I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5327 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to end the immigrant visa 

backlog, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Ms. SHALALA (for herself and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to end the 

immigrant visa backlog, 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 ‘‘Resolving Extended 

5 Limbo for Immigrant Employees and Families Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘RELIEF Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOREIGN 

2 STATE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AND

7 EMPLOYMENT-BASED’’; 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘(3), (4), and (5),’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘(3) and (4),’’; 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of sec11 tion 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

12 (4) by striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘15’’; and 

13 (5) by striking ‘‘such subsections’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘such section’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of the 

16 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘both sub19 sections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

21 (2) by striking subsection (a)(5); and 

22 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR COUNTRIES AT CEILING.— 

25 If it is determined that the total number of immigrant 

26 visas made available under section 203(a) to natives of 


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1 any single foreign state or dependent area will exceed the 

2 numerical limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any 

3 fiscal year, in determining the allotment of immigrant visa 

4 numbers to natives under section 203(a), visa numbers 

5 with respect to natives of that state or area shall be allo6 cated (to the extent practicable and otherwise consistent 

7 with this section and section 203) in a manner so that, 

8 except as provided in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of 

9 the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs 

10 (1) through (4) of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of 

11 the total number of visas made available under the respec12 tive paragraph to the total number of visas made available 

13 under section 203(a).’’. 

14 (c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the 

15 Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 

16 note) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 

18 (e))’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d))’’; and 

19 (2) by striking subsection (d) and redesignating 

20 subsection (e) as subsection (d). 

21 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall take effect as if enacted on September 

23 30, 2019, and shall apply to fiscal years beginning with 

24 fiscal year 2020. 


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1 (e) TRANSITION RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED

2 IMMIGRANTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the succeeding 

4 paragraphs of this subsection and notwithstanding 

5 title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following rules shall apply: 

7 (A) For fiscal year 2020, 15 percent of the 

8 immigrant visas made available under each of 

9 paragraphs (2), (3), and (5) of section 203(b) 

10 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be allotted 

11 to immigrants who are natives of a foreign 

12 state or dependent area that is not one of the 

13 two states with the largest aggregate numbers 

14 of natives who are beneficiaries of approved pe15 titions for immigrant status under such para16 graphs. 

17 (B) For fiscal year 2021, 10 percent of the 

18 immigrant visas made available under each of 

19 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

20 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

21 area that is not one of the two states with the 

22 largest aggregate numbers of natives who are 

23 beneficiaries of approved petitions for immi24 grant status under such paragraphs. 


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1 (C) For fiscal year 2022, 10 percent of the 

2 immigrant visas made available under each of 

3 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

4 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

5 area that is not one of the two states with the 

6 largest aggregate numbers of natives who are 

7 beneficiaries of approved petitions for immi8 grant status under such paragraphs. 

9 (2) PER-COUNTRY LEVELS.— 

10 (A) RESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

11 the visas reserved under each of subparagraphs 

12 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), the number 

13 of such visas made available to natives of any 

14 single foreign state or dependent area in the ap15 propriate fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent 

16 (in the case of a single foreign state) or 2 per17 cent (in the case of a dependent area) of the 

18 total number of such visas. 

19 (B) UNRESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

20 the immigrant visas made available under each 

21 of paragraphs (2), (3), and (5) of section 

22 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) and not 

23 reserved under paragraph (1), for each of fiscal 

24 years 2020, 2021, and 2022, not more than 85 


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1 percent shall be allotted to immigrants who are 

2 natives of any single foreign state. 

3 (3) SPECIAL RULE TO PREVENT UNUSED

4 VISAS.—If, with respect to fiscal year 2020, 2021, or 

5 2022, the operation of paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

6 this subsection would prevent the total number of 

7 immigrant visas made available under paragraph (2) 

8 or (3) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1153(b)) from being issued, such visas may be 

10 issued during the remainder of such fiscal year with11 out regard to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sub12 section. 

