The article focuses upon the decision-making mechanism in the field of immigration policy in the United States. The author notes the extreme politicization of the problem of immigration. Conflicts and rivalry between the president and Congress, conflicting interests of individual states hinder the adoption legislation decisions. As a result, immigration management has become predominantly an administrative process with limited scope. Acute inter-party contradictions made it impossible to carry out a comprehensive immigration reform, the need for which was recognized at the beginning of this century. The reform was supposed to increase the effectiveness of immigration policy, make it more flexible, able to respond the needs of the economy. Although the positive impact of immigration on the development of the American economy is a recognized fact, consensus on a number of important issues cannot be reached. In particular, the legislation does not provide for the possibility of increasing the scale of entry of highly qualified specialists from abroad, which are necessary for the further development of high-tech industries, healthcare, education. It also fails to secure the southern border. The issue of the status of millions of undocumented migrants has not been resolved. During the last two presidential election campaigns, issues of immigration policy have been of the center of it. It can be assumed that these issues will also play an important role in the upcoming midterm congressional elections. The ability to implement comprehensive immigration reform and enact new legislation in this area will largely be determined by the balance of power in the new Congress.