Introduction to Immigration Law Research

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of United States immigration law research to the beginner is the many different federal agencies that bear some responsibility for regulating and administering immigration matters.  This guide includes a section introducing the major agencies, organized by Cabinet department.  Chapter 3 of Gordon, Mailman, and Yale-Loehr's Immigration Law & Procedure includes a thorough discussion of the agencies and their roles.  Many other treatises and practice guides available to the Cornell researcher are listed under the topic Treatises and Practice Guides, and suggestions for research in law reviews are also offered.

Having determined which agency regulates the topic of interest, the researcher may turn next to the agency's regulations and other materials.  Several sources for the Code of Federal Regulations, both as a whole and specific to immigration law, are linked from the Regulations and Agency Materials page of this guide, as are manuals issued by many of the agencies.  Links to the agencies' administrative decisions are provided as well.

Finally, several newsletters, bulletins, and websites assisting the researcher in staying up to date are found on the Current Awareness page.

This guide is intended as an introduction to the most useful sources available to researchers at Cornell Law School.  For good overall coverage of immigration law research, see Lourdes Fuentes & Ann Hemmens, Immigration Law, in Specialized Legal Research (Penny A. Hazelton ed., 2016) [Ready Reference KF240 .S71].

While information about sources on Lexis Advance and Westlaw are provided, please note that an individual password is required for access.

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