13 (4) TRANSITION RULE FOR CURRENTLY AP14 PROVED BENEFICIARIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec16 tion 202 of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act, as amended by this Act, immigrant visas 

18 under section 203(b) of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be al20 located such that no alien described in subpara21 graph (B) receives a visa later than the alien 

22 otherwise would have received said visa had this 

23 Act not been enacted. 

24 (B) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien is de25 scribed in this subparagraph if the alien is the 


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1 beneficiary of a petition for an immigrant visa 

2 under section 203(b) of the Immigration and 

3 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) that was 

4 approved prior to the date of enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 (5) RULES FOR CHARGEABILITY.—Section 

7 202(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply 

8 in determining the foreign state to which an alien is 

9 chargeable for purposes of this subsection. 

10 (6) ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF IMMIGRANT

11 VISAS.—For each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 

12 notwithstanding sections 201 and 202 of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152), 

14 as amended by this Act, additional immigrant visas 

15 under section 203 of the Immigration and Nation16 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) shall be made available 

17 and allocated— 

18 (A) such that no alien who is a beneficiary 

19 of a petition for an immigrant visa under such 

20 section 203 receives a visa later than the alien 

21 otherwise would have received such visa had 

22 this Act not been enacted; and 

23 (B) to permit all visas to be distributed in 

24 accordance with this section. 


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1 SEC. 3. ENDING IMMIGRANT VISA BACKLOG. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any immigrant visa 

3 made available under the Immigration and Nationality Act 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), as amended by this Act, subject 

5 to paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary of State shall 

6 make immigrant visas available to— 

7 (1) aliens who are beneficiaries of petitions filed 

8 under subsection (b) of section 203 of such Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1153) before the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act; and 

11 (2) aliens who are beneficiaries of petitions filed 

12 under subsection (a) of such section before the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) ALLOCATION OF VISAS.—The visas made avail15 able under this section shall be allocated as follows: 

16 (1) EMPLOYMENT-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT

17 VISAS.—In each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 

18 the Secretary of State shall allocate to aliens de19 scribed in subsection (a)(1) a number of immigrant 

visas equal to 1 20 ⁄5 of the number of aliens described 

21 in such subsection the visas of whom have not been 

22 issued as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (2) FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—In 

24 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, the Sec25 retary of State shall allocate to aliens described in 


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1 subsection (a)(2) a number of immigrant visas equal 

to 1 2 ⁄5 of the difference between— 

3 (A) the number of aliens described in such 

4 subsection the visas of whom have not been 

5 issued as of the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act; and 

7 (B) the number of aliens described in sub8 section (a)(1). 

9 (c) ORDER OF ISSUANCE FOR PREVIOUSLY FILED

10 APPLICATIONS.—The visas made available under this sec11 tion shall be issued in accordance with section 202 of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152), as 

13 amended by this Act, in the order in which the petitions 

14 under section 203 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) were filed. 

15 SEC. 4. KEEPING AMERICAN FAMILIES TOGETHER. 

16 (a) RECLASSIFICATION OF SPOUSES AND MINOR

17 CHILDREN OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS AS IM18 MEDIATE RELATIVES AND EXEMPTION OF DERIVA19 TIVES.—The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1101 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 201(b) (8 U.S.C. 1151(b))— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) Aliens who derive status under section 

25 203(d).’’; and 


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1 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) IMMEDIATE RELATIVES.—Aliens who 

4 are immediate relatives. 

5 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF IMMEDIATE RELATIVE.— 

6 In this paragraph, the term ‘immediate relative’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(i) a child, spouse, or parent of a citizen 

9 of the United States, except that in the case of 

10 such a parent such citizen shall be at least 21 

11 years of age; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a child or spouse of an alien lawfully 

13 admitted for permanent residence; 

14 ‘‘(iii) a child or spouse of an alien de15 scribed in clause (i), who is accompanying or 

16 following to join the alien; 

17 ‘‘(iv) a child or spouse of an alien de18 scribed in clause (ii), who is accompanying or 

19 following to join the alien; 

20 ‘‘(v) an alien admitted under section 

21 211(a) on the basis of a prior issuance of a visa 

22 to the alien’s accompanying parent who is an 

23 immediate relative; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) an alien born to an alien lawfully ad2 mitted for permanent residence during a tem3 porary visit abroad. 

4 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE AND CHILDREN

5 OF DECEASED CITIZEN OR LAWFUL PERMANENT

6 RESIDENT.—If an alien who was the spouse or child 

7 of a citizen of the United States or of an alien law8 fully admitted for permanent residence and was not 

9 legally separated from the citizen or lawful perma10 nent resident at the time of the citizen’s or lawful 

11 permanent resident’s death files a petition under 

12 section 204(a)(1)(B), the alien spouse (and each 

13 child of the alien) shall remain, for purposes of this 

14 paragraph, an immediate relative during the period 

15 beginning on the date of the citizen’s or permanent 

16 resident’s death and ending on the date on which 

17 the alien spouse remarries. 

18 ‘‘(D) PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF ABUSE.—An 

19 alien who has filed a petition under clause (iii) or 

20 (iv) of section 204(a)(1)(A) shall remain, for pur21 poses of this paragraph, an immediate relative if the 

22 United States citizen or lawful permanent resident 

23 spouse or parent loses United States citizenship on 

24 account of the abuse.’’; and 

25 (2) in section 203(a) (8 U.S.C. 1153(a))— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘23,400’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘111,334’’; and 

3 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(2) UNMARRIED SONS AND UNMARRIED

6 DAUGHTERS OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS.— 

7 Qualified immigrants who are the unmarried sons or 

8 unmarried daughters (but are not the children) of 

9 aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

10 shall be allocated visas in a number not to exceed 

11 26,266, plus— 

12 ‘‘(A) the number of visas by which the 

13 worldwide level exceeds 226,000; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the number of visas not required for 

15 the class specified in paragraph (1).’’. 

16 (b) PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM AGING OUT.— 

17 Section 203(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

22 (d), a determination of whether an alien satisfies the 

23 age requirement in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A) of section 101(b)(1) shall be made using 

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1 tion is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 under section 204.’’; 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS DESCRIBED.—A petition de6 scribed in this paragraph is a petition filed under 

7 section 204 for classification of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the alien’s parent under subsection 

9 (a), (b), or (c); or 

10 ‘‘(B) the alien as an immediate relative 

11 based on classification as a child of— 

12 ‘‘(i) a citizen of the United States; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a lawful permanent resident.’’; 

14 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘subsections 

15 (a)(2)(A) and’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection’’; and 

16 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT FOR NONIMMIGRANT CAT18 EGORIES PURPOSES.—An alien dependent treated as 

19 a child for immigrant visa purposes under this sub20 section shall be treated as a dependent child for non21 immigrant categories.’’. 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101(a)(15)(K)(ii) of 

24 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

25 1101(a)(15)(K)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 


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1 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 201(b)(2) 

2 (other than clause (v) or (vi) of subparagraph (B))’’. 

3 (2) RULES FOR DETERMINING WHETHER CER4 TAIN ALIENS ARE IMMEDIATE RELATIVES.—Section 

5 201(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1151(f)) is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘para8 graphs (2) and (3),’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

9 (2),’’; 

10 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

11 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

12 (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 

13 (D) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 

14 by striking ‘‘through (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

15 (2)’’. 

16 (3) PER COUNTRY LEVEL.—Section 

17 202(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 201(b)(2) (other than clause (v) or (vi) of subpara21 graph (B))’’. 

22 (4) NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE

23 FOREIGN STATE.—Section 202(a)(4) (8 U.S.C. 

24 1152(a)(4)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

2 (B); 

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

4 and (D) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec5 tively; and 

6 (C) in subparagraph (A), as so redesig7 nated— 

8 (i) by striking the undesignated mat9 ter following clause (ii); 

10 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

11 (iii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, or’’ 

12 and inserting a period; and 

13 (iv) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

14 by striking ‘‘section 203(a)(2)(B) may not 

15 exceed’’ and all that follows through ‘‘23 

16 percent’’ in clause (i) and inserting ‘‘sec17 tion 203(a)(2) may not exceed 23 per18 cent’’. 

19 (5) PROCEDURES FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT

20 STATUS.—Section 204 of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (aa) in clause (i), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘clause (i) or (ii) of sec4 tion 201(b)(2)(B)’’; 

5 (bb) in clause (ii), by strik6 ing ‘‘the second sentence of sec7 tion 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(C)’’; 

9 (cc) by amending clause (iii) 

10 to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(iii)(I) An alien who is described in clause 

12 (ii) may file a petition with the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security under this subparagraph for 

14 classification of the alien (and any child of the 

15 alien) if the alien demonstrates to the Secretary 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the marriage or the intent to 

18 marry the citizen of the United States or 

19 lawful permanent resident was entered into 

20 in good faith by the alien; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) during the marriage or relation22 ship intended by the alien to be legally a 

23 marriage, the alien or a child of the alien 

24 has been battered or has been the subject 


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1 of extreme cruelty perpetrated by the 

2 alien’s spouse or intended spouse. 

3 ‘‘(II) For purposes of subclause (I), an 

4 alien described in this subclause is an alien— 

5 ‘‘(aa)(AA) who is the spouse of a cit6 izen of the United States or lawful perma7 nent resident; 

8 ‘‘(BB) who believed that he or she 

9 had married a citizen of the United States 

10 or lawful permanent resident and with 

11 whom a marriage ceremony was actually 

12 performed and who otherwise meets any 

13 applicable requirements under this Act to 

14 establish the existence of and bona fides of 

15 a marriage, but whose marriage is not le16 gitimate solely because of the bigamy of 

17 such citizen of the United States or lawful 

18 permanent resident; or 

19 ‘‘(CC) who was a bona fide spouse of 

20 a citizen of the United States or a lawful 

21 permanent resident within the past 2 years 

22 and whose spouse died within the past 2 

23 years, whose spouse renounced citizenship 

24 status or renounced or lost status as a law25 ful permanent resident within the past 2 


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1 years related to an incident of domestic vi2 olence, or who demonstrates a connection 

3 between the legal termination of the mar4 riage within the past 2 years and battering 

5 or extreme cruelty by a spouse who is a 

6 citizen of the United States or a lawful 

7 permanent resident spouse; 

8 ‘‘(bb) who is a person of good moral 

9 character; 

10 ‘‘(cc) who is eligible to be classified as 

11 an immediate relative under section 

12 201(b)(2)(B) or who would have been so 

13 classified but for the bigamy of the citizen 

14 of the United States or lawful permanent 

15 resident that the alien intended to marry; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(dd) who has resided with the alien’s 

18 spouse or intended spouse.’’; 

19 (dd) by amending clause (iv) 

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(iv) An alien who is the child of a citizen 

22 or lawful permanent resident of the United 

23 States, or who was a child of a United States 

24 citizen or lawful permanent resident parent who 

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1 zenship status related to an incident of domes2 tic violence, and who is a person of good moral 

3 character, who is eligible to be classified as an 

4 immediate relative under section 201(b)(2)(B), 

5 and who resides, or has resided in the past, 

6 with the citizen or lawful permanent resident 

7 parent may file a petition with the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security under this subparagraph for 

9 classification of the alien (and any child of the 

10 alien) under such section if the alien dem11 onstrates to the Secretary that the alien has 

12 been battered by or has been the subject of ex13 treme cruelty perpetrated by the alien’s citizen 

14 or lawful permanent resident parent. For pur15 poses of this clause, residence includes any pe16 riod of visitation.’’; 

17 (ee) in clause (v)(I), in the 

18 matter preceding item (aa), by 

19 inserting ‘‘or lawful permanent 

20 resident’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; 

21 (ff) in clause (vi), by strik22 ing ‘‘renunciation of citizenship’’ 

23 and all that follows through ‘‘citi24 zenship status’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘renunciation of citizenship or 


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1 lawful permanent resident status, 

2 death of the abuser, divorce, or 

3 changes to the abuser’s citizen4 ship or lawful permanent resident 

5 status’’; and 

6 (gg) in clause (vii), by strik7 ing ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ 

8 each place it appears and insert9 ing ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(B)’’; 

10 (II) by amending subparagraph 

11 (B) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B)(i)(I) Except as provided in subclause 

13 (II), any alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

14 residence claiming that an alien is entitled to a 

15 classification by reason of the relationship de16 scribed in section 203(a)(2) may file a petition 

17 with the Attorney General for such classifica18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(II) Subclause (I) shall not apply in the 

20 case of an alien lawfully admitted for perma21 nent residence who has been convicted of a 

22 specified offense against a minor (as defined in 

23 subparagraph (A)(viii)(II)), unless the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s 

25 sole and unreviewable discretion, determines 


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1 that such person poses no risk to the alien with 

2 respect to whom a petition described in sub3 clause (I) is filed. 

