On March 1, 2003, service and benefit functions of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) [Link]
transitioned into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS). USCIS is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization
adjudication functions and establishing immigration services policies and priorities. These functions include:
* adjudication of immigrant visa petitions;
* adjudication of naturalization petitions;
* adjudication of asylum and refugee applications;
* adjudications performed at the service centers, and
* all other adjudications performed by the INS.
* Fifteen thousand (15,000) federal employees and contractors working in approximately 250 Headquarters
and field offices around the world comprise the USCIS.
USCIS was formerly and briefly named the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), before becoming USCIS.
