I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3271

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for permanent 

resident status for certain long-term resident workers and college-bound 

students, to modify the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants 

in order to promote family unification, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2003

Mr. GEPHARDT (for himself, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. 

FROST, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. FARR, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. 

BECERRA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. REYES, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

for permanent resident status for certain long-term resident workers and college-bound students, to modify the 

worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants in order 

to promote family unification, 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 ‘‘Earned Legalization 

5 and Family Unification Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. LEGALIZATION OF STATUS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 

4 amended by inserting after section 245A the following new 

5 section: 

6 ‘‘ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESI7 DENT WORKERS AND COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS

8 TO THAT OF ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PER9 MANENT RESIDENCE

10 ‘‘SEC. 245B. (a) ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT

11 RESIDENT STATUS FOR CERTAIN WORKERS, SPOUSES, 

12 AND CHILDREN.—The Attorney General shall adjust the 

13 status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted 

14 for permanent residence if the alien meets the following 

15 requirements: 

16 ‘‘(1) TIMELY APPLICATION.—

17 ‘‘(A) DURING APPLICATION PERIOD.—Ex18 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), the alien 

19 must apply for such adjustment during the 36-

20 month period beginning on the date final regu21 lations are issued to carry out this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION INCLUDED IN APPLI23 CATION.—Each application under this sub24 section shall contain such information as the 

25 Attorney General may require, including infor26 mation on living relatives of the applicant with 
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1 respect to whom a petition for preference or 

2 other status may be filed by the applicant at 

3 any later date under section 204(a). 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTINUOUS 5-YEAR RESIDENCE.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alien must estab6 lish that the alien—

7 ‘‘(i) entered the United States before 

8 the date that is 5 years before the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act; 

10 ‘‘(ii) has resided continuously in the 

11 United States during the 5-year period 

12 ending on the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act and through the date the application 

14 was filed under this subsection; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) was in the United States on the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act in an un17 lawful status and has resided continuously 

18 in the United States in an unlawful status 

19 since such date and through the date the 

20 application was filed under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) NONIMMIGRANTS.—In the case of an 

22 alien who entered the United States as a non23 immigrant before the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act, the alien must also establish that the 

25 alien’s period of authorized stay as a non-
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1 immigrant expired before such date through the 

2 passage of time or the alien’s unlawful status 

3 was known to the Government as of such date. 

4 ‘‘(C) EXCHANGE VISITORS.—If the alien 

5 was at any time a nonimmigrant exchange alien 

6 (as defined in section 101(a)(15)(J)), the alien 

7 must establish that the alien was not subject to 

8 the two-year foreign residence requirement of 

9 section 212(e) or has fulfilled that requirement 

10 or received a waiver thereof. 

11 ‘‘(D) OTHER LAWFUL ALIENS.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of this paragraph, 

13 in the case of an alien who is in a lawful status, 

14 other than a nonimmigrant status, on the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the alien must es16 tablish that the alien has resided continuously 

17 in the United States in such status during the 

18 5-year period ending on the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE SINCE ENACT21 MENT.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alien must estab23 lish that the alien has been continuously 

24 present in the United States since the date of 

25 the enactment of this section. 
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1 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF BRIEF, CASUAL, AND

2 INNOCENT ABSENCES.—An alien shall not be 

3 considered to have failed to maintain a contin4 uous presence in the United States for purposes 

5 of subparagraph (A), or continuous residence in 

6 the United States for purposes of paragraph 

7 (2), by virtue of brief, casual, and innocent ab8 sences from the United States. 

9 ‘‘(C) ADMISSIONS.—Nothing in this section 

10 shall be construed as authorizing an alien to 

11 apply for admission to, or to be admitted to, the 

12 United States in order to apply for adjustment 

13 of status under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(4) ADMISSIBLE AS IMMIGRANT.—The alien 

15 must establish that the alien—

16 ‘‘(A) is admissible to the United States as 

17 an immigrant, except as otherwise provided 

18 under subsection (e)(2); 

19 ‘‘(B) has not been convicted of any felony 

20 or of three or more misdemeanors committed in 

21 the United States; 

22 ‘‘(C) has not assisted in the persecution of 

23 any person or persons on account of race, reli24 gion, nationality, membership in a particular 

25 social group, or political opinion; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) is registered or registering under the 

2 Military Selective Service Act, if the alien is re3 quired to be so registered under that Act. 

4 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYMENT IN UNITED STATES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alien must have 

6 been employed (whether or not lawfully) in the 

7 United States, in the aggregate, for at least 

8 520 of the workdays occurring during the 5-

9 year period ending on the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR ALIEN CHILDREN.—

12 Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to an indi13 vidual under 23 years of age on the date on 

14 which the application was filed under this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(C) EVIDENCE OF EMPLOYMENT.—For 

17 purposes of satisfying the requirement of sub18 paragraph (A), the alien may submit, among 

19 other evidence—

20 ‘‘(i) records maintained by the Com21 missioner of Social Security; 

22 ‘‘(ii) other employment records; 

23 ‘‘(iii) tax records; 

24 ‘‘(iv) bank account records; and 
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1 ‘‘(v) attestations from community 

2 leaders, religious leaders, co-workers, or 

3 store owners. 

4 ‘‘(D) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien apply5 ing for adjustment of status under this sub6 section has the burden of proving by a prepon7 derance of the evidence that the alien has 

8 worked the requisite number of days (as re9 quired under subparagraph (A)). An alien can 

10 meet such burden of proof by producing suffi11 cient evidence to show the extent of that em12 ployment as a matter of just and reasonable in13 ference. In such a case, the burden then shifts 

14 to the Attorney General to disprove the alien’s 

15 evidence with a showing which negates the rea16 sonableness of the inference to be drawn from 

17 the evidence. 

18 ‘‘(6) PAYMENT OF INCOME TAXES.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alien must dem20 onstrate the payment of all Federal and State 

21 income taxes owed for employment during the 

22 3-year period preceding the date the application 

23 was filed under this subsection. The alien may 

24 satisfy such requirement through demonstrating 

25 that no such tax liability exists or through sat-
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1 isfaction of all outstanding liabilities (including 

2 through execution of a binding agreement to 

3 pay back taxes owing). 

4 ‘‘(7) BASIC CITIZENSHIP SKILLS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alien must dem6 onstrate that the alien either—

7 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 

8 312(a) (relating to minimal understanding 

9 of ordinary English and a knowledge and 

10 understanding of the history and govern11 ment of the United States); or 

12 ‘‘(ii) is satisfactorily pursuing a 

13 course of study (recognized by the Attor14 ney General) to achieve such an under15 standing of English and such a knowledge 

16 and understanding of the history and gov17 ernment of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—

19 ‘‘(i) MANDATORY.—The requirements 

20 of subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any 

21 person who is—

22 ‘‘(I) 65 years of age or older; or 

23 ‘‘(II) unable because of physical 

24 or developmental disability or mental 

25 impairment to comply therewith. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) DISCRETIONARY.—The Attorney 

2 General may, in his discretion, waive all or 

3 part of the requirements of subparagraph 

4 (A) in the case of an alien who is 50 years 

5 of age or older. 

6 ‘‘(C) RELATION TO NATURALIZATION EX7 AMINATION.—In accordance with regulations of 

8 the Attorney General, an alien who has dem9 onstrated under subparagraph (A)(i) that the 

10 alien meets the requirements of section 312(a) 

11 may be considered to have satisfied the require12 ments of that section for purposes of becoming 

13 naturalized as a citizen of the United States 

14 under title III. 

15 ‘‘(b) FAMILY UNIFICATION.—An alien who, as of the 

16 date of filing an application under subsection (a), is the 

17 spouse or child of an alien who qualifies for adjustment 

18 of status under subsection (a) shall, if not otherwise enti19 tled to such adjustment of status, be entitled to the same 

20 status if accompanying or following to join the spouse or 

21 parent if—

22 ‘‘(1) the spouse or child meets the requirements 

23 of subsection (a)(4); and 
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1 ‘‘(2) the spouse or child was included in the ap2 plication information required under subsection 

3 (a)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT RESIDENT STA5 TUS FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN MIDDLE OR SECONDARY

6 SCHOOL.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

8 adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien law9 fully admitted for permanent residence if the alien 

10 meets the following requirements: 

11 ‘‘(A) TIMELY APPLICATION.—

12 ‘‘(i) AGE ON APPLICATION DATE.—

13 The alien must not have attained 25 years 

14 of age before the date on which the appli15 cation for adjustment under this sub16 section was filed. 

