6 U.S.C. § 271: Establishment of Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services

There shall be in the Department a bureau to be known as the “Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services”. shall report directly to the Deputy Secretary; shall have a minimum of 5 years of management experience; and shall be paid at the same level as the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Border Security. shall establish the policies for performing such functions as are transferred to the Director by this section or this chapter or otherwise vested in the Director by law; shall oversee the administration of such policies; shall advise the Deputy Secretary with respect to any policy or operation of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services that may affect the Bureau of Border Security of the Department, including potentially conflicting policies or operations; shall establish national immigration services policies and priorities; shall meet regularly with the Ombudsman described in section 272 of this title to correct serious service problems identified by the Ombudsman; and shall establish procedures requiring a formal response to any recommendations submitted in the Ombudsman’s annual report to Congress within 3 months after its submission to Congress. gain some experience in all the major functions performed by such bureau; and work in at least one field office and one service center of such bureau. Not later than 2 years after the effective date specified in section 455, 1 the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the implementation of such program. The Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services is authorized to implement innovative pilot initiatives to eliminate any remaining backlog in the processing of immigration benefit applications, and to prevent any backlog in the processing of such applications from recurring, in accordance with section 1573(a) of title 8 . Such initiatives may include measures such as increasing personnel, transferring personnel to focus on areas with the largest potential for backlog, and streamlining paperwork. Adjudications of immigrant visa petitions. Adjudications of naturalization petitions. Adjudications of asylum and refugee applications. Adjudications performed at service centers. All other adjudications performed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service immediately before the effective date specified in section 455. 1 There shall be a position of Chief of Policy and Strategy for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. making policy recommendations and performing policy research and analysis on immigration services issues; and coordinating immigration policy issues with the Chief of Policy and Strategy for the Bureau of Border Security of the Department. There shall be a principal legal advisor to the Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. providing specialized legal advice, opinions, determinations, regulations, and any other assistance to the Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services with respect to legal matters affecting the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services; and representing the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in visa petition appeal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. There shall be a Budget Officer for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. formulating and executing the budget of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services; financial management of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services; and collecting all payments, fines, and other debts for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. There shall be a position of Chief of the Office of Citizenship for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Chief of the Office of Citizenship for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services shall be responsible for promoting instruction and training on citizenship responsibilities for aliens interested in becoming naturalized citizens of the United States, including the development of educational materials.