The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security,the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11,2001.
A green card,known officially as a permanent resident card,is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2019,there are an estimated 13.9 million green card holders,of whom 9.1 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 65,000 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act,section 101(a)(15)(H),that allows U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation requires the application of specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent of work experience. The duration of stay is three years,extendable to six years,after which the visa holder can reapply. Laws limit the number of H-1B visas that are issued each year. There exist congressionally mandated caps limiting the number of H-1B visas that can be issued each fiscal year,which is 65,000 visas,and an additional 20,000 set aside for those graduating with master’s degrees or higher from a U.S. college or university. An employer must sponsor individuals for the visa. USCIS estimates there are 583,420 foreign nationals on H-1B visas as of September 30,2019. The number of issued H-1B visas have quadrupled since the first year these visas were issued in 1991. There were 206,002 initial and continuing H-1B visas issued in 2022.
Parole,in the immigration laws of the United States,generally refers to official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the United States,under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS),without formal admission,and while remaining an applicant for admission.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS),which was dissolved by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and replaced by three components within the DHS:USCIS,Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
An H-4 visa is a United States visa issued to dependent family members of H-1B,H-1B1,H-2A,H-2B,and H-3 visa holders to allow them to travel to the United States to accompany or reunite with the principal visa holder. A dependent family member is a spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21. If a dependent of an H-1B,H-1B1,H-2A,H-2B,or H-3 worker is already in the United States,they can apply for H-4 immigration status by filing Form I-539 for change of status with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II is an American lawyer and politician who served as the senior official performing the duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party,he also served as the Principal Deputy and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and was Attorney General of Virginia from 2010 to 2014.
The United States EB-5 visa,employment-based fifth preference category or EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program,created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990,provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permanent residents—informally known as "green card" holders—by investing substantial capital to finance a U.S. business which will create at least 10 new,full-time jobs for Americans and work-authorized immigrants. The EB-5 program is intended to encourage both "foreign investments and economic growth." The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program is one of five employment-based (EB) preference programs in the United States.
Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries,as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security,who are present in the United States. In general,the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant temporary protected status to people already present in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict,an environmental disaster,or any temporary or extraordinary conditions that would prevent the foreign national from returning safely and assimilating into their duty. Temporary protected status allows beneficiaries to live and,in some cases,work in the United States for a limited amount of time. As of March 2022,there are more than 400,000 foreign nationals in Temporary Protected Status.
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas is a Cuban-American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security since February 2,2021. During the Obama administration,he also served in the Department of Homeland Security,first as director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (2009–2013),and then as deputy secretary of DHS (2013–2016).
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,colloquially referred to as DACA,is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment authorization document in the U.S. To be eligible for the program,recipients cannot have felonies or serious misdemeanors on their records. Unlike the proposed DREAM Act,DACA does not provide a path to citizenship for recipients. The policy,an executive branch memorandum,was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15,2012. This followed a campaign by immigrants,advocates and supporters which employed a range of tactics. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications for the program on August 15,2012.
The American Civics Test is an oral examination that is administered to immigrants who are applying for U.S. citizenship. The test is designed to assess the applicants' knowledge of U.S. history and government. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the test as part of the naturalization process.
Lee Francis Cissna is an American lawyer and government official who served as Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2017 to 2019. Prior to assuming that role,he was the Director of Immigration Policy in the Office of Policy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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. Historically,the United States went through a period of loose immigration policy in the early-19th century followed by a period of strict immigration policy in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Policy areas related to the immigration process include visa policy,asylum policy,and naturalization policy. Policy areas related to illegal immigration include deferral policy and removal policy.
Beginning in 2019,multiple appointments of acting officials in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were questioned,on the basis of whether the appointments were legal under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. After the departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019,the Trump administration did not formally nominate a new secretary to be confirmed by the Senate,relying on acting postings.
Joe Biden's immigration policy is primarily based on reversing many of the immigration policies of the previous Trump administration. During his first day in office,Biden reversed many of Trump's policies on immigration,such as halting the construction of the Mexican border wall,ending Trump's travel ban restricting travel from 14 countries,and an executive order to reaffirm protections for DACA recipients. The Biden administration and Department of Homeland Security,under leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas,dramatically reined in deportation practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),prioritizing national security and violent crime concerns over petty and nonviolent offenses. However,Biden has also faced criticism for extending Title 42,a Trump administration border restriction that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic,as well as restarting the use of expediting families in Central America,which can cause families to be sent back in weeks,compared to years for an average immigration case. In the fiscal year 2021,the US Border Patrol confirmed more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the US-Mexico border,more than quadruple the number in the previous fiscal year and the largest annual total on record. In January 2023,Biden announced a program to strengthen the admission of immigrants from Cuba,Haiti,Nicaragua,and Venezuela,while at the same time his administration will crack down on those who fail to use the plan’s legal pathway and strengthen border security. In May 2023,the Biden Administration approved sending 1,500 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border following Title 42's expiration.
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was a legislative bill that was proposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office. It was formally introduced in the House by Representative Linda Sánchez. It died with the ending of the 117th Congress.
Jonathan Eugene Meyer is an American lawyer and government official who has served as the sixth general counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security since 2021.
