1932 - International Institute of St. Paul , Minnesota begins annual "Festival of Nations," which has become a major attraction, drawing national and international visitors.

1933 - International Institutes vote to separate from YWCA and become the National Institute of Immigrant Welfare. Edith Terry Bremer is its first Executive Secretary.

1939 - American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, established.

1940 - Don Bosco Nationalities Service Center of Kansas City, Missouri, built by the Italian community to serve various groups, including refugees.

1943 - International Institute of Wisconsin begins its Holiday Folk Fair, which demonstrates that people from diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds can work together on a great civic celebration.

1948 - Displaced Person Act is signed, which enables a total of 400,000 European World War II refugees to resettle in the U.S.

1953 - The Supreme Court rules in Brown vs. Board of Education that the "separate by equal" doctrine violated the Constitution. Refugee Relief Act allows 214,000 refugees from communist persecution to enter the U.S. Honolulu Immigrant Center established. Ellis Island, symbol of the large migrations of the 1900s, closes.

1957 - International Institute of Akron serves on Mayor's Citizens' Committee on Hungarian Refugee Relief.

1958 - The Common Council for American Unity merges with the American Federation of International Institutes to create the American Council for Nationalities Service (ACNS), predecessor of IRSA.

1961 - Travelers Aid International of Greater Cincinnati begins sponsoring "International Social Evenings" to feature cultural events of ethnic and nationality groups.

1965 - Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 is enacted. It replaces the national origins quota with hemispheric limits. A preference system gives priority to family members of citizens and permanent residents, and to those with relevant job skills. The Act relaxes the restrictive immigration system of the 1920s.

1968 - Travelers Aid of Metropolitan Chicago merged with Immigrants Service League, and the organization established by Jane Addams. The organization is now known as the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights .

1975 - The Fall of Saigon spurs emergency legislation admitting 130,000 refugees, most of whom are Vietnamese. The International Center of the Capital Region in Albany, New York responds by shifting focus from international visitor services to refugee resettlement.

1977 - New York City Church Avenue Merchants Block Association founded to work with neighborhood-based businesses, organizations, and institutions. The International Institute of Connecticut conducts its first annual naturalization ceremony. More than 200 people are sworn in as citizens.

1978 - YMCA International Services of Houston, Texas established.

1980 - Refugee Act of 1980 is legislation that for the first time deals separately with asylees and refugees. The Act broadens the definition of a refugee to conform to the 1967 United Nations Protocol on refugees. U.S. policy admits refugees regardless of natural origin and focuses largely on family reunification and humanitarian concerns.

1981 - Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance established in Bowling Green. The U.S. Committee for Refugees, established in 1958, merges with ACNS, what is now IRSA, as a public information program for refugee protection and assistance.

1982 - The Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, Virginia established.

1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act provides amnesty to undocumented people who resided in the country since 1982, regularizing the status of 3 million people.

1987 - Travelers Aid/Victim Services in New York opens its immigration hotline to help undocumented aliens with questions about the federal amnesty program. More than 30,000 calls answered in the first year.

1990 - Immigration Act of 1990 revamps legal immigration system, expanding to 700,000 the number of annual immigrant visas, which does not include refugees. The Act places an even greater emphasis on family reunification, increased limits for highly skilled workers, and includes a "diversity clause," which provides for the entry of citizens from "adversely affected countries." These liberalizations continue those begun in 1965. College of Southern Idaho Refugee Resettlement Program established in Twin Falls, Idaho.

1994 - American Council for Nationalities Services becomes Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA).

1995 - Foreign-born Information and Referral Network in Columbia, Maryland sponsors the first naturalization ceremony ever held in Howard County, Maryland.

1996 - Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act included are provisions for summary exclusions of undocumented entrants. Related welfare reform legislation prevents certain legal immigrants from receiving public benefits.

1997 - Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act softens the harsh impact on the 1996 immigration law for certain asylum seekers from Central America and elsewhere. In addition, some public benefits are restored for certain legal immigrants. Youth Co-op, Inc., of Miami, Florida, becomes an IRSA partner agency.

2001 On September 11, terrorists strike in New York City and Washington DC. The tragedy is felt worldwide as US airplanes are grounded and refugee resettlement to the US comes to a grinding halt.

2002 Grappling in the aftermath of the 9-11 tragedy, Congress adopts the USA Patriot Act which includes provisions which will negatively impact the rights of immigrants. Refugee resettlement, which was called to a halt in September, begins again in late Spring, although at a far slower pace than previously.

2004 IRSA changes its name to US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants (USCRI)

2005 Congress adopts the REAL ID Act which includes provisions which will further negatively impact refugee admissions. USCRI introduces the National Center for Refugee & Immigrant Children which provides pro bono legal and social services to unaccompanied children released from detention in the United States

2006 As a consequence of the “material support” exclusions in federal legislation, actual refugee admissions drop to 58% of the Congressionally-approved ceiling. USCRI opens field office in North Carolina

* IRSA changes its name to US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants (USCRI) in 2004