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What are Different Types of Immigrant & Non-Immigrant US Visas

US Green Card by Nation

US Foreign Born Share 2024

US Immigrant Visas by Country

USCIS Glossary

USCIS Visa Types

Translation Requirements - USCIS

I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal

I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

N-400, Application for Naturalization

I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA

I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records

USCIS High Frequency Forms

US Immigration System Explained

USCIS Org Chart

Here is a structured analysis of the major structural changes across each agency area identified in the 2005 brief, from that era to the current 2026 administration:
U.S. Immigration Agency Structure: 2005 vs. 2026
1. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — Major Reorganization
US-VISIT → OBIM
The 2005 brief describes US-VISIT as a standalone program office. In March 2013, the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) was created and replaced the US-VISIT program.  (Reginfo.gov) Congress transferred US-VISIT's entry-exit policy and operations to CBP, its biometric identity management functions to the newly created OBIM, and its overstay analysis mission to ICE.  (Federal Register) Under the current administration, the biometric program has been significantly expanded: DHS announced in November 2025 that it would expand its Biometric Entry/Exit program, with a Final Rule published October 27, 2025, taking effect December 26, 2025.  (Constangy)
USCIS: From Benefits to Enforcement
In 2005, USCIS was framed primarily as a benefits-processing agency. Experts now warn the nation's immigrant benefits agency could become more of an enforcement agency, with the current administration making aggressive efforts to restrict access to the legal immigration system.  (Newsweek) Concretely, USCIS announced in December 2025 the creation of a new USCIS Vetting Center to centralize enhanced vetting of applicants, responsible for screening terrorists, criminal aliens, and other foreign nationals who may pose threats to public safety or who have engaged in fraud.  (Constangy)
ICE: Dramatic Expansion
The 2005 brief described ICE as focused on interior enforcement and national security. Since President Trump returned to office, the federal government has lowered hiring and training standards to rapidly expand ICE ranks, broadened their authority, and set aggressive daily targets for apprehensions. The year 2025 saw 32 deaths of immigrants in ICE custody, triple the number in 2024.  (Brookings) About 70,000 people are in ICE custody as of early 2026, up roughly 84% from a year prior.  (Conference Board)
DHS Secretary Change
The current DHS secretary is Kristi Noem. Secretary Noem announced in December 2025 that the Department would pause the DV1 portion of the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery program.  (Constangy)
2. Department of State (DOS) — Visa Policy Shifts
In 2005, the brief noted that oversight of visa policy had moved to DHS but DOS still played a key liaison role. By 2026, the balance has shifted further. The State Department expanded its "online presence review" requirement in December 2025 to include H-1B workers and H-4 dependents, requiring applicants to disclose social media identifiers and ensure accounts are public during visa adjudication — previously this applied mainly to F, M, and J visa categories.  (Constangy)
On refugee admissions, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration has seen its program drastically curtailed: the administration's 2026 refugee admissions cap was set at 7,500 people, the lowest limit since the program began, with a focus on White South Africans as a priority group.  (Newsweek)
Travel bans have also reshaped DOS's consular operations. Expanded travel restrictions now affect 39 countries, with nationals from 19 countries facing complete suspension of all immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories.  (VisaPics)
3. Department of Justice (DOJ/EOIR) — Structural Contraction
This is one of the most significant structural changes since 2005. The 2005 brief described a robust, multi-component EOIR with the BIA serving as the highest appellate body and immigration judges issuing final decisions.
BIA Reduced and Reshaped
Within a month of taking office, the Trump administration reduced the number of appellate judge slots on the BIA from 28 to 15, cutting it nearly in half, with the first to be dismissed being the most recent Biden-era hires.  (NPR)
Appellate Procedures Overhauled
EOIR published an interim final rule in February 2026 that makes BIA appellate review discretionary, eliminating automatic merits review, and sets shorter briefing schedules — changes designed to expedite adjudications and reduce the 200,000-case appellate backlog.  (Erickson Immigration Group) Courts have partially blocked this, with a federal district court vacating key portions including the default summary-dismissal framework and the reduction of the ordinary appeal deadline from 30 days to 10 days.  (Francis Law Center)
Immigration Courts Shrinking
Courts across the country began 2026 with fewer than half the judges from a year ago, as judges were fired, resigned, or were reassigned. At least two courts have no judges left, and with fewer judges, immigrants are seeing their cases pushed back as far as 2030.  (NPR) The agency also rebranded its judicial hiring campaign — EOIR launched a hiring campaign seeking to recruit "deportation judges" rather than "immigration judges."  (NPR)
Backlog at Historic Highs
The 2005 brief made no mention of backlogs as a structural problem. As of February 2026, more than 1.7 million immigrants are waiting for cases to be heard — the highest backlog ever recorded — with average wait times stretching to nearly 900 days.  (Vasquez Law Firm)
4. Department of Labor (DOL) — Structural Continuity, Policy Tension
The 2005 brief described DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) as the first step in certifying employer petitions for foreign workers. Structurally this remains similar, but the current policy environment creates friction. Employers in health care, construction, hospitality, and agriculture have raised concerns about how reduced immigration is impacting labor shortages.  (Conference Board) The H-1B program has also been targeted: a new $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B petitions was introduced by presidential proclamation, with a coalition of employers, universities, and worker groups filing lawsuits arguing the fee exceeds presidential authority.  (Newsweek)
5. HHS/ORR — Unaccompanied Minors Mission Expanded, Then Restructured
In 2005, the brief notes that ORR had "recently" taken on oversight of unaccompanied minors — a small addition at the time. By 2026, this has grown enormously in scope and political significance. Separately, refugee resettlement funding through ORR has been curtailed in line with the drastically reduced refugee cap noted above.
Summary: The Most Significant Structural Shifts
Area
2005
2026
Biometric tracking
US-VISIT (standalone)
OBIM + CBP biometric exit (fully expanded)
USCIS orientation
Benefits-focused
Enforcement-integrated
ICE scale
Interior enforcement
Mass detention/deportation campaign
BIA composition
28 judges, automatic review
15 judges, discretionary review
Immigration court judges
Stable, growing
Halved; courts closing
Court backlog
Not flagged as crisis
1.7M cases; 900-day avg wait
Refugee cap
~70,000/year era
7,500 (2026 — historic low)
Visa vetting
Entry documents
Social media, expanded nationality bans
The overarching structural shift is that the 2005 system — already transformed by the 2002 Homeland Security Act — was designed around parallel tracks of enforcement and benefits/services. The current 2026 structure is consolidating authority around enforcement across virtually every agency, while simultaneously reducing adjudicatory capacity and international admission pathways.

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US Immigration Legal Framework

Bridging Borders: Specialty English for Crisis Contexts

Bridging Borders: Specialty English for Crisis Contexts

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