4 ‘‘(ii) An alien who was the child of a lawful per5 manent resident who within the past 2 years lost 

6 lawful permanent resident status due to an incident 

7 of domestic violence, and who is a person of good 

8 moral character, who is eligible for classification 

9 under section 203(a)(2), and who resides, or has re10 sided in the past, with the alien’s permanent resi11 dent alien parent may file a petition with the Sec12 retary of Homeland Security under this subpara13 graph for classification of the alien (and any child 

14 of the alien) under such section if the alien dem15 onstrates to the Secretary that the alien has been 

16 battered by or has been the subject of extreme cru17 elty perpetrated by the alien’s permanent resident 

18 parent. 

19 ‘‘(iii)(I) For purposes of a petition filed or ap20 proved under clause (ii), the loss of lawful perma21 nent resident status by a parent after the filing of 

22 a petition under that clause shall not adversely af23 fect approval of the petition, and for an approved 

24 petition, shall not affect the alien’s ability to adjust 

25 status under subsections (a) and (c) of section 245 


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1 or obtain status as a lawful permanent resident 

2 based on an approved self-petition under clause (ii). 

3 ‘‘(II) Upon the lawful permanent resident par4 ent becoming or establishing the existence of United 

5 States citizenship through naturalization, acquisition 

6 of citizenship, or other means, any petition filed with 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security and pending or 

8 approved under clause (ii) on behalf of an alien who 

9 has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty 

10 shall be deemed reclassified as a petition filed under 

11 subparagraph (A) even if the acquisition of citizen12 ship occurs after the termination of parental 

13 rights.’’; and 

14 (III) in subparagraph (D)(i)(I), 

15 by striking ‘‘paragraph (1), (2), or 

16 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or 

17 (3)’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘spousal second 

20 preference petition’’ each place it ap21 pears and inserting ‘‘petition for the 

22 spouse of an alien lawfully admitted 

23 for permanent residence’’; and 

24 (II) in the undesignated matter 

25 following subparagraph (A)(ii), by 


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1 striking ‘‘preference status under sec2 tion 203(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘classi3 fication as an immediate relative 

4 under section 201(b)(2)(B)(ii)’’; 

5 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘or 

6 preference status’’; and 

7 (C) in subsection (k)(1), by striking 

8 ‘‘203(a)(2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘203(a)(2)’’. 

9 (6) EXCLUDABLE ALIENS.—Section 

10 212(d)(12)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(12)(B)) is amended by strik12 ing ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

13 201(b)(2) (other than subparagraph (B)(vi))’’. 

14 (7) ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 

15 214(r)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1184(r)(3)(A)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

18 201(b)(2) (other than clause (v) or (vi) of subpara19 graph (B)).’’ 

20 (8) DEFINITION OF ALIEN SPOUSE.—Section 

21 216(h)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 

22 Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a(h)(1)(A)) is amended by insert23 ing ‘‘or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

24 residence’’ after ‘‘United States’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
24 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (9) REFUGEE CRISIS IN IRAQ ACT OF 2007.— 

2 Section 1243(a)(4) of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act 

3 of 2007 (Public Law 110–118; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘section 201(b)(2) (other than clause 

6 (v) or (vi) of subparagraph (B))’’. 

7 (10) PROCESSING OF VISA APPLICATIONS.— 

8 Section 233(b)(1) of the Department of State Au9 thorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 

10 228; 8 U.S.C. 1201 note) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

12 201(b)(2) (other than clause (v) or (vi) of subpara13 graph (B))’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS