69–007 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 110–743 

FOR THE RELIEF OF CORINA DE CHALUP TURCINOVIC 

JULY 8, 2008.—Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. CONYERS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 5030] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 5030) for the relief of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 4 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 4 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 4 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Agency Views ........................................................................................................... 6 

Additional Views ...................................................................................................... 9 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 5030 would make Corina de Chalup Turcinovic eligible for 

adjustment of her status to that of a permanent resident. 


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BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

Corina Turcinovic was born ‘‘Corina de Chalup’’ in Perigueux, 

France on April 8, 1964. She entered the United States through the 

Visa Waiver Program on February 10, 1990, after receiving news 

that her then-fiance ́, Marin Turcinovic, had been struck by an 

automobile driven by a drunk driver. His spinal cord was severely 

damaged in the accident, and he was left with total quadriplegia 

when his doctors failed to correctly diagnose the extent of his injuries, including broken vertebrae in his neck. 

Within weeks of the accident and subsequent paralysis, Mr. 

Turcinovic was transferred to a rehabilitation center in Chicago. 

Ms. Turcinovic traveled with him as her fiance ́’s injuries left him 

completely dependent on her for everything. Permanently paralyzed from the neck down, Mr. Turcinovic was dependent on a ventilator to breathe and he required 24-hour medical care. 

On April 13, 1990, 2 months after her entry into the country, Ms. 

Turcinovic filed an application to the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for an extension of her temporary stay, 

which was set to expire on May 9, 1990, but her application was 

denied on September 22, 1990 because Ms. Turcinovic was technically ineligible to extend her stay under the provisions of the 

Visa Waiver Program. Ultimately, however, the extenuating circumstances in her case led the INS to grant Ms. Turcinovic a stay 

of deportation on humanitarian grounds, which allowed her to stay 

in the United States to care for her fiance ́. Such stays of deportation were renewed on an annual basis over the next 10 years. 

In 1996, Mr. Turcinovic and Ms. Turcinovic were finally married. 

Two years later, on September 30, 1998, Mr. Turcinovic became a 

lawful permanent resident of the United States. He filed a petition 

to adjust his wife’s immigration status, which was approved on 

April 12, 2001. As Mr. Turcinovic was not a citizen, however, Ms. 

Turcinovic was not eligible to immediately adjust her status. She 

was required to wait for many years for a visa to become available 

as a ‘‘second preference’’ beneficiary. 

Five years later, on September 4, 2003, Mr. Turcinovic filed for 

naturalization, which would allow him to adjust his wife’s status 

immediately. A medical certification of disability was included with 

the application stating that Mr. Turcinovic was paralyzed, could 

not breathe without the aid of a ventilator, and could not leave his 

home. Despite this certification, which made it clear that he could 

not physically appear to be interviewed, Mr. Turcinovic received a 

fingerprint appointment notice about 2 weeks later. 

Mr. Turcinovic’s attorney immediately contacted United States 

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to explain that it 

would be impossible for Mr. Turcinovic to comply with the fingerprint appointment. USCIS responded in writing 2 months later 

stating that an officer would visit Mr. Turcinovic at his home to 

further process his application. Immediately upon receipt, Mr. 

Turcinovic’s attorney contacted the Application Support Center supervisor to schedule the home visit. 

Three months later, however, Mr. Turcinovic received notice that 

his naturalization application had been denied due to abandonment 

because of his failure to appear for fingerprinting. Mr. Turcinovic’s 

attorney again contacted USCIS and filed a motion to reopen Mr. 


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Turcinovic’s application. The motion was granted on March 8, 2004 

because service records indicated that he was unable to appear for 

fingerprinting, interview, and oath ceremony. Seven days later, 

however, Mr. Turcinovic received another fingerprint appointment 

notice. Unfortunately, he died on April 29, 2004 before he could be 

naturalized and petition as a citizen to adjust his wife’s immigration status. 

After Mr. Turcinovic’s death, Ms. Turcinovic was unsure what to 

do with respect to her immigration status. After having lived exclusively in the United States for 14 years to care for her quadriplegic 

husband, she had come to know this country as her home. She 

owned a home here and almost everyone she was close to was here. 

