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The agency's role
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the component of the Department of Homeland Security that adjudicates immigration benefit requests: petitions, applications, and requests for status filed largely from inside the United States.
USCIS is not the agency that issues visas abroad, that inspects travelers at the border, or that runs the immigration courts. Those functions belong to the Department of State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, respectively.
- Adjudicates petitions and applications such as family petitions, employment petitions, adjustment of status, naturalization, and humanitarian requests.
- Issues notices: receipts, biometrics appointments, requests for evidence, interview notices, and decisions.
- Publishes the Policy Manual, the fee schedule, form editions, and processing time data.
Where to look things up
Every case that USCIS receives generates a receipt number, which is the key to checking status online. Form instructions and the Policy Manual are the authoritative statements of what the agency expects, and both are updated over time.
Because form editions and filing addresses change, always download the form and instructions from the USCIS website immediately before filing rather than reusing a saved copy.
A practical caution
Third-party sites frequently republish outdated USCIS content. When a requirement, fee, address, or form edition matters, confirm it on uscis.gov. If a page you are reading does not cite the agency, treat it as background reading only.