USCIS stands for U.S. CITIZENSHIP and Immigration Services. It is an agency of the U.S. government under the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is principally responsible for matters dealing with aliens in the United States. This includes jurisdiction over petitions for non-immigrant status and immigration status. Prior to March of 2003, the USCIS was called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). For a brief PERIOD of time, it was known as the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). It is also SOMETIMES just referred to as the CIS. For PURPOSES of this web site, we use the currently accepted name of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS.

USCIS stands for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is an agency of the U.S. government under the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is principally responsible for matters dealing with aliens in the United States. This includes jurisdiction over petitions for non-immigrant status and immigration status. Prior to March of 2003, the USCIS was called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). For a brief period of time, it was known as the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). It is also sometimes just referred to as the CIS. For purposes of this web site, we use the currently accepted name of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS.