I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4873 

To provide for special immigrant status for Syrian Kurds and other Syrians 

who partnered with the United States Government in Syria, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2019 

Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BACON, Mr. BLUMENAUER and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for special immigrant status for Syrian Kurds 

and other Syrians who partnered with the United States 

Government in Syria, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Syrian Partner Protec5 tion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN SYRIAN 

2 KURDS AND OTHER SYRIANS WHO WORKED 

3 FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN 

4 SYRIA. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), and 

6 notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes 

7 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

8 et seq.), the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide 

9 an alien described in subsection (b) with the status of a 

10 special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of such Act 

11 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) if— 

12 (1) the alien, or an agent acting on behalf of 

13 the alien, submits a petition to the Secretary under 

14 section 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) for classi15 fication under section 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)); 

17 (2) the alien is otherwise eligible to receive an 

18 immigrant visa; and 

19 (3) the alien is otherwise admissible to the 

20 United States for permanent residence (excluding 

21 the grounds for inadmissibility specified in section 

22 212(a)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4))). 

23 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in this 

25 subsection— 


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1 (A)(i) is a citizen or national of Syria or 

2 a stateless person who has habitually resided in 

3 Syria; 

4 (ii) has partnered with, was employed by, 

5 or worked for or directly with the United States 

6 Government in Syria as an interpreter, trans7 lator, intelligence analyst, or in another sen8 sitive and trusted capacity, on or after January 

9 1, 2014, for an aggregate period of not less 

10 than 1 year; and 

11 (iii) provided service to the United States 

12 efforts against the Islamic State, which has 

13 been documented in a positive recommendation 

14 or evaluation; or 

15 (B)(i) is the spouse or child of a principal 

16 alien described in subparagraph (A); and 

17 (ii)(I) is following or accompanying to join 

18 the principal alien in the United States; or 

19 (II) due to the death of the principal alien, 

20 a petition to follow or accompany to joint the 

21 principal alien in the United States— 

22 (aa) was revoked, terminated, or oth23 erwise rendered null; and 

24 (bb) would have been approved if the 

25 principal alien had survived. 


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1 (2) EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—An appli2 cation by a surviving spouse or a child of a principal 

3 alien shall be subject to the employment require4 ments set forth in paragraph (1)(A)— 

5 (A) as of the date on which the principal 

6 alien first filed an application for special immi7 grant status; or 

8 (B) if no such application has been filed, 

9 the employment requirements as of the date on 

10 which the principal alien died. 

11 (c) MEMBERSHIP IN CERTAIN SYRIAN ORGANIZA12 TIONS.—An applicant for admission to the United States 

13 under this section may not be deemed inadmissible based 

14 on membership in, participation in, or support provided 

15 to, the Syrian Democratic Forces or other partner organi16 zations as determined by the Secretary of Defense. 

17 (d) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro19 vided under this subsection, the total number of 

20 principal aliens who may be provided special immi21 grant status under this section may not exceed 

22 4,000 in any of the 5 fiscal years beginning after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (2) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA25 TIONS.—Aliens provided special immigrant status 


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1 under this section shall not be counted against any 

2 numerical limitation under section 201(d), 202(a), 

3 or 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 1153(b)(4)). 

5 (3) CARRY FORWARD.—If the numerical limita6 tion set forth in paragraph (1) is not reached during 

7 a fiscal year, the numerical limitation under such 

8 paragraph for the following fiscal year shall be in9 creased by a number equal to the difference be10 tween— 

11 (A) the number of visas authorized under 

12 paragraph (1) for such fiscal year; and 

13 (B) the number of principal aliens provided 

14 special immigrant status under this section dur15 ing such fiscal year. 

16 (e) VISA AND PASSPORT ISSUANCE AND FEES.—An 

17 alien described in subsection (b) may not be charged any 

18 fee in connection with an application for, or the issuance 

19 of, a special immigrant visa under this section. The Sec20 retary of State shall ensure that aliens who are issued a 

21 special immigrant visa under this section are provided 

22 with an appropriate passport necessary for admission to 

23 the United States. 

24 (f) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—The Secretary of 

25 State, in consultation with other relevant Federal agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873

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1 cies, shall provide an alien described in subsection (b) who 

2 is applying for a special immigrant visa with protection 

3 or the immediate removal from Syria or other nearby 

4 countries if the Secretary determines that such alien is 

5 in imminent danger. 

