Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Deputy Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Experience and Achievements
Angelica Alfonso-Royals serves as the acting deputy director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She began this role on April 6, 2025. She previously served as the acting director of USCIS.
A career member of the Senior Executive Service, Alfonso-Royals served in various senior leadership roles at DHS, including chief of staff to the deputy secretary of homeland security, senior advisor
to the deputy secretary, chief creative officer, and principal deputy assistant secretary for crisis communications in the Office of Public Affairs.
Alfonso-Royals joined DHS headquarters from USCIS, where she served as the deputy associate director of the External Affairs Directorate, leading an organization comprising public affairs, legislative affairs, public engagement, the Office of Citizenship, and USCIS’ customer contact centers.
Before this role, Alfonso-Royals held several leadership positions at USCIS, including chief of the Office of Legislative Affairs and chief of the Office of Communications.
Alfonso-Royals has worked for six USCIS directors, providing advice and counsel on national and international issues.
Alfonso-Royals began her career as a press secretary on Capitol Hill.
Education
She graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in political science and journalism.