U.S. Immigration Law Research Guide: Federal Regulations

What Are Federal Regulations?

Federal regulations are laws drafted by executive agencies to implement statutes enacted by Congress. Regulations "flesh out" a statutory provision by defining key terms and providing specificity as to statutory elements. An authority note after each regulation identifies the statute(s) that authorized it.

How Are Federal Regulations Published?

Regulations are first published by date in the Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) Later, regulations are organized by subject area in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Where Are Immigration Regulations Located?

Immigration regulations are located in Title 8 (Aliens and Nationality) of the Code of Federal Regulations , which corresponds with Title 8 (Aliens and Nationality) of the United States Code.

Complete copies of the Federal Register, from its first publication in 1936 to the present are available from the U.S. Government Publishing Office's govinfo website, from Lexis, from Westlaw, and from HeinOnline:

Sections from the Code of Federal Regulations are generally cited in the following format:

Example: 8 C.F.R. § 653 (2017)