8 U.S.C. § 1181
Section 1181 · Admission of immigrants into the United States
This is § 211 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter)
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 129 court decisions — leading case Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Errico Scott (1966)
Most recently applied in 29 I. & N. Dec. 463 - Forjoe (February 2026)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 8 U.S.C. § 1182 · 8 U.S.C. § 1101 · 8 U.S.C. § 1251
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Except as provided in subsection (b) and subsection (c) of this section 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.
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.
The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to an alien whom the Attorney General admits to the United States under section 1157 of this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1990—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.
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Amendment 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 Amendment
Amendment 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 Amendment
Amendment 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 Amendment
For 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.
Cross References
Definition of alien, application for admission, Attorney General, immigrant, immigrant visa, lawfully admitted for permanent residence, national, parent, passport, and United States, see section 1101 of this title.
Reentry permit, see section 1203 of this title.