Sec. 2. Establishment of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
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Section 451 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 271 ) is amended to read as follows: There is established within the Department an agency to be known as United States Citizenship and Immigration Services . The mission of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is to efficiently adjudicate petitions and applications for immigration benefits for foreign nationals seeking lawful immigration status in the United States and for individuals seeking to become citizens of the United States in a manner that detects and prevents fraud, protects the jobs and working conditions of American workers, and ensures the national security and welfare of the American people.
There shall be at the head of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (in this section referred to as the Director ) who shall— report directly to the Secretary; have at least 5 years of management experience; establish the policies and priorities of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; advise the Secretary of any policy or operation that affects, in a significant manner, the mission of another Department component agency; carry out the adjudication of immigration and naturalization benefits applications and petitions within the Director’s statutory authority; and carry out further duties prescribed by statute, or as assigned or delegated by the Secretary, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There shall be a Deputy Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services who shall assist the Director in carrying out the Director’s duties. There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an Office of the Chief Counsel. There shall be at the head of the Office of the Chief Counsel a Chief Counsel who shall— provide specialized legal advice, opinions, determinations, draft regulations, and other assistance to the Director with respect to legal matters affecting United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and represent United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in visa petition appeal proceedings when applicable.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an Office of Policy and Strategy. There shall be at the head of the Office of Policy and Strategy a Chief who shall— develop United States Citizenship and Immigration Services policy recommendations for the Director; develop strategy for policy implementation; and carry out additional duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an Office of Citizenship. There shall be at the head of the Office of Citizenship a Chief who shall— promote instruction and training on citizenship responsibilities, as well as assimilation, for eligible aliens who are interested in becoming naturalized citizens of the United States; and carry out additional duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate an Associate Director who shall seek to prevent immigration benefits from being granted to individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety, or who defraud the immigration system, in a manner that is consistent with the immigration laws (as such term is defined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17) )).
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an External Affairs Directorate. There shall be at the head of the External Affairs Directorate an Associate Director who shall— oversee and coordinate official United States Citizenship and Immigration Services communications to both internal and external audiences, including applicants, petitioners, and beneficiaries of petitions for immigration benefits provided by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the legislative branch, and the general public; and carry out additional duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an Immigration Records and Identity Services Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Immigration Records and Identity Services Directorate an Associate Director who shall— manage the operation of an employment eligibility verification system as provided for by section 404 of the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (U.S.C. 1324a note) or any successor system; manage the operation of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program, or its successor program, designed to assist Federal, State, and local benefit-issuing agencies, institutions, and licensing agencies in determining the immigration status of benefit applicants so only those legally entitled to benefits receive them; manage the biometric services provided to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services components; manage immigration records and provide information regarding such records to stakeholders; and carry out further duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Field Operations Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Field Operations Directorate an Associate Director who shall— oversee all United States Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices; oversee the adjudication of immigration benefits and naturalization applications and petitions, applicant interviews, naturalization ceremonies, and background checks for applicants, petitioners, and beneficiaries of petitions for benefits; ensure the integrity of processing that occurs at the field offices; and carry out further duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate an Associate Director who shall— oversee refugee application adjudication and interviews; oversee asylum application adjudication and interviews; ensure the integrity of application processing that occurs under the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate’s authority; and carry out further duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Service Center Operations Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Service Center Operations Directorate an Associate Director who shall— oversee and manage the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Service Centers responsible for adjudicating petitions that do not require applicant interviews; ensure the integrity of processing that occurs at the Service Centers; and carry out further duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services a Management Directorate. There shall be at the head of the Management Directorate an Associate Director who shall carry out management duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. There is established within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services an Office of Professional Responsibility.
There shall be at the head of the Office of Professional Responsibility a Chief who shall— ensure compliance with all United States Citizenship and Immigration Services programs and policies relating to corruption, misconduct, or mismanagement; investigate allegations of misconduct involving officials or employees of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and carry out further duties as assigned or delegated by the Director, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The Director may establish other offices, directorates, and officers, including Associate Directors, as the Director determines necessary to carry out the duties of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which are within the statutory authority of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. .
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