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Immigration Law

Commercial Services

Westlaw Immigration Resources (Westlaw password required)
Westlaw's Pracitioner Insights for Immigration compiles a wide variety of immigration-related primary law and secondary sources.

Lexis Immigration Resources (Lexis password required)
Immigration law resources on Lexis include Bender’s Immigration Regulations Service and federal immigration administrative decisions and guidance.

AILALink (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE)
AILALink has federal statutes and regulations, federal court and agency decisions, and various other primary and secondary sources. Because our license allows only three concurrent users, please log out of AILALink when you have finished using it.

Legislative History

Federal Legislative History LibGuide
The Law Library's Federal Legislative History research guide details the steps and resources for conducting federal legislative history research.

HeinOnline Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S. (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE)
This HeinOnline resource provides a compilation of historical documents and legislation related to immigration in the United States as well as current hearings, debates and recent developments in immigration law. It includes BIA Precedent Decisions, legislative histories, scholarly articles, bibliography, and related works.

Statutes

U.S. CODE
The United States Code is the official federal statutory code and is published by the United States Government. It has 54 titles, with each title divided into chapters and further subdivided into sections. 

The two U.S. Code titles most applicable to immigration issues are:

  • Title 8 Aliens and Nationality (The Immigration and Naturalization Act, found in Title 8 of the US Code, serves as a base for immigration law)
  • Title 18, Chapter 69 Nationality and Citizenship

The Law Library's Federal Legislature: Statutes and Legislation LibGuide provides information on where federal statutes can be accessed. 

Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the general and permanent regulations of the agencies and executive departments of the federal government.  It is divided into 50 Titles.

Selected CFR Titles related to immigration, citizenship, and nationality
Title 8 CFR (Dept. of Homeland Security, Immigration & Naturalization)
Title 22 CFR (Dept. of State)
Title 6 CFR (Dept. of Homeland Security, Office of Security) 
Title 20 (Dept. of Labor)  Part 655 Temporary Employment of Aliens in the United States.
Title 20 (Dept. of Labor) Part 656 Labor Certification Process for Permanent Employment of Aliens In the United States

Free Resources for the CFR

Subscription Resources for the CFR

  • HeinOnline (coverage begins in 1938, available on campus and remotely with ASURITE)

The Federal Register is published daily and contains the rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and departments.  It also includes presidential documents including executive orders and proclamations.

Free Resources for the Federal Register

  • GovInfo.gov
    The federal government’s GovInfo website provides access to the Federal Register starting with 1936. It also has a Federal Register Index.
  • FederalRegister.gov
    This website, a joint project  between the Office of the Federal Register of the National Archives and Records Administration and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, provides access to the Federal Register and information on the rule-making process. It also has a Federal Register Index from 2013 to present.  

Subscription Resources for the Federal Register

  • HeinOnline (coverage begins in 1936, available on campus and remotely with ASURITE)

Cases

The Law Library's Federal Courts LibGuide provides information on where federal case opinions can be accessed. Immigration cases are typically heard in federal courts.