19–007 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–622 

FOR THE RELIEF OF ESTHER KARINGE 

JULY 24, 2012.—Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SMITH of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 316] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

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

(H.R. 316) for the relief of Esther Karinge, 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 ............................................................. 1 

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

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

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

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

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

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

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

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

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 4 

Purpose and Summary 

The bill grants permanent resident status to Esther Karinge. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

Esther Njeri Karinge was born in Kenya in 1962. She came to 

the United States in 1994 and applied for asylum in 1997. According to her asylum application, she had worked in Kenya for her 

uncle, a former Kenyan Councilor who fled the country and was living in exile. Due to his political views and the family’s Kikuju ethVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:50 Jul 24, 2012 Jkt 019007 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR622.XXX HR622

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1See Priv. L. No. 104–3 (H.R. Rep. No. 104–810). 2See Priv. L. No. 106–13 (H.R. Rep. No. 106–905). 

nicity, Esther and her family allegedly suffered through continual 

harassment, and received several death threats, during a time of 

civil unrest in the region. An immigration judge denied her request 

for asylum in 1998 and her appeal was denied in 2003. 

Esther’s son Nicholas was born in Massachusetts in 1995 with 

multiple birth defects. He continues to suffer from several severe 

physical and mental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, spastic 

quadriplegia, hearing loss and developmental delays. Upon learning of these birth defects, Nicholas’ father abandoned the family, 

leaving Esther as Nicholas’ only parent and caretaker. Nicholas is 

completely dependent on Esther. He needs continuous medical care 

and requires medical management from numerous specialists. It is 

feared that ‘‘[t]aking Nicholas back to Kenya . . . will eliminate 

the sophisticated therapy that is Nick’s lifeline to diminishing the 

effects of cerebral palsy on his development. He is now receiving 

services in arguably the finest settings available in the world. 

Without these interventions, this extremely bright boy would be 

unable to navigate either physically or linguistically. His potential, 

which, with continued therapy and education, is limitless, will be 

drastically curtailed should current interventions be terminated.’’ 

H.R. 316 grants Ms. Karinge permanent residence. 

There is precedent in the modern era for the enactment of private bills where the aliens’ U.S. citizen family members suffered 

serious illnesses which would be exacerbated if the aliens were returned home or the U.S. citizens accompanied them home. A private bill was enacted in the 104th Congress for an alien who had 

earlier been deported to Mexico for marriage fraud.1 Before his deportation, he married his second wife in a legitimate marriage and 

they had two children. His wife and one of their children were carriers for Reiter’s syndrome, a severe, disabling, incurable arthritic 

disease who could be triggered by an intestinal infection with an 

organism widespread in Mexico. Thus, they risked serious illness 

by joining him in Mexico. The private bill waived the grounds of 

inadmissibility for marriage fraud. The House Report stated that 

‘‘this legislation acknowledges the previously set precedent in private legislation that separation due to medical circumstances is 

viewed . . . as satisfying the standard of extreme hardship to an 

American citizen.’’ 

In the 106th Congress, a private bill was enacted granting permanent residence to an alien whose petition for permanent residence filed by his U.S. citizen wife had been denied because of marriage fraud in his first marriage.2 The INS believed this second 

marriage was valid. The alien’s U.S. citizen wife had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and her doctor indicated that she 

might rapidly deteriorate as a result of any type of severe stress. 

In the 110th Congress, the Immigration Subcommittee requested 

an ICE report on Ms. Karinge and ICE provided the Subcommittee 

with a report which contained no derogatory information. On May 

8, 2008, the Subcommittee ordered H.R. 1485 (providing relief to 

Ms. Karinge) favorably reported by voice vote. On May 14, 2008, 

the Committee ordered the bill favorably reported by voice vote. On 

September 16, 2008, the bill passed the House by voice vote. In the 


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111th Congress, the Subcommittee requested an ICE report and 

ICE provided a report which contained no derogatory information. 

On March 10, 2011, the Subcommittee again voted to request a report. On December 19, 2011, ICE provided the report. It revealed 

no derogatory information. 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 316. 

Committee Consideration 

On June 28, 2012, the Committee met in open session and ordered the bill H.R. 316 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. 

316. 

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. 316, 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, July 5, 2012. 

Hon. LAMAR SMITH, CHAIRMAN, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has reviewed the following legislation ordered reported by the House 

Committee on the Judiciary on June 28, 2012: 

• H.R. 823, a bill for the relief of Maria Carmen Castro Ramirez and J. Refugio Carreno Rojas; 

• H.R. 824, a bill for the relief of Daniel Wachira; 


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• H.R. 316, a bill for the relief of Esther Karinge; 

• H.R. 794, a bill for the relief of Allan Bolor Kelley; 

• H.R. 357, a bill for the relief of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic; 

and 

• H.R. 1857, a bill for the relief of Bartosz Kumor. 

Those bills would make certain individuals eligible for permanent U.S. residence and could have a very small effect on fees collected by the Department of Homeland Security and thus would affect direct spending. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 

CBO estimates, however, that enacting those pieces of legislation 

would not have a significant impact on the federal budget. 

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, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

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. 316 grants permanent resident status to Esther Karinge. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

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

of Representatives, H.R. 316 does not contain any congressional 

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

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) 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 Esther Karinge shall be 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 the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or for adjustment of 

status to lawful permanent resident. 

Subsection (b) provides that if Ms. Karinge enters the United 

States before the filing deadline specified in subsection (c), she 

shall be considered to have entered and remained lawfully and 

shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for adjustment of status 

under section 245 of the INA as of the date of the enactment of this 

Act. 

Subsection (c) provides that subsections (a) and (b) shall apply 

only if the application for issuance of an immigrant visa or the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:50 Jul 24, 2012 Jkt 019007 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR622.XXX HR622

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plication for adjustment of status is filed with appropriate fees 

within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (d) provides that upon the granting of an immigrant 

visa or permanent residence to Ms. Karinge, the Secretary of State 

shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by 1, during the current 

or next following fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas 

that are made available to natives of the country of her birth under 

section 203(a) of the INA or, if applicable, the total number of immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the country of 

her birth under section 202(e) of the INA. 

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

sisters of Ms. Karinge shall not, by virtue of such relationship, be 

accorded any right, privilege, or status under the Immigration and 

Nationality Act. 

Æ 


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