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Immigration Law Research Guide

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** Please note: Information in this guide regarding stack or floor locations of materials may not be accurate due to current Library renovations. We are making efforts to update these guides as soon as possible. In the meantime, please check TALLONS, the online catalog, for current location information, or inquire with Library staff. **

Prepared by Tobe Liebert; Revised by Rachel Little
Last revision: January 19, 2010

This resource guide is designed to assist researchers with locating print and electronic resources on the subject of U.S. immigration law.  This guide will provide a brief overview of the U.S. immigration system, and will summarize the sources of law and other reference materials that are critical for legal research within this field.  Locations for all resources are listed below, including library call numbers, shelf numbers, and electronic links.   

 

Structure of U.S. Immigration System

Multiple federal agencies are responsible for managing various functions within the U.S. immigration system.  In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created and charged with the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.  At the same time, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) ceased to exist and its previous duties were transferred to and divided between three agencies under DHS authority:

  1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – responsible for the adjudication of immigration benefits, including naturalization, lawful permanent residency (“green card” status), family and employment-based applications, work authorization, adoption, and political asylum/refugee status.

  2. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) – responsible for immigration apprehension, detention, and removal (deportation) operations; worksite enforcement; and criminal investigations of fraud, smuggling, and drug/ human trafficking.        

  3. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) – responsible for the inspection and admission of people and cargo entering the U.S. by air, land, and sea.  The U.S. Border Patrol is a part of this agency.

Through its network of Consulates abroad, the U.S. Department of State is responsible for processing overseas immigrant and non-immigrant (temporary) visa applications for individuals who seek entry into the United States.  The State Department additionally directs the J-1 visa visitor exchange program, and is involved in refugee policy issues through the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

The U.S. Department of Labor adjudicates Applications for Labor Certification (also known as PERM), which are filed with certain employment-based immigration petitions.  The DOL additionally reviews Labor Condition Applications for nonimmigrant and seasonal workers, and establishes standards for wages and employment conditions for foreign nationals.   

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), through the CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, makes determinations regarding vaccination requirements for immigrant applicants and identifies medical conditions that may prohibit a visa applicant from entering the U.S. or becoming a permanent resident.  DHHS additionally operates the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which provides public benefits and other services to refugees and children who have entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. 

Administrative/Judicial Review

The U.S. Department of Justice, through the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), is responsible directing the U.S. immigration courts and administrative appeals system.   Under the EOIR, immigration judges are principally responsible for presiding over removal (deportation) and detention hearings.  Policies concerning the conduct of immigration judges are established by the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ).  

Immigration court decisions may be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and BIA decisions may in turn be appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that has jurisdiction over the state in which the foreign national resides.  However, there are statutory limitations on the types of immigration appeals that the Courts may accept.   The federal district courts have limited jurisdiction over removal cases, and instead review petitions for writs of habeas corpus, naturalization denials, appeals of AAO decisions, and employer sanction/worksite enforcement cases (criminal and civil). 

The EOIR additionally administers the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO).  This office provides supervision to an administrative law court that hears civil cases concerning violations of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (specifically employer sanctions, document fraud, and immigration-related employment discrimination). 

USCIS decisions concerned employment-based immigrant applications and nonimmigrant temporary visa petitions may be appealed to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO).   Other types of USCIS petitions may be appealed directly to the BIA as stated in the federal regulations.  As noted above, AAO decisions may be appealed to the federal district courts.    

Review of State Department decisions on overseas visa applications is extremely limited and the courts have generally refused to take jurisdiction over these types of cases.  Applicants may in some cases reapply for visas or obtain supervisory review of their visa denials.  In certain circumstances, it may be possible to obtain an advisory opinion from the State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.   The State Department additionally has administrative review procedures for denials of passports and loss of nationality cases. 

Decisions on Applications for Labor Certification may be appealed to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals, which is part of the DOL Office of Administrative Law Judges.  

 

Immigration Laws

(A) United States Code

Statutes currently in force regarding immigration law in the United States are found in the following sections of the United States Code:

Title 8. Aliens and Nationality.  This is the primary statutory source for U.S. immigration law.  This section of the Code is referred to interchangeably as the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  The INA was originally signed into law in 1952, has been amended multiple times, and is the basis for the modern U.S. immigration system.  The INA is updated and published annually as a separate pamphlet by Lexis/Matthew Bender and by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). 

