Search results
Federal policy oversees and regulates immigration to the United States and citizenship of the United States. The United States Congress has authority over immigration policy in the United States, and it delegates enforcement to the Department of Homeland Security.
- Family-based immigration. In fiscal 2019, nearly 710,000 people received lawful permanent residence in the U.S. through family sponsorship. The program allows someone to receive a green card if they already have a spouse, child, sibling or parent living in the country with U.S. citizenship or, in some cases, a green card.
- Refugee admissions. The U.S. admitted only 11,411 refugees in fiscal year 2021, the lowest number since Congress passed the 1980 Refugee Act for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.
- Employment-based green cards. In fiscal 2019, the U.S. government awarded more than 139,000 employment-based green cards to foreign workers and their families.
- Diversity visas. Each year, about 50,000 people receive green cards through the U.S. diversity visa program, also known as the visa lottery. Since the program began in 1995, more than 1 million immigrants have received green cards through the lottery, which seeks to diversify the U.S. immigrant population by granting visas to underrepresented nations.
5 days ago · The body of law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories.
- 22,000
- 4,000
- 6,000
- 5,000
Jun 18, 2024 · President Biden’s new immigration policy protects some 500,000 people who are married to U.S. citizens from deportation and gives them a pathway to citizenship.
The Immigration and Nationality Act and other public laws governing U.S. immigration law.
Jun 6, 2023 · This CFR Backgrounder explains who is responsible for securing the U.S. border. This timeline traces changes to U.S. postwar immigration policy. For Foreign Affairs, Stanford...
The U.S. Immigration Policy Program analyzes U.S. policies and their impacts, as well as the complex demographic, economic, political, foreign policy, and other forces that shape immigration to the United States.
