Office of the Superintendent of Immigration established - first federal immigration agency
The office was under the Treasury Department
Immigrant Inspectors started working at major ports of entry
1892
The legendary immigration station - Ellis Island - opened
in New York
1895
Bureau of Immigration was created to replace the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration
The Superintendent became Commissioner-General of Immigration
1903
Bureau of Immigration was transferred to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor
1906
Bureau of Immigration became Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization after Congress passed the Basic Naturalization Act
1913
Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization split into two bureaus - one for immigration, one for naturalization - under Department of Labor
1920s
Congress started to set annual quota to limit incoming immigrants based on nationality
The State Department was responsible for issuing annual visas
Immigration Board of Review was created within the Immigration Bureau
Border Patrol was also created
1933
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was born by reuniting Bureau of Immigration and Bureau of Naturalization
1940
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was moved from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice
The Board of Review became the Board of Immigration Appeals (which later become Executive Office of Immigration Review under the Department of Homeland Security)
1952
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was created
Various refugee relief bills were enacted from the 1940s to 1960s
1965
The national-origins system was replaced with a preference system that allowed more family members and skilled workers to come in
1986
The Immigration Reform and Control Act:
Legalized certain aliens residing in the U.S. unlawfully since 1982; created temporary agricultural worker category; established the Visa Waiver Program.
2003
The mighty INS ceased to exist
Employees of INS were re-assigned to three different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security:
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
