the United States to live on a permanent basis or for a temporary visit. Each individual who wishes to enter the country must seek permission to enter the country and abide by US immigration laws. The immigration law refers to the government policies that are used to mediate immigration to the United States. The USCIS performs many administrative services once carried out by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS).

An individual may become a US Citizen either at birth or after birth. If an individual is born in United States then he/she becomes a US Citizen automatically. If the individual is born abroad to US Citizen parents, then he/she may claim US Citizenship through their parents. If the individual is born outside US to non-US citizens, who have immigrated to United States, may obtain US citizenship through Naturalization.

Once the petition for immigration is sent to USCIS for processing, the USCIS will authenticate the eligibility of the applicant, and based on that evaluation, will either approve or reject the application. If the petition for immigration is approved by the INS, the applicant will be notified in writing. If the application is denied, the applicant will be notified in writing along with the reason for rejection.

Many people are welcomed into the United States every year and INS helps all eligible people to successfully integrate into American culture. One of the main processes that go through INS is the acquisition of US Citizenship. An individual is called a US citizen when he/she is a legal member of the United States. Being a US Citizen, the individual has rights to obtain Social Security number, receive retirement benefits and has right to vote. A US Citizen may obtain a US passport that allows them to travel to every country in the world. Also a US Citizen has the right to sponsor family members to enter the US legally and help them in obtaining a Green Card (Permanent Resident Card).

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