Immigration and the Law: Codes of Law and Regulations

Federal Statutes and Regulations Search

Lexis-Nexis searching tips for this category can be found here: Academic Help: Federal Statutes and Regulations

The Federal Statutes and Regulations search form provides you with access to the laws passed by Congress and signed by the President and to the administrative regulations promulgated by the federal administrative agencies. 

This includes both the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations.  Elsewhere on this page are other websites which offer access to the same material.

United States Code --The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives. For currency information, click here.

The eCFR - Code of Federal Regulations

• The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a current, daily updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an unofficial editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments.
• The e-CFR consists of two linked databases: the "current Code" and "amendment files." The OFR updates the current Code database according to the effective dates of amendments published in the Federal Register.
• As amendments become effective, the OFR integrates the changes into the current Code database to display the full text of the currently updated CFR.
• For future-effective amendments, the OFR inserts hypertext links into the affected Code provisions so that users can review these amendments.
• If the effective date of a regulation falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the amendments are integrated into the current Code within two Federal business days.

Federal Register

The Federal Register was created in 1935 under the Federal Register Act and was further enlarged and amended by the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946.

Federal Register serves as the main source for the U.S. federal government agencies to propose new rules and regulations, announce final rules and changes to existing rules, and notify the public of meetings and adjudicatory proceedings.

The Federal Register updated daily by 6 a.m. and is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, and consists of four types of entries.

• Presidential Documents, including Executive orders and proclamations
• Rules and Regulations, including policy statements and interpretations of rules
• Proposed Rules, including petitions for rulemaking and other advance proposals
• Notices, including scheduled hearings and meetings open to the public, grant applications, and administrative orders

Also try GovPulse

as an alternate way to access the Federal Register: