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Immigration Law Research Guide

Finding Federal Statutes

Federal statutes governing immigration law can be found in the United States Code. Title 8 of the United States Code deals with Aliens and Nationality.

United States Code (U.S.C.)

    • Available - FDsys, Print: Law Library

United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.)

    • Available - Westlaw, Print: Law Library

United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)

 

For historical statutory code research, use HeinOnline's United States Code library or GovInfo. You may also want to consult Statutes at Large (HeinOnline, Print: Law Library), the federal government's official session laws.

For more information on searching federal statutes, please refer to the Finding Federal Primary Law research guide.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA)

One of the most important federal statutes governing immigration law is the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA was initially signed into law in 1952, and has been amended many times since then. The INA is codified at Title 8, U.S.C., §§ 1101-1537. Statutory provisions can be cited as sections of the INA or as United States Code sections. For example INA §247 is the same section as 8 U.S.C. § 1257.

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