Additional Relevant Code Sections:

Title 6. Domestic Security: DHS/ICE/CBP structure and responsibilities.

Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure: Including immigration-related crimes.   

Title 22. Foreign Relations: Consular affairs and overseas visa operations. 

Title 29. Labor: Standards related to immigrant employment.

Title 42. The Public Health and Welfare: Immigrant medical examinations and federal benefits/assistance programs.

The U.S. Code is available online through the Government Printing Office, the U.S. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, and on Lexis and Westlaw.  Print copies of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.), the U.S. Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), and the U.S. Code Service (U.S.C.S.) are located on the second floor of the library in the reference section (stack 211).   

State criminal statutes are often applicable to federal immigration law and are widely available on the internet, on Lexis, and on Westlaw.  The library has a complete print run of official state statutes on the second floor. 

(B) Code of Federal Regulations

Administrative rules and regulations implement and interpret statutes passed by Congress.  The following regulations are critical to legal research in immigration law:

Title 8. Aliens and Nationality.  This is the primary regulatory source for U.S. immigration law, and includes provisions related to USCIS, ICE (detention and removal), CBP (admission and port of entry policies), EOIR, and BIA operations.     

Additional Relevant Regulations:

Title 6. Domestic Security.  (General DHS operations).

Title 20. Employees’ Benefits.  (Temporary employment of foreign nationals, prevailing wage requirements, and applications for labor certification - 20 C.F.R. §§ 655 & 656).

Title 22. Foreign Relations.  (Visa issuance – 22 C.F.R. pt. 40-42, exit controls – 22 C.F.R. pt. 46, nationality & passports – 22 C.F.R. pts. 50-53, and nonimmigrant exchange visitor programs – 22 C.F.R. pts. 62-65).

Title 28. Judicial Administration.  (Organization of Department of Justice, EOIR, and legacy INS - 28 C.F.R. pt. 0, unfair immigration employment practices - 28 C.F.R. pt. 44, and practice and procedure for administrative hearings - 28 C.F.R. pt. 68). 

Title 29. Labor.  (Rules of practice and procedure for administrative hearings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges - 29 C.F.R. pt. 18, and seasonal and temporary workers - 29 C.F.R. pts. 500 & 501).

Title 42. Public Health (Alien medical examinations - 42 C.F.R. pt 34).

The federal regulations are printed in three sources:

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is an annual compilation of all currently in-force regulations issued by federal agencies.  The CFR is arranged in order by Title number and the print edition contains an index volume.  The Government Printing Office  maintains electronic copies of the official CFR on its website from 1996 through the most recently published print edition.  This office additionally publishes the e-CFR, which is an unofficial version of the CFR that is updated daily as changes to the regulations are promulgated.  Current versions of the CFR are additionally available on Westlaw and Lexis.  A print copy of the most recent CFR is located on the second floor of the library (stack 216).  Superseded CFR volumes (2005-08) are available in the reference section on the second floor (stack 216), on microfiche (1981-2002) in the library’s Media Center on the fourth floor, and on HeinOnline from 1938 to the present.      

The Federal Register (FR) is a daily publication that prints agency regulations and notices as they are issued.  The Federal Register (1994 – present) is available online through the Government Printing Office, HeinOnline (1936 – 2009), Lexis (1980 – present), and Westlaw (1981 – present).  Bound copies of the Federal Register (2006 – present) are available on the second floor of the library (stack 216).  

Matthew Bender publishes Bender’s Immigration Regulation Service (KF 4819 G67 Regul.), which contains regularly updated DHS, DOS, DOL, DOJ, and DHHS regulations.  The most current version of this series is available on Lexis and TALLONS (Tarlton library catalog).   

The library additionally has various print compilations of U.S. immigration statutes and regulations, including Federal Immigration Laws and Regulations: as amended to April 17, 2009 (KF 4806 2009) and Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States: Selected Statutes, Regulations, and Forms (KF 4806 2007b).

(C) Agency Operations Manuals

Various agencies have made their operations manuals available to the public.  These resources contain a wealth of information about agency practices as related to the handling of specific immigration petitions and cases. 

USCIS Manuals, including the Adjudicator’s Field Manual, Affirmative Asylum Procedures Manual, E-Verify Employer Manual, and M-274 Employers Handbook.

Foreign Affairs Manual and Visa Reciprocity Tables – contain information regarding overseas visa processing, consular affairs, and information regarding the availability of foreign documents.

USICE Detention Operations Manual – prepared by the Office of Detention and Removal (DRO).

Immigration Court Practice Manual – prepared by the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge.

Immigration Judge Benchbook – prepared by the EOIR.

BIA Practice Manual – prepared by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

(D) Agency Legal Opinions, Guidance, and Memoranda

USCIS issues guidance and memoranda related to various immigration issues on a frequent basis and these are regularly followed by CIS officers when making adjudications decisions.   Recent guidance and memoranda from 1998 to the present date are available on the USCIS website.  USCIS has also created a listing of Significant Guidance that it deems to be of particular importance.  The legacy INS previous issued Legal Opinions and Interpretations on a number of immigration issues, which may be of research value for historical purposes.  The most complete listing of these opinions and interpretations is available on Lexis and Westlaw.    

(E) Administrative and Judicial Decisions

As noted above, the federal courts have jurisdiction over immigration cases. Print versions of the various federal court decisions may be found in the following court reporters: (1) United States Reports (or West's Supreme Court Reporter or United States Supreme Court Reports - Lawyer's Edition); (2) the Federal Reporter; and (3) the Federal Supplement.  These reporters are located on the second floor of the library in the reference section (stacks 211-215).  All federal court cases, including many unpublished decisions, may be located online through search programs such as Lexis and Westlaw, and the federal courts frequently publish recent opinions on their individual websites.

BIA precedential decisions (including decisions which have been certified by the U.S. Attorney General) are available on the BIA’s Virtual Law Library.   Some non-precedential cases are listed on the website as indexed cases, though the BIA discourages citation to non-precedential cases.  Precedential and non-precedential cases are also available on Lexis, Westlaw, and HeinOnline (through 2006).  The library has a print series of BIA decisions in Administrative Decisions under Immigration and Nationality Laws (1940-2000) at call number J 21.11 (stack 408) on the fourth floor of the library. 

OCAHO decisions are available through the EOIR website, (1988-present), on Lexis and Westlaw, and in print in the compilation Administrative Decisions under Employer Sanctions, Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices Law, and Civil Penalty Document Fraud Laws of the United States (1988 – 2000), located at call number J 1.103 (stack 408) on the fourth floor of the library.

AAO decisions are available on Lexis, Westlaw and the USCIS website.  These decisions are not made publicly available in a consistent manner, and identifying information for the parties to the decision is usually redacted. 

BALCA decisions are published by the Office of Administrative Law Judges and listed in the Immigration Collection on the DOL website.   BALCA decisions are also available on Lexis and Westlaw. 

(F) Forms

Immigration forms are available on the various federal agency websites.  Forms can be downloaded for free and generally are available in PDF format.  A listing of agency forms and links is provided below. 

USCIS – immigration petitions, applications, and AAO appeals.
DOS – visa applications
DOL – Labor Condition Applications, Applications for Labor Certification (also known as PERM), and related forms.
EOIR – forms for Immigration Court, the BIA, and OCAHO.

(G) Immigration Legislation/Legislative Histories

The Library of Congress maintains Thomas, which provides public access to various congressional documents, including the text of bills (1989-present), congressional committee reports (1995-present), portions of the Congressional Record (1989 – present), and summaries of congressional action taken on bills (1973-present).   LexisNexis Congressional Universe (accessible through Tarlton’s databases page) has similar documents, but covers a broader range of congressional sessions and contains Congressional Research Service Reports.  For assistance with compiling legislative histories, please contact the Government Documents librarian, Barbara Bridges

(H) Executive Orders of the President

The President of the United States may issue executive orders concerning immigration. Executive orders are first published in the Federal Register (see above), and those issued by the seated President are posted on the White House website.  Executive Orders also appear in the Compilation of Presidential Documents (1993 – present).  A print compilation (1965-2000) is available on the fourth floor of the library. 

 

Treatises and Journals

The following are useful treatises and journals related to immigration law:

  1. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.  K 7 E573.  Also available on HeinOnline, Lexis, and Westlaw.

