republic-os/legal/us/code/title-08/chapter-12/section-1181.md

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LegalText	8 U.S.C. § 1181	Admission of immigrants into the United States	us	united_states_code	code_section	8	ALIENS AND NATIONALITY	12	IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY	1181	8 U.S.C. § 1181	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc08@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t8/s1181	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-08/usc08.xml	24e11e0b40abd74d1e4c5dc115d61aefa5dbe89dd61ff5f0c58457d14a0bf1a2	18cbd9dd4172ad0473c6dc52e038b813f80124d17167f025c00b9dfa60060a0c	6886153d2089a9a12af484b68b787d57990233fcafd47d5405bbb014930ff0f0	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

8 U.S.C. § 1181 - Admission of immigrants into the United States

Text

(a) Documents required; admission under quotas before June 30, 1968 Except as provided in subsection (b) and subsection (c) no immigrant shall be admitted into the United States unless at the time of application for admission he (1) has a valid unexpired immigrant visa or was born subsequent to the issuance of such visa of the accompanying parent, and (2) presents a valid unexpired passport or other suitable travel document, or document of identity and nationality, if such document is required under the regulations issued by the Attorney General. With respect to immigrants to be admitted under quotas of quota areas prior to June 30, 1968, no immigrant visa shall be deemed valid unless the immigrant is properly chargeable to the quota area under the quota of which the visa is issued.

(b) Readmission without required documents; Attorney General’s discretion Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1182(a)(7)(A) of this title in such cases or in such classes of cases and under such conditions as may be by regulations prescribed, returning resident immigrants, defined in section 1101(a)(27)(A) of this title, who are otherwise admissible may be readmitted to the United States by the Attorney General in his discretion without being required to obtain a passport, immigrant visa, reentry permit or other documentation.

(c) Nonapplicability to aliens admitted as refugees The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien whom the Attorney General admits to the United States under section 1157 of this title.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 2, § 211, 66 Stat. 181; Pub. L. 89–236, § 9, Oct. 3, 1965, 79 Stat. 917; Pub. L. 94–571, § 7(c), Oct. 20, 1976, 90 Stat. 2706; Pub. L. 96–212, title II, § 202, Mar. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 106; Pub. L. 101–649, title VI, § 603(a)(7), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5083.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–649 substituted “1182(a)(7)(A)” for “1182(a)(20)”. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–212, § 202(1), inserted reference to subsection (c) of this section. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–212, § 202(2), added subsec. (c). 1976—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–571 substituted reference to section 1101 “(a)(27)(A)” of this title for “(a)(27)(B)”. 1965—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–236 restated requirement of an unexpired visa and passport for every immigrant arriving in United States to conform to the changes with respect to the classification of immigrant visas. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–236 substituted “returning resident immigrants, defined in section 1101(a)(27)(B) of this title, who are otherwise admissible”, for “otherwise admissible aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence who depart from the United States temporarily”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–236 repealed subsec. (c) which gave Attorney General discretionary authority to admit aliens who arrive in United States with defective visas under specified conditions. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–236 repealed subsec. (d) which imposed restrictions on exercise of Attorney General’s discretion to admit aliens arriving with defective visas. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 89–236 repealed subsec. (e) which required every alien making application for admission as an immigrant to present the documents required under regulations issued by Attorney General.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–649 applicable to individuals entering United States on or after June 1, 1991, see section 601(e)(1) of Pub. L. 101–649, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–212 effective Mar. 17, 1980, and applicable to fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 1979, see section 204 of Pub. L. 96–212, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–571 effective on first day of first month which begins more than sixty days after Oct. 20, 1976, see section 10 of Pub. L. 94–571, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1965 AmendmentFor effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 89–236, see section 20 of Pub. L. 89–236, set out as a note under section 1151 of this title.

Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of Functions For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title.