29–007 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–695 

FOR THE RELIEF OF SOPURUCHI CHUKWUEKE 

NOVEMBER 15, 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 S. 285] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

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

(S. 285) for the relief of Sopuruchi Chukwueke, 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 ........................................................................................ 4 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 4 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 4 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 4 

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

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

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

Purpose and Summary 

The bill grants permanent resident status to Sopuruchi 

Chukwueke. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke was born in Nigeria in 1986. He 

suffers from a medical condition called neurofibromatosis and enVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:52 Nov 16, 2012 Jkt 029007 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR695.XXX HR695

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1Subsequent applications for extensions of stay were denied. 

2Letter from Rev. Sr. M. Beatrice Nkem Chukwumezie and Sister Immaculata C. Osueke, 

Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, at 1 (March 19, 2012). 3Letter from Kenneth Honn, Wayne State University School of Medicine, to Senator Patrick 

Leahy, at 1 (March 19, 2012). 4Letter from the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy at 1. 

tered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2001 1 to receive medical treatment. All medical fees were waived and the medical treatments he 

now receives from the University of Michigan are covered by the 

hospital’s M–Support Program. The Daughters of Mary Mother of 

Mercy, the Catholic religious order that brought Mr. Chukwueke to 

the United States, states that: 

[Mr. Chukwueke] was ostracized and unable to receive 

medical care for his rare, deformative genetic disorder— 

neurofibromatosis—a condition similar to ‘‘elephant man 

disease.’’ He was entrusted to us as a young child by his 

mother who could not care for him due to the difficulties 

related to his rare medical condition. . . . After all the efforts to seek medical care for Victor in Nigeria failed due 

to inadequate medical facilities and lack of skilled surgeons, we decided to bring him to the United States. . . . 

He has undergone a total of seven major surgeries to remove the tumors that severely disfigured his face including the loss of one eye and to reconstruct his face. He still 

requires additional plastic surgeries to fully restore his facial features from damage caused by tumor growth.2

Mr. Chukwueke graduated Wayne State University in 2011. He 

has been accepted by the medical school at the University of Toledo. Dr. Kenneth Honn of the Wayne State University School of 

Medicine writes that: 

Victor embodies the ideals that we as educators ask our 

students to aspire to. He has excelled in his class and lab 

work and has maintained stellar grades, all the while 

working selflessly in the community to improve the lives 

of others. . . . [He] came to the United States with missionary nuns from Nigeria to face numerous corrective 

treatments for his life threatening condition. . . . [I]n my 

laboratory . . . he was assigned to a cancer progression 

project and faced scientific challenges in much the same 

way he has faced others, with determination and high 

standards of performance. [He] has become a cherished 

member of the lab for his scientific input in addition to his 

kind nature.’’ 3

The Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy write that ‘‘[h]is dream 

is to become a humanitarian doctor so that he can help provide 

treatment to the less fortunate . . . who struggle daily, like him, 

but cannot find treatment.’’ 4

On December 19, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided a report on Mr. Chukwueke to the Senate Judiciary 

Committee, that revealed no deleterious information. 

There is precedent in the modern private bill era for this private 

bill. Private bills have been enacted when aliens were severely ill 

and could not receive proper treatment in their home country. In 

the 106th Congress, a private bill was enacted for Marina Khalina 


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5See Priv. L. No. 106–15. 6See Priv. L. No. 106–20. 7See Priv. L. No. 108–3. 8See Priv. L. No. 106–22. 9 H.R. Rept. No. 106–964 at 2 (2000). 

and her son Albert Mifakhov.5 Ms. Khalina and her son were in the 

U.S. on visitor’s visas that could no longer be extended. The son 

was undergoing medical treatment for cerebral palsy which was 

unobtainable in Russia and which he would need until he became 

an adult. The private bill granted them permanent residence. Also 

in the 106th Congress, a private bill was enacted for Jacqueline Salinas and her three children.6 One of the children had a rare bone 

cancer and came to the U.S. with her father from Bolivia (where 

it could not be treated). St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital offered treatment at no cost to the family. The rest of the family joined them 

in the U.S. A car accident resulted in the death of the father, one 

child, and the permanent paralysis of Ms. Salinas from the waist 

down. The mother, who was pregnant at the time of the accident, 

gave birth to a U.S. citizen child. The disability of the surviving 

parent and the need for ongoing cancer treatment for the sick child 

would have caused the family extreme hardship if they had to return to Bolivia. The private bill granted them permanent residence. 

Private immigration bills have also been enacted when the aliens 

(usually illegally present) had been abandoned by their parents. In 

the 108th Congress, a private bill was enacted for Richi Lesley.7

Mr. Lesley was born in Korea to an unknown U.S. serviceman and 

a Korean woman. She put him up for adoption and he was adopted 

by another American serviceman and his wife. The husband was 

killed in a fishing accident while living in Japan and his wife became unable to care for the two young children. However, the serviceman’s mother in the U.S. agreed to take the children in and they 

were granted visitor’s visas to come to the U.S. (while Mr. Lesley 

was still 1 year old). Following the death of the adoptive grandmother, the children lived with other family and friends. Mr. Lesley did not know he was not a U.S. citizen until the INS began deportation proceedings. The private bill granted him permanent residence. 

In addition, in the 106th Congress a private bill was enacted for 

Tony Lara.8 Mr. Lara entered the U.S. illegally with his sister from 

El Salvador when he was 10 years old to join his parents, who were 

living in Los Angeles. After his mother returned to El Salvador, 

she died. His father abandoned Mr. Lara and his sister and was 

later deported. After they lived in neglect with an uncle, neighbors 

adopted his sister but could not afford to also adopt him. At age 

16, Mr. Lara started living with his high school wrestling coach. 

The Judiciary Committee report indicated that if he ‘‘had become 

a ward of the court before age 16, he could have filed a special immigrant visa petition and obtained legal status.’’ 9 The private bill 

granted Mr. Lara permanent residence. 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on S. 285. 


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Committee Consideration 

On August 1, 2012, the Committee met in open session and ordered the bill S. 285 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 S. 285. 

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, S. 285, 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, August 2, 2012. 

Hon. LAMAR SMITH, CHAIRMAN, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 285, an act for the relief of 

Sopuruchi Chukwueke. 

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 


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S. 285—An act for the relief of Sopuruchi Chukwueke. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary 

on August 1, 2012. 

S. 285 would make Sopuruchi Chukwueke eligible for permanent 

U.S. residence. The Act would affect only one person 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 S. 285 would have no significant impact on the Federal 

budget. 

On July 25, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 285 as 

reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on July 19, 

2012. The two versions of the legislation are the same, as are the 

CBO cost estimates. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The 

estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 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, S. 285 grants permanent resident status to Sopuruchi Chukwueke. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

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

of Representatives, S. 285 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. Adjustment of Status. 

Subsection (a) provides that Sopuruchi Chukwueke shall be eligible for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted 

for permanent residence upon filing an application for adjustment 

of status. 

Subsection (b) provides that subsection (a) shall apply only if the 

application for adjustment of status is filed with appropriate fees 

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

Subsection (c) provides that upon the granting of permanent residence to Sopuruchi Chukwueke, the Secretary of State shall 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 his birth under section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (‘‘INA’’). 


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

sisters of Sopuruchi Chukwueke shall not, by virtue of such relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under the INA. 

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