Immigration 101

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

Recent Features

Why Don’t Immigrants Apply for Citizenship?

There is no line available for undocumented immigrants and the “regular channels” do not include them.

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Fact Sheet
Temporary Protected Status: An Overview

This fact sheet provides an overview of how Temporary Protected Status designations are made, what benefits TPS confers, and how TPS beneficiaries apply for and regularly renew their status.

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How the United States Immigration System Works

U.S. immigration law is very complex. Here's basic information about how the U.S. legal immigration system is designed.

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All Immigration 101 Content

  • Blog

14,000 Become U.S. Citizens to Celebrate Fourth of July

July 3, 2018

Coinciding with the Fourth of July each year, naturalization ceremonies turn immigrants into new American citizens. This Independence Day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will...

  • Blog

Re-Definition of ‘Public Charge’ Could Drastically Slash Family Immigration

June 28, 2018

The Trump administration is quietly attempting to revamp the U.S. immigration system by circumventing Congress and changing the nation’s immigration policies through new federal regulations. The...

  • Blog

Read This Year’s ‘Celebrate America’ Creative Writing Contest Winning Entry

June 15, 2018

  The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 21st Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate...

  • Blog

Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month and Being Welcoming Is Good for You and Your Community

June 5, 2018

June is Immigrant Heritage Month, and given the shrill and often negative rhetoric we hear around immigration, it seems more important than ever to take time to appreciate our immigration history...

  • Blog

Trump’s Nominee for Refugee Bureau Has an Anti-Immigrant History

May 30, 2018

When it comes to U.S. refugee policy, the Trump administration is asking Congress to let the fox guard the hen house. The administration has nominated Ronald Mortensen to be assistant secretary of...

  • Blog

Government Playing Fast and Loose With ‘Gang Member’ Label

May 24, 2018

There is no doubt that criminal gangs operating in the United States adversely impact the lives of many people living in communities throughout the country. However, in a nefarious act, President...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs

May 21, 2018

The United States depends on a growing private sector to remain strong and immigrant entrepreneurship is a key component to this growth. Immigrants are more likely to start businesses than their...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Is Placing More Long-Residing Immigrants Into Court Proceedings

April 24, 2018

For years, immigration enforcement officials prioritized recent border-crossers over long-time residents with U.S.-born children, clean criminal records, or other evidence of roots in the United...

  • Blog

Canadian Lawsuit Challenges the United States’ Designation as a Safe Country for Asylum Seekers

April 20, 2018

The United States has historically been viewed as a nation that welcomes refugees fleeing from violence and persecution in their home countries. Yet, the Trump administration recently reiterated...

  • Blog

Fewer Foreign Doctors Could Spell Disaster for America’s Most Underserved Communities

April 13, 2018

The United States has long been the country of choice for international physicians seeking a graduate medical education. But for the second year in a row, the number of foreign doctors who applied...

  • Blog

Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally

March 3, 2020

The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S....

  • Blog

Undocumented, Black, and Unseen

February 27, 2020

I am one of approximately 619,000 undocumented, Black immigrants living in the United States. My immigration story began at seven years old, when I came to the United States from Belize without my...

  • Blog

With Public Charge Rule Now in Effect, Trump Achieves One of the Largest Cuts to Legal Immigration

February 24, 2020

After months in the courts, the Trump administration declared victory and began enforcing its new “public charge” rule. The rule goes into effect on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, inside the United States...

  • Blog

Judge Stops DHS From Arresting US Citizens’ Foreign Spouses During Marriage Interviews in Maryland

February 21, 2020

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been targeting U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses when they apply for legal immigration status. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland put a...

  • Blog

The Fight to Stop ICE From Destroying Records About Deaths and Abuse in Its Custody

February 19, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Change to How ‘Unlawful Presence’ Is Calculated Is Defeated in Court

February 12, 2020

A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully...

  • Blog

Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Extend to Nearly 7% of the Entire World

February 5, 2020

President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the...

  • Blog

The State of Immigration in Our Union

February 3, 2020

Three years into the Trump administration, it’s become clear that we have lost our rudder. For a nation that long-provided a welcome mat to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, our...

  • Blog

Demographic Change Is Hard, Especially When Our Leaders Stoke Our Worst Fears

January 29, 2020

After more than 20 years in the immigrant justice movement, I confess that I missed the mark. In my drive to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees, I was blind to some key realities taking...

  • Blog

Tent Immigration Courts Are Still Not Fully Open to the Public

January 17, 2020

Asylum seekers subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols—or the “Remain in Mexico” program—in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas attend their court hearings in tents known as “port courts.” The...

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