I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 919

To adjust the immigration status of certain Liberian nationals who were

provided refuge in the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 2, 1999

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To adjust the immigration status of certain Liberian

nationals who were provided refuge in the United States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Liberian Refugee Im5 migration Protection Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN LIBERIAN

7 NATIONALS.

8 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

10 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the
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1 status of any alien described in subsection (b) shall

2 be adjusted by the Attorney General to that of an

3 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, if

4 the alien—

5 (A) applies for such adjustment before

6 April 1, 2001; and

7 (B) is otherwise eligible to receive an im8 migrant visa and is otherwise admissible to the

9 United States for permanent residence, except

10 in determining such admissibility the grounds

11 for inadmissibility specified in paragraphs (4),

12 (5), (6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the

13 Immigration and Nationality Act shall not

14 apply.

15 (2) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER16 TAIN ORDERS.—An alien present in the United

17 States who has been ordered excluded, deported, re18 moved, or ordered to depart voluntarily from the

19 United States under any provision of the Immigra20 tion and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such

21 order, apply for adjustment of status under para22 graph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a

23 condition on submitting or granting such applica24 tion, to file a motion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate

25 such order. If the Attorney General grants the appli-
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1 cation, the Attorney General shall cancel the order.

2 If the Attorney General renders a final administra3 tive decision to deny the application, the order shall

4 be effective and enforceable to the same extent as if

5 the application had not been made.

6 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA7 TUS.—The benefits provided by subsection (a) shall apply

8 to any alien who—

9 (1) is a national of Liberia; and

10 (2)(A) who was granted temporary protected

11 status on or after March 27, 1991; or

12 (B) was eligible to apply for temporary pro13 tected status on or after March 27, 1991.

14 (c) STAY OF REMOVAL.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall

16 provide by regulation for an alien subject to a final

17 order of deportation or removal or exclusion to seek

18 a stay of such order based on the filing of an appli19 cation under subsection (a).

20 (2) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith21 standing any provision of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act, the Attorney General shall not order

23 any alien to be removed from the United States, if

24 the alien is in exclusion, deportation, or removal pro25 ceedings under any provision of such Act and raises
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1 as a defense to such an order the eligibility of the

2 alien to apply for adjustment of status under sub3 section (a), except where the Attorney General has

4 rendered a final administrative determination to

5 deny the application.

6 (3) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney

7 General may authorize an alien who has applied for

8 adjustment of status under subsection (a) to engage

9 in employment in the United States during the

10 pendency of such application and may provide the

11 alien with an ‘‘employment authorized’’ endorsement

12 or other appropriate document signifying authoriza13 tion of employment, except that if such application

14 is pending for a period exceeding 180 days, and has

15 not been denied, the Attorney General shall author16 ize such employment.

17 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR SPOUSES AND

18 CHILDREN.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

20 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the

21 status of an alien shall be adjusted by the Attorney

22 General to that of an alien lawfully admitted for per23 manent residence, if—

24 (A) the alien is a national of Liberia;
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1 (B) the alien is the spouse, child, or un2 married son or daughter, of an alien whose sta3 tus is adjusted to that of an alien lawfully ad4 mitted for permanent residence under sub5 section (a), except that in the case of such an

6 unmarried son or daughter, the son or daughter

7 shall be required to establish that they have

8 been physically present in the United States for

9 at least 1 year and is physically present in the

10 United States on the date the application for

11 such adjustment is filed.

12 (C) the alien applies for such adjustment

13 and is physically present in the United States

14 on the date the application is filed; and

15 (D) the alien is otherwise eligible to receive

16 an immigration visa and is otherwise admissible

17 to the United States for permanent residence,

18 except in determining such admissibility the

19 grounds for exclusion specified in paragraphs

20 (4), (5), (6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of

21 the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not

22 apply.

23 (2) PROOF OF CONTINUOUS PRESENCE.—For

24 purposes of establishing the period of continuous

25 physical presence referred to in paragraph (1)(B),
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1 an alien shall not be considered to have failed to

2 maintain continuous physical presence by reason of

3 an absence, or absences, from the United States for

4 any periods in aggregate not exceeding 180 days.

5 (e) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—

6 The Attorney General shall provide to applicants for ad7 justment of status under subsection (a) the same right to,

8 and procedures for, administrative review as are provided

9 to—

10 (1) applicants for adjustment of status under

11 section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

12 or

13 (2) aliens subject to removal proceedings under

14 section 240 of such Act.

15 (f) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A deter16 mination by the Attorney General as to whether the status

17 of any alien should be adjusted under this section is final

18 and shall not be subject to review by any court.

19 (g) NO OFFSET IN NUMBER OF VISAS AVAILABLE.—

20 When an alien is granted the status of having been law21 fully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to this

22 section, the Secretary of State shall not be required to re23 duce the number of immigrant visas authorized to be

24 issued under any provision of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act.
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1 (h) APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATIONAL2 ITY ACT PROVISIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically

3 provided in this Act, the definitions contained in the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act shall apply in the administra5 tion of this section. Nothing contained in this Act shall

6 be held to repeal, amend, alter, modify, effect, or restrict

7 the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the Attorney

8 General in the administration and enforcement of such

9 Act or any other law relating to immigration, nationality,

10 or naturalization. The fact that an alien may be eligible

11 to be granted the status of having been lawfully admitted

12 for permanent residence under this section shall not pre13 clude the alien from seeking such status under any other

14 provision of law for which the alien may be eligible.

Æ