6 (g) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

7 (1) REPRESENTATION.—An alien applying for 

8 admission to the United States as a special immi9 grant under this section may be represented during 

10 the application process, including at relevant inter11 views and examinations, by an attorney or other ac12 credited representative. Such representation shall 

13 not be at the expense of the United States Govern14 ment. 

15 (2) COMPLETION.—The Secretary of State and 

16 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

17 with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that ap18 plications for special immigrant visas under this sec19 tion are processed in such a manner to ensure that 

20 all steps under the control of the respective depart21 ments incidental to the issuance of such visas, in22 cluding required screenings and background checks, 

23 are completed not later than 9 months after the date 

24 on which an eligible alien submits all required mate25 rials to apply for such visa. 


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1 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwithstand2 ing paragraph (2), any Secretary referred to in 

3 paragraph (2) may take longer than 9 months to 

4 complete the steps incidental to issuing a visa under 

5 this section if the Secretary, or the designee of the 

6 Secretary— 

7 (A) determines that the satisfaction of na8 tional security concerns requires additional 

9 time; and 

10 (B) notifies the applicant of such deter11 mination. 

12 (4) APPEAL.—An alien whose petition for sta13 tus as a special immigrant is rejected or revoked— 

14 (A) shall receive a written decision that 

15 provides, to the maximum extent feasible, infor16 mation describing the basis for the denial, in17 cluding the facts and inferences underlying the 

18 individual determination; and 

19 (B) shall be provided not more than 1 

20 written appeal per rejection or denial, which— 

21 (i) shall be submitted not more than 

22 120 days after the date on which the appli23 cant receives a decision pursuant to sub24 paragraph (A); 


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1 (ii) may request the reopening of such 

2 decision; and 

3 (iii) shall provide additional informa4 tion, clarify existing information, or ex5 plain any unfavorable information. 

6 (h) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER IMMIGRANT CLASSI7 FICATION.—An alien may not be denied the opportunity 

8 to apply for admission under this section solely because 

9 such alien qualifies as an immediate relative of a national 

10 of the United States or is eligible for admission to the 

11 United States under any other immigrant classification. 

12 (i) RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT.—An alien who is 

13 granted special immigrant status under this section shall 

14 be eligible for the same resettlement assistance, entitle15 ment programs, and other benefits as is available to refu16 gees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and 

17 Naturalization Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 

18 (j) AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT ADMINISTRATIVE

19 MEASURES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security and 

20 the Secretary of State shall implement any additional ad21 ministrative measures as they consider necessary and ap22 propriate— 

23 (1) to ensure the prompt processing of applica24 tions under this section; 


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1 (2) to preserve the integrity of the program es2 tablished under this section; and 

3 (3) to protect the national security interests of 

4 the United States related to such program. 

5 (k) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home7 land Security shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

8 this section, including establishing requirements for back9 ground checks. 

10 SEC. 3. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS REPORTING RE11 QUIREMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De13 partment of State shall submit an annual report described 

14 in subsection (b), no later than January 30 of each year, 

15 with a classified annex if necessary, to— 

16 (1) the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee 

17 on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Armed 

18 Services of the Senate; and 

19 (2) the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee 

20 on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Armed 

21 Services of the House of Representatives. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub23 section (a) shall evaluate the implementation of the Syrian 

24 special immigrant status program under section 2, includ25 ing, for the previous calendar year— 


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1 (1) the number of petitions filed; 

2 (2) the number of petitions— 

3 (A) pending adjudication; 

4 (B) pending visa interview; and 

5 (C) pending security checks; 

6 (3) the number of petitions that were denied; 

7 (4) the number of cases that have exceeded the 

8 mandated processing time and relevant case num9 bers; and 

10 (5) an accounting of any obstacles discovered 

11 that would hinder effective implementation of the 

12 program. 

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report under 

14 subsection (a), the Inspector General shall consult with— 

15 (1) the Department of State, Bureau of Con16 sular Affairs, Visa Office; 

17 (2) the Department of State, Bureau of Near 

18 Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Af19 fairs, Executive Office; 

20 (3) the United States embassy in Kabul, Af21 ghanistan, Consular Section; 

22 (4) the United States embassy in Baghdad, 

23 Iraq, Consular Section; 

24 (5) the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. 

25 Citizenship and Immigration Services; 


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1 (6) the Department of Defense; and 

2 (7) nongovernmental organizations providing 

3 legal aid in the special immigrant visa application 

4 process. 

5 (d) PUBLICATION.—The non-classified portion of the 

6 report described in this section shall be published on the 

7 website of the Department of State. 

Æ 


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