17 ‘‘(ii) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The 

18 requirements of subparagraphs (A) and 

19 (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall apply to an 

20 application under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The alien must es23 tablish that the alien was present in the 

24 United States on the date of the enactment 

25 of this section and has been present in the 
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1 United States for a continuous period of 

2 not less than 5 years immediately pre3 ceding the date on which the application 

4 under subparagraph (A) was filed. 

5 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF BRIEF, CASUAL, 

6 AND INNOCENT ABSENCES.—An alien shall 

7 not be considered to have failed to main8 tain a continuous presence in the United 

9 States for purposes of clause (i) by virtue 

10 of brief, casual, and innocent absences 

11 from the United States. 

12 ‘‘(iii) ADMISSIONS.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed as authorizing 

14 an alien to apply for admission to, or to be 

15 admitted to, the United States in order to 

16 apply for adjustment of status under this 

17 subsection. 

18 ‘‘(C) GOOD MORAL CHARACTER.—The 

19 alien must demonstrate that the alien has been 

20 a person of good moral character during the 5 

21 years immediately preceding the date on which 

22 the application under subparagraph (A) was 

23 filed. 

24 ‘‘(D) STUDENT.—The alien, at the time of 

25 application, must be enrolled at or above the 
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1 7th grade level in a school in the United States 

2 or be enrolled in, or actively pursuing admission 

3 to, an institution of higher education in the 

4 United States (as defined in section 101 of the 

5 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1001)). 

7 ‘‘(E) ADMISSIBLE AS IMMIGRANT.—The 

8 alien must satisfy the requirements of sub9 section (a)(4). 

10 ‘‘(2) NO DERIVATIVE RIGHT OF PARENTS.—The 

11 parent of an alien who adjusts status pursuant to 

12 this subsection shall not be granted the same status 

13 by reason of accompanying or following to join un14 less otherwise entitled to such status. 

15 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—

16 ‘‘(1) TO WHOM MAY BE MADE.—The Attorney 

17 General shall provide that applications for adjust18 ment of status under this section may be filed—

19 ‘‘(A) with the Attorney General; or 

20 ‘‘(B) with a qualified designated entity, 

21 but only if the applicant consents to the for22 warding of the application to the Attorney Gen23 eral. 
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1 As used in this section, the term ‘qualified des2 ignated entity’ means an organization or person des3 ignated under paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED ENTITIES TO

5 RECEIVE APPLICATIONS.—For purposes of assisting 

6 in the program of legalization provided under this 

7 section, the Attorney General—

8 ‘‘(A) shall designate qualified voluntary or9 ganizations and other qualified State, local, and 

10 community organizations; and 

11 ‘‘(B) may designate such other persons as 

12 the Attorney General determines are qualified 

13 and have substantial experience, demonstrated 

14 competence, and traditional long-term involve15 ment in the preparation and submittal of appli16 cations for adjustment of status under section 

17 209 or 245, Public Law 89–732, or Public Law 

18 95–145 (including qualified designated entities 

19 under section 245A). 

20 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF APPLICATIONS BY DES21 IGNATED ENTITIES.—Each qualified designated enti22 ty must agree to forward to the Attorney General 

23 applications filed with it in accordance with para24 graph (1)(B) but not to forward to the Attorney 

25 General applications filed with it unless the appli-
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1 cant has consented to such forwarding. No such en2 tity may make a determination required by this sec3 tion to be made by the Attorney General. 

4 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ACCESS TO INFORMA5 TION.—Files and records of qualified designated en6 tities relating to an alien’s seeking assistance or in7 formation with respect to filing an application under 

8 this section are confidential and the Attorney Gen9 eral and the Service shall not have access to such 

10 files or records relating to an alien without the con11 sent of the alien. 

12 ‘‘(5) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 this paragraph, neither the Attorney General, 

15 nor any other official or employee of the De16 partment of Justice, or bureau or agency there17 of, may—

18 ‘‘(i) use the information furnished by 

19 the applicant pursuant to an application 

20 filed under this section for any purpose 

21 other than to make a determination on the 

22 application for enforcement of paragraph 

23 (6), or for the preparation of reports to 

24 Congress under law; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) make any publication whereby 

2 the information furnished by any par3 ticular applicant can be identified; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) permit anyone other than the 

5 sworn officers and employees of the De6 partment or bureau or agency or, with re7 spect to applications filed with a des8 ignated entity, that designated entity, to 

9 examine individual applications. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The At11 torney General shall provide the information 

12 furnished under this section, and any other in13 formation derived from such furnished informa14 tion, to a duly recognized law enforcement enti15 ty in connection with a criminal investigation or 

16 prosecution, when such information is requested 

17 in writing by such entity, or to an official cor18 oner for purposes of affirmatively identifying a 

19 deceased individual (whether or not such indi20 vidual is deceased as a result of a crime). 

21 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES.—The 

22 Attorney General may provide, in the Attorney 

23 General’s discretion, for the furnishing of infor24 mation furnished under this section in the same 

25 manner and circumstances as census informa-
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1 tion may be disclosed by the Secretary of Com2 merce under section 8 of title 13, United States 

3 Code. 

4 ‘‘(D) CONSTRUCTION.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this 

6 paragraph shall be construed to limit the 

7 use, or release, for immigration enforce8 ment purposes or law enforcement pur9 poses of information contained in files or 

10 records of the Service pertaining to an ap11 plication filed under this section, other 

12 than information furnished by an applicant 

13 pursuant to the application, or any other 

14 information derived from the application, 

15 that is not available from any other source. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS.—Infor17 mation concerning whether the applicant 

18 has at any time been convicted of a crime 

19 may be used or released for immigration 

20 enforcement purposes. 

21 ‘‘(E) CRIME.—Whoever knowingly uses, 

22 publishes, or permits information to be exam23 ined in violation of this paragraph shall be fined 

24 not more than $10,000. 
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1 ‘‘(6) PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN

2 APPLICATIONS.—Whoever files an application for ad3 justment of status under this section and knowingly 

4 and willfully falsifies, misrepresents, conceals, or 

5 covers up a material fact or makes any false, ficti6 tious, or fraudulent statements or representations, 

7 or makes or uses any false writing or document 

8 knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or 

9 fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined in ac10 cordance with title 18, United States Code, or im11 prisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

12 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION FEES.—

13 ‘‘(A) FEE SCHEDULE.—The Attorney Gen14 eral, in consultation with the Congress, shall 

15 provide for a schedule of fees to be charged for 

16 the filing of applications for adjustment under 

17 this section. Such fees may not exceed $100 per 

18 individual or $300 per family. 

19 ‘‘(B) USE OF FEES.—The Attorney Gen20 eral shall deposit payments received under this 

21 paragraph in a separate account and amounts 

22 in such account shall be available, without fiscal 

23 year limitation, to cover administrative and 

24 other expenses incurred in connection with the 

25 review of applications filed under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(e) WAIVER OF NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS AND CER2 TAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMISSIBILITY.—

3 ‘‘(1) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS DO NOT

4 APPLY.—The numerical limitations of sections 201 

5 and 202 shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens 

6 to lawful permanent resident status under this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(2) WAIVER OF GROUNDS FOR INADMIS9 SIBILITY.—In the determination of an alien’s admis10 sibility under this section, the following provisions 

11 shall apply: 

12 ‘‘(A) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY NOT

13 APPLICABLE.—The provisions of paragraphs 

14 (5), (6)(A), (6)(C), (6)(F), (6)(G), (7)(A), 

15 (9)(B), and (9)(C) of section 212(a) shall not 

16 apply. 

17 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF OTHER GROUNDS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro19 vided in clause (ii), the Attorney General 

20 may waive any other provision of section 

21 212(a) in the case of individual aliens for 

22 humanitarian purposes, to assure family 

23 unity, or when it is otherwise in the public 

24 interest. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) GROUNDS THAT MAY NOT BE

2 WAIVED.—The following provisions of sec3 tion 212(a) may not be waived by the At4 torney General under clause (i): 

5 ‘‘(I) Paragraphs (2)(A) and 

6 (2)(B) (relating to criminals). 

7 ‘‘(II) Paragraph (2)(C) (relating 

8 to drug offenses), except for so much 

9 of such paragraph as relates to a sin10 gle offense of simple possession of 30 

11 grams or less of marijuana. 

12 ‘‘(III) Paragraph (3) (relating to 

13 security and related grounds). 

14 ‘‘(IV) Paragraph (4) (relating to 

15 aliens likely to become public 

16 charges). 

17 Subclause (IV) (prohibiting the waiver of 

18 section 212(a)(4)) shall not apply to an 

19 alien who is or was an aged, blind, or dis20 abled individual (as defined in section 

21 1614(a)(1) of the Social Security Act). 

22 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE FOR DETERMINA23 TION OF PUBLIC CHARGE.—An alien is not 

24 ineligible for adjustment of status under 

25 this section due to being inadmissible 
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1 under section 212(a)(4) if the alien dem2 onstrates a history of employment in the 

3 United States evidencing self-support with4 out receipt of public cash assistance. 

5 ‘‘(C) MEDICAL EXAMINATION.—The alien 

6 shall be required, at the alien’s expense, to un7 dergo such a medical examination (including a 

8 determination of immunization status) as is ap9 propriate and conforms to generally accepted 

10 professional standards of medical practice. 

11 ‘‘(f) TEMPORARY STAY OF REMOVAL AND WORK AU12 THORIZATION FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) BEFORE APPLICATION PERIOD.—The At14 torney General shall provide that in the case of an 

15 alien who is apprehended before the beginning of the 

16 application period described in subsection (a)(1)(A) 

17 and who can establish a prima facie case of eligi18 bility to have the alien’s status adjusted under this 

19 section (but for the fact that the alien may not apply 

20 for such adjustment until the beginning of such pe21 riod), until the alien has had the opportunity during 

22 the first 120 days of the application period to com23 plete the filing of an application for adjustment, the 

24 alien—
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1 ‘‘(A) may not be removed from the United 

2 States; and 

3 ‘‘(B) shall be granted authorization to en4 gage in employment in the United States and 

5 be provided an ‘employment authorized’ en6 dorsement or other appropriate work permit. 

7 ‘‘(2) DURING APPLICATION PERIOD.—The At8 torney General shall provide that in the case of an 

9 alien who presents a prima facie application for ad10 justment of status under this section during the ap11 plication period, and until a final determination on 

12 the application has been made in accordance with 

13 this section, including any judicial review thereof, 

14 the alien—

15 ‘‘(A) may not be removed from the United 

16 States; and 

17 ‘‘(B) shall be granted authorization to en18 gage in employment in the United States and 

19 be provided an ‘employment authorized’ en20 dorsement or other appropriate work permit. 

21 ‘‘(3) ADVANCE PAROLE AUTHORITY.—The At22 torney General shall establish a process for the ap23 proval of advance parole (under section 212(d)(5)) 

24 for applicants to travel outside the United States 

25 with prior approval in the case of—
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1 ‘‘(A) business or family necessity; or 

2 ‘‘(B) emergency or extenuating cir3 cumstances outside the control of the alien. 

4 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no adminis6 trative or judicial review of a determination respect7 ing an application for adjustment of status under 

8 this section except in accordance with this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—

11 ‘‘(A) SINGLE LEVEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE

12 APPELLATE REVIEW.—The Attorney General 

13 shall establish an appellate authority to provide 

14 for a single level of administrative appellate re15 view of a determination described in paragraph 

16 (1). 

17 ‘‘(B) STANDARD FOR REVIEW.—Such ad18 ministrative appellate review shall be based 

19 solely upon the administrative record estab20 lished at the time of the determination on the 

21 application and upon such additional or newly 

22 discovered evidence as may not have been avail23 able at the time of the determination. 

24 ‘‘(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—
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1 ‘‘(A) DIRECT REVIEW.—A person whose 

2 application for adjustment of status under this 

3 section is denied after administrative appellate 

4 review under paragraph (2) may seek review of 

5 such denial before the United States district 

6 court for the district in which such person re7 sides in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, 

8 United States Code. 

9 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AFTER REMOVAL PRO10 CEEDINGS.—There shall be judicial review of 

11 the denial of an application for adjustment of 

12 status under this section in the judicial review 

13 of an order of removal, deportation, or exclu14 sion, but only if the validity of the denial has 

15 not been upheld in a prior judicial proceeding 

16 under subparagraph (A). Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of law, the standard for review 

18 of such a denial shall be governed by subpara19 graph (C). 

20 ‘‘(C) STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

21 Judicial review of a denial of an application 

22 under this section shall be based solely upon the 

23 administrative record established at the time of 

24 the review. The findings of fact and other de25 terminations contained in the record shall be 
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1 conclusive unless the applicant can establish 

2 abuse of discretion or that the findings are di3 rectly contrary to clear and convincing facts 

4 contained in the record, considered as a whole. 

5 ‘‘(D) JURISDICTION OF COURTS.—Not6 withstanding any other provision of law, the 

7 district courts of the United States shall have 

8 jurisdiction over any cause or claim arising 

9 from a pattern or practice of the Attorney Gen10 eral in the operation or implementation of this 

11 section that is arbitrary, capricious, or other12 wise contrary to law, and may order any appro13 priate relief. The district courts may order any 

14 appropriate relief in accordance with the pre15 ceding sentence without regard to exhaustion, 

16 ripeness, or other standing requirements, if the 

17 court determines that resolution of such cause 

18 or claim will serve judicial and administrative 

19 efficiency or that a remedy would otherwise not 

20 be reasonably available or practicable. 

21 ‘‘(h) INAPPLICABILITY OF REMOVAL ORDER REIN22 STATEMENT.—Section 241(a)(5) shall not apply with re23 spect to an alien who is applying for adjustment of status 

24 under this section. 

25 ‘‘(i) IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this section, for comparable provisions of 

3 this section and section 245A, the Attorney General 

4 shall base the regulations prescribed to implement 

5 this section on the regulations (as implemented after 

6 judicial review) prescribed by the Attorney General 

7 under section 245A(g) that were most recently in ef8 fect before the date of the enactment of this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) IDENTITY.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, 

11 after consultation with the Committees on the 

12 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and 

13 of the Senate, shall prescribe regulations with 

14 respect to how an alien may establish his or her 

15 identity for purposes of this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) EVIDENCE.—The Attorney General 

17 shall provide that the applicant may submit evi18 dence to establish his or her identity, includ19 ing—

20 ‘‘(i) attestations; 

21 ‘‘(ii) photographs; 

22 ‘‘(iii) rental records; 

23 ‘‘(iv) medical records; and 

24 ‘‘(v) employment records. 

25 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ABSENCES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) WAIVER.—The Attorney General may 

2 provide for a waiver, in the discretion of the At3 torney General, of an absence from the United 

4 States that otherwise would be considered to 

5 break a period of continuous residence in the 

6 case of an absence from the United States due 

7 merely to a brief temporary trip abroad re8 quired by—

9 ‘‘(i) business or family necessity; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) emergency or extenuating cir11 cumstances outside the control of the alien. 

12 ‘‘(B) ABSENCES CAUSED BY REMOVAL.—If 

13 a waiver is granted pursuant to subsection 

14 (e)(2)(B) for an alien who is inadmissible under 

15 section 212(a)(9)(A) due to having been or16 dered removed, or having departed the United 

17 States while an order of removal was out18 standing, the Attorney General shall provide 

19 that any period of time during which the alien 

20 is outside the United States because of such re21 moval or departure shall be disregarded in de22 termining any period of continuous residence or 

23 presence in the United States for purposes of 

24 this section. 
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1 ‘‘(j) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON LEGAL2 IZATION PROGRAM.—Beginning not later than the first 

3 day of the application period described in subsection 

4 (a)(1)(A), the Attorney General, in cooperation with quali5 fied designated entities, shall broadly disseminate informa6 tion respecting the benefits which aliens may receive under 

7 this section and the requirements to obtain such bene8 fits.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

11 to section 245A the following new item:

‘‘245B. Adjustment of status of certain long-term resident workers and collegebound students to that of alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.’’.

12 SEC. 3. FAMILY UNIFICATION. 

13 Section 201(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

15 sum of the number of aliens described in subparagraphs 

16 (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘the num17 ber of aliens described in subsection (b)(2)(B)’’.

Æ