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[House Report 110-743]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-743

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             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.

                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. 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.

               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.

                      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.

                              Agency Views

    The comments of the Department of Homeland Security on H.R. 
5030 are as follows:

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

                                  
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