GENERAL INFORMATION · FEDERAL LEGAL PROCESS

What a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion is

OLC advises the President and executive agencies on difficult legal questions. Its opinions can guide the executive branch, but they are not laws enacted by Congress or judgments issued by courts.

Historic black-and-white view west from the Justice Department Building toward the Departmental Auditorium in Washington

Historic American Buildings Survey photograph by Jack E. Boucher, 1993, Library of Congress. The federal documentary photograph looks west from the Justice Department Building toward the Departmental Auditorium along Constitution Avenue. It is illustrative and does not depict OLC attorneys, a particular opinion, a court hearing, or an immigration case. Original federal collection record ↗

By U.S. Immigration Brief Editorial DeskPublished September 3, 2026Last verified September 3, 2026

Where OLC sits

OLC is an office within the Department of Justice. Acting under authority delegated by the Attorney General, it provides legal advice to the President and executive-branch agencies. DOJ describes the office as functioning much like outside counsel for other executive agencies.

Who asks for an opinion

Requests may come from the White House Counsel, executive agencies, or DOJ components. DOJ says the questions are often unusually complex, important to government operations, or disputed by multiple agencies. OLC is not authorized to provide legal advice to private individuals.

What an OLC opinion can do

OLC’s written opinions give the executive branch a formal legal analysis on how it understands its authority or duties. DOJ’s published best-practices memorandum describes formal written opinions as controlling legal advice for executive-branch officials. Agencies may rely on that advice when developing policy or carrying out federal law.

What it cannot do by itself

An OLC opinion does not enact a statute, complete notice-and-comment rulemaking, issue an executive order, or decide a lawsuit. Courts exercise a separate judicial role and may later consider related legal questions. If an agency later publishes a regulation or takes an enforcement action, those are distinct government acts.

Why some opinions are public

DOJ maintains collections organized by date, title, and volume. The public record contains selected opinions, not necessarily every piece of oral or written advice the office provides. Publication allows readers to inspect the office’s reasoning, date, addressee, and conclusion.

How to read an immigration-related OLC opinion

Start by identifying the statute or executive authority being interpreted, the federal official or agency that requested the advice, and whether the opinion withdraws earlier advice. Then keep later actions separate: an agency announcement, regulation, grant condition, enforcement operation, lawsuit, and court decision each has its own legal status.

Primary federal sources

Corrections: No corrections have been made. The article will label any later change to DOJ’s description of OLC’s role.