  2. Immigration & Nationality Law Review. K 9 M44.  Also available on HeinOnline.

  3. Immigration Law & Business. KF 4819 F7 1983.  Also available on Westlaw.

  4. Immigration Law & Crimes.  KF 4819 I472 2001.  Also available on Westlaw.

  5. Immigration Law & Defense.  KF 8925 E4 N37 1988.  Also available on Westlaw.

  6. Immigration Law & the Family. KF 4819 I36 1995.  Also available on Westlaw.
     
  7. Immigration Law & Health: Patients and Providers.  Available on Westlaw.

  8. Immigration Law & Procedure. KF 4819 G67.  Multi-volume treatise that includes samples forms and motions, as well as reprints of useful government publications, including the Foreign Affairs Manual.  Available through 2008 in print.  Current edition available electronically on TALLONS and Lexis.
     
  9. Immigration Law Service. KF 4815 I47 2004.  Also available on Westlaw.

  10. Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook. KF 4819.3 K87 2008.
     
  11. Steel on Immigration Law.  Available on Westlaw.

 

Practice Guides and Current Awareness Services

Current awareness publications help the researcher keep abreast of the latest developments in an area of law, by providing summaries of new cases and pending legislation and agency action.

  1. AILA Immigration and Nationality Law Handbooks.  KF 4819 A2 A42.  Published annually by AILA for its national conference.  Library has handbooks for the years 1995 – 1998, 2002, and 2004.

  2. AILA Immigration Law Today.  KF 4802 A15. A news bulletin from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) (library subscription cancelled as of 12/2008).
     
  3. Bender’s Immigration Bulletin.  KF 4819 G67.  Available in print through 11/2008.  Available online through TALLONS and Lexis.

  4. Bender’s Immigration Bulletin: Daily Edition.

  5. Immigration Briefings.  KF 4802 I463.  Available electronically on Westlaw.

  6. Immigration Business News and Comment.  KF 4802 I445

  7. Immigration Daily – daily newspaper on immigration law, with blogs and other resources.

  8. Immigration Procedures Handbook. KF 4819 F73 2009.

  9. Interpreter Releases. KF 4802 A4. A weekly publication that contains updated news on immigration law, as well as recent court decisions, Federal Register notices, and government memoranda.
     
  10. Siskind’s Immigration Bulletin.  Free news service produced by the law firm Siskind Susser.

 

Immigration Statistics

  1. Report of the Visa Office – U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs.

  2. TRAC Immigration Project – Syracuse University.

  3. EOIR Statistical Yearbook

  4. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics – U.S. DHS Office of Immigration Statistics. Washington, D.C.

Selected Asylum/Refugee Resources

  1. Affirmative Asylum Procedures Manual (USCIS)
  2. Amnesty International
  3. Asylumlaw.org
  4. CIA World Factbook
  5. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (DOS)
  6. Human Rights Watch
  7. Trafficking in Persons Report (DOS)
  8. United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees
  9. U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom
  10. U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (publishes World Refugee Survey)
  11. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library

Related Resources and Research Guides

Additional related resources are available by searching TALLONS under the subject "Emigration and Immigration Law - United States," or by browsing the fourth floor stacks in the call number range KF 4800-4848.  The following websites and legal research guides provide information on a variety of immigration issues and research topics:

  1. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) – membership organization for immigration attorneys and legal professionals; website contains cases and administrative decisions, immigration guidance and memoranda, regulatory news, and a specialty subscription research service known as AILALink.
       
  2. American Immigration Council (AIC) – AIC’s Legal Action Center publishes practice advisories on immigration litigation practice and other related issues.

  3. Center for Immigration Studies

  4. Cornell University Law Library - Research Sources on Immigration Law

  5. Georgetown University Law Library – U.S. Immigration Law Research and Immigration & Human Rights on the Internet

  6. Immigration Law - A Comparative Approach: Guide to Immigration Law of Australia, Canada and the United States (GlobaLex)

  7. National Conference of State Legislatures – includes information regarding recent immigration laws that have been enacted by state legislatures.

  8. National Immigration Law Center – excellent resource for research on immigrant eligibility for public benefits.

  9. National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild