The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 ("INA") consolidated the various immigration laws of the United States and provided the foundation for immigration law today. Since 1952, the INA has been amended multiple times, and Congress has passed various other statutes to address ongoing immigration law concerns. For example, the Refugee Act of 1980 broadened the definition of refugees and brought the United States into compliance with international definitions, and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 ("IRCA") focused almost exclusively on illegal immigration.
Most of these statutes have been codified in the United States Code at Title 8 - Aliens & Nationality. The following resources can be used to access this and other parts of the United States Code:
The Office of the Law Revision Counsel provides online access to the most updated version of the U.S. Code. Its website allows for both keyword searching and browsing within the various titles of the U.S. Code and can be access via this link.
GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Printing Office, and it provides free public access to official publicatons from all three branches of the federal government. GovInfo allows users to search by keyword and to browse through the U.S. Code. Note that the U.S. Code is available both in HTML and PDF formats.
The USCIS website provides free online access to the text of the INA, and it also provides a list of public laws amending the INA between the 99th and 113th Congresses (roughly 1986-2013).
UNC Law faculty and students can access annotated versions of the U.S. Code through their law database subscriptions. Annotated codes are useful for legal research because they direct you to other related content, including regulations and case law. Use the links below to jump to immediately to Title 8:
Legislative history can be used to gain a better understanding of Congressional intent for specific legislation. The following resources can be used to track down legislative history materials connected to important pieces of federal immigration law.
HeinOnline's Immigration Law & Policy database provides access to a variety of resources addressing immigration law topics. In the "Acts & Legislative Histories" section, you can view compiled legislative histories for various immigration laws organized by public law number and popular name. (Access limited to UNC community.)
ProQuest Congressional's Legislative Insight database provides access to compiled federal legislative histories. While you can access these histories using keyword searches, the easiest way to access a compiled legislative history is through the use of a citation to a public law, Statutes at Large, or the enacted bill number. This database also permits in-text searching of documents in compiled legislative histories, so that you can easily search across documents to identify relevant material. (Access limited to UNC Community.)
Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") contains those regulations relating to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services ("USCIS"), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP"), the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). The following resources provide access to the CFR:
The e-CFR is the most up-to-date version of the CFR available, and the website updates on a daily basis. Note, however, that this is not the official version of the CFR.
GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Printing Office, and it provides free public access to official publicatons from all three branches of the federal government. GovInfo allows users to search by keyword and to browse through the Code of Federal Regulations. Note that the CFR is available both in HTML and PDF formats. You can access the Title 8 of the CFR at this link.
The USCIS website provides free online access to the text of Title 8 of the CFR, and it also lists other regulations addressing immigration, including Title 22 and Title 6. Note that the links on the USCIS website take you to the e-CFR.
HeinOnline's Code of Federal Regulations Library is a comprehensive collection of all published editions of the CFR. This resource is particularly useful for those researchers who need to viewed scanned originals of earlier editions of the CFR. (Access limited to UNC community.)
UNC Law faculty and students can also access the current and some historical versions of the CFR through their Westlaw and Lexis accounts. These annotated versions of the CFR can be useful to use because of the added features, including citing references to other primary law materials and recommended secondary sources. (Access limited to UNC Law faculty and students.)
The Federal Register is the official gazette of the United States government, and it provides legal notice of administrative rules and notices on a daily basis. In addition to publishing final regulations in the Federal Register, agencies will also publish proposed rules for new regulations and offer the public an opportunity to comment on those proposed rules.
The Federal Register is conveniently organized by agency, so tracking the activity of specific federal agencies is easy. In addition, the CFR Index contains the List of CFR Sections Affected that allows users to identify if changes have been made to specific regulations. The following resources provide access to the Federal Register:
FederalRegister.gov is the online government platform for the Federal Register and provides multiple search options. In addition to keyword searches, you can also search via topical area or by specific agency. Moreover, this website provides access to the public comment features that allow interested parties to comment on proposed rules, and you can view the comments of others as well.
GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Printing Office, and it provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. GovInfo provides access to the Federal Register, the Federal Register Index, and the List of CFR Sections Affected. The Federal Register collection through GovInfo is also historically complete, with access to the Federal Register.
The USCIS website contains an Announcements page that allows you to search the latest USCIS and DHS Federal Register announcements organized by publication dates. There is also an option to "Get Updates by Email" from the USCIS related to the Federal Register announcements.
HeinOnline's Federal Register Library is a comprehensive collection of all published editions of the Federal Register. This resource is particularly useful for those researchers who need to viewed scanned originals of earlier editions of the Federal Register. (Access limited to UNC community.)
UNC Law faculty and students can also access the current and some historical versions of the Federal Register through their Westlaw and Lexis accounts. (Access limited to UNC Law faculty and students.)
Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. The BIA has nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals from certain decisions rendered by immigration judges and by district directors of the Department of Homeland Security. Most BIA decisions are subject to judicial review in the federal courts.
BIA decisions designated for publication are printed in bound volumes entitled Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States. These decisions can be viewed at the following locations:
The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer ("OCAHO") has jurisdiction over three types of cases arising under the INA which are outlined on the OCAHO's website. These cases typically deal with immigration fraud in employment practices.
Decisions are available in bound volumes entitled Administrative Decisions Under Employer Sanctions, Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices and Civil Penalty Document Fraud Laws of the United States. A topical index to all decisions published in these volumes is available on the OCAHO website near the top of the homepage.These decisions can be viewed at the following locations:
The USCIS Administrative Appeals Office ("AAO") handles appeals from immigration benefits cases. They conduct administrative review of decisions to ensure consistency and accuracy in the interpretation of immigration law and policy. This administrative body generally issues "non-precedent" decisions, while some decisions are occasionally adopted as "precedent" decisions after review by the Attorney General.
All decisions issued by the AAO, including both precedent and non-precedent decisions, are available via the agency's website.
UNC Law faculty and students can search through these decisions via either Westlaw or Lexis. (Available to UNC Law faculty and students.)
Many administrative hearing decisions are appealable to the federal court of appeals for the pertinent circuit. To search appellate cases, try the following strategies:
