The INS is Dead! Long Live the DHS: The New Department of Homeland Security and the Abolishment of the INS

The purpose of this Immigration Alert is to provide advance guidance on important changes within the structure of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as well as changes to the provision of immigration benefits to employers, families, and individuals.

On November 25, 2002 President Bush signed legislation (Pub. L. No. 107-296) creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The composition of this agency will dramatically alter U.S. immigration law—from the adjudication of visas to the enforcement of immigration law to the implementation of regulations affecting employers and their foreign national workers.