She thus failed to seek additional stays of deportation, and on December 28, 2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

agents arrested her at her home and took her to an ICE detention 

center. 

This private bill presents the only option for Ms. Turcinovic to 

remain in the United States. If Mr. Turcinovic had become a 

United States citizen prior to his death, he would have been able 

to adjust her status immediately, but agency error prevented that. 

HEARINGS

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 5030. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On February 13, 2008, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law met in 

open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 5030, favorably reported, 

without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present. On 

May 14, 2008, the Committee met in open session and ordered the 

bill, H.R. 5030, favorably reported without amendment, by voice 

vote, a quorum being present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

5030. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 


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CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 5030, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, June 11, 2008. 

Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Chairman, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5030, a bill for the relief 

of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG, 

DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable Lamar S. Smith. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 5030—A bill for the relief of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic. 

H.R. 5030 would make Corina de Chalup Turcinovic eligible for 

permanent residence in the United States. CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no significant impact on the Federal budget. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. This estimate was approved by Peter 

H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5030 would 

make Corina de Chalup Turcinovic eligible for adjustment of her 

status to that of a lawful permanent resident. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for this legislation in article 1, section 8, clause 4 of the Constitution. 

ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 5030 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of Rule XXI. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Permanent Resident Status for Esther Karinge. Subsection 

(a) provides that, notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 

201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Corina de Chalup 

Turcinovic is eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence upon filing an application for issuance of an immigrant visa under section 204 of such Act or for adjustment of status 

to lawful permanent resident. 

Subsection (b) provides that if Corina de Chalup Turcinovic enters the United States before the filing deadline specified in subsection (c), she must be considered to have entered and remained 

lawfully and, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as 

of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (c) provides that subsections (a) and (b) apply only if 

the application for issuance of an immigrant visa or the application 

for adjustment of status is filed with appropriate fees within 2 

years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (e) provides that, upon the granting of an immigrant 

visa or permanent residence to Corina de Chalup Turcinovic, the 

Secretary of State must instruct the proper officer to reduce by one, 

during the current or next following fiscal year, the total number 

of immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the country of the alien’s birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act or, if applicable, the total number of immigrant 

visas that are made available to natives of the country of the 

alien’s birth under section 202(e) of such Act. 

Subsection (e) provides that the natural parents, brothers, and 

sisters of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic must not, by virtue of such 

relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under the 

Immigration and Nationality Act. 


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AGENCY VIEWS

The comments of the Department of Homeland Security on H.R. 

5030 are as follows: 


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1See, e.g., Priv. L. Nos. 106–12 & 106–4. 2See, e.g., Priv. L. Nos. 107–5, 106–23, 106–3, 105–8 & 105–7. 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

Meritorious private bills should either represent unique and compelling circumstances or fit within private bill precedent of the 

modern era (from the 97th Congress onward, following the ABSCAM private bill scandal). 

H.R. 5030 represents a unique and compelling case in that an 

alien who had come to the U.S. legally was allowed by the Federal 

Government to stay here for many years to care for her legal immigrant spouse. While that care is no longer needed following the 

death of her husband, Ms. De Chalup Turcinovic would suffer hardship in having to return to France after so many years in the U.S. 

In a broader sense, there is some precedent for the private bill. 

First, Ms. De Chalup Turcinovic would have already been a conditional permanent resident by the time of her husband’s death if not 

for USCIS error. Congress has passed private bills in cases of 

aliens who would have received permanent residence but for a mistake by the Federal immigration agency.1 Second, Congress has 

passed private bills where alien spouses of American citizens lost 

the right to receive permanent residence because of the death of 

the American citizens before the approval of the petitions for conditional permanent residence (usually, but not always, where there 

was a U.S. citizen child involved).2

For these reasons, and because a DHS report on Ms. De Chalup 

Turcinovic contained no derogatory information, this is a meritorious private bill. 

LAMAR SMITH. 

Æ 


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