The main body of law governing immigration to the United States is the United States Constitution, and the main source of immigration laws is the statutes enacted by Congress (Making, 2006). Most of these laws are contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) but many of them are not codified here and must be found in the original legislation. Statutes provide broad authority, and agencies then apply these to specific situations. These are controlled by the INS. Both the Department of Labor and the Department of State are involved in administering immigration laws. The Board of Immigration Appeals is a separate agency within the Department of Justice which reviews immigration cases and issues appellate decisions which are binding on the INS.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 Public Law No. 82-414, has been amended many times but is still the main body of law relating to matters of immigration (Immigration, 2006). It stands alone as a body of law, but is also contained in the United States Code (U.S.C.). It is arranged in 50 subject titles in alphabetical order. Specific sections can be referred to by either their INA code or their U.S.C. code, but usually the INA code is used.
Immigration to the U.S. is a long and difficult process for anyone from any country, whether coming here to work or study (Immigration to, 2006). Before applying, the immigrant should make sure they know a lot about the United States either by taking a vacation here, preferably staying with other Russians who have immigrated here, to get an idea of the difficulties faced by immigrants and what to be prepared for. There are an estimated four to five-and-a-half million Russian-Americans currently living in the U.S. and they are mainly found in the New York-Tri-State area, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with lesser groups in Florida, DC, and Maryland (Russian-American, 2006).
Information can be f...