II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3987 

To protect stateless persons in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect stateless persons in the United States, 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 ‘‘Stateless Protection 

5 Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) The International Covenant on Civil and 

10 Political Rights, to which the United States is a 


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1 party, provides that every child has the right to ac2 quire a nationality, and numerous other treaties and 

3 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recog4 nize the right to a nationality. 

5 (2) Statelessness is an abhorrent affront to 

6 human dignity and may lead to the violation of 

7 human rights. 

8 (3) The Supreme Court of the United States 

9 has recognized that denationalization, as a form of 

10 punishment, is more primitive than torture. 

11 (4) Government action and inaction causes 

12 statelessness; therefore, governments have the power 

13 to resolve and prevent statelessness. 

14 (5) The United Nations High Commissioner for 

15 Refugees— 

16 (A) is a United Nations agency responsible 

17 for identifying stateless persons, preventing and 

18 reducing statelessness, and protecting stateless 

19 persons; and 

20 (B) estimates that there are at least 

21 10,000,000 stateless persons worldwide. 

22 (6) A 2020 study conducted by the Center for 

23 Migration Studies found that there are approxi24 mately 218,000 individuals living in the United 

25 States who are stateless or at risk of statelessness. 


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1 (7) Stateless individuals live in all 50 States, 

2 and many such individuals have lived in the United 

3 States for years or decades without relief. 

4 (8) Despite the presence of stateless persons in 

5 the United States, there is no law relating to the 

6 identification of stateless persons in the United 

7 States or to provide stateless persons with a path to 

8 legal status. 

9 (9) Stateless persons often— 

10 (A) live without the means to work legally 

11 or to travel; and 

12 (B) face barriers in opening bank ac13 counts, pursuing higher education, accessing 

14 justice, and obtaining health care. 

15 (10) If detained for removal from the United 

16 States, a stateless person is often subjected to pro17 longed detention and, in some instances, cannot be 

18 removed because no country recognizes the person as 

19 its national. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that to resolve statelessness and its related human 

22 suffering, lost potential, and societal impacts, the United 

23 States should— 

24 (1) provide a legal status to protect stateless 

25 persons; and 


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1 (2) urge the international community to take 

2 strong action to prevent statelessness globally. 

3 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 

4 UNITED STATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi6 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 

7 amended by inserting after section 245A the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 245B. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 

9 UNITED STATES. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) COMPETENT AUTHORITY.—With respect to 

12 a foreign state, the term ‘competent authority’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means the authority responsible for— 

14 ‘‘(i) conferring nationality on, or with15 drawing nationality from, individuals; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of nationality having 

17 been acquired or withdrawn automatically, 

18 clarifying the nationality status of an indi19 vidual; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes a Federal, local, or regional 

21 government entity, a consular official, and a 

22 government official at any level, notwith23 standing any process by which a decision by 

24 such an entity or official may later be over25 ridden. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NONCITIZEN.—The term ‘noncitizen’ has 

2 the meaning given the term ‘alien’ in section 101(a). 

3 ‘‘(3) OPERATION OF LAW; OPERATION OF ITS

4 LAW.—The terms ‘operation of law’ and ‘operation 

5 of its law’— 

6 ‘‘(A) refer to the consideration by a com7 petent authority of a state with respect to 

8 whether an individual is a national of that 

9 state, including under the legislation, ministe10 rial decrees, regulations, orders, judicial case 

11 law, and customary practices of the competent 

12 authority; and 

13 ‘‘(B) include situations in which the posi14 tion of the competent authority of a state dif15 fers from the law of the state as written, if the 

16 position of the competent authority of the state 

17 that an individual is not a national of the state 

18 is determinative. 

19 ‘‘(4) RELEVANT ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘rel20 evant association’ means an individual’s connection 

21 to a state through— 

22 ‘‘(A) birth on the territory of the state; 

23 ‘‘(B) direct descent from 1 or more indi24 viduals who are nationals of the state; 


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1 ‘‘(C) marriage to an individual who is a 

2 national of the state; 

3 ‘‘(D) adoption by an individual who is a 

4 national of the state; or 

5 ‘‘(E) habitual residence in the state. 

6 ‘‘(5) STATELESS PERSON.—The term ‘stateless 

7 person’ means an individual who is not considered as 

8 a national by any state under the operation of its 

9 law. 

10 ‘‘(6) FRIVOLOUS APPLICATION.—The term 

11 ‘frivolous application’ means an application that— 

12 ‘‘(A) contains a fabricated material ele13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(B) is premised upon false or fabricated 

15 evidence, unless the application would have been 

16 granted without the false or fabricated evidence; 

17 ‘‘(C) is filed without regard to the merits 

18 of the claim; or 

19 ‘‘(D) is clearly foreclosed by applicable law. 

20 ‘‘(b) MECHANISMS FOR REGULARIZING THE STATUS

21 OF STATELESS PERSONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) STATELESS PROTECTED STATUS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL APPLICANTS.—Notwith24 standing any other provision of law, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3987.IS S3987

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1 retary of Homeland Security shall provide 

2 stateless protected status to a noncitizen who— 

3 ‘‘(i) is a stateless person present in 

4 the United States; 

5 ‘‘(ii) applies for such relief; 

6 ‘‘(iii) has not performed a potentially 

7 expatriating act under section 349 after 

8 the date of the enactment of this section, 

9 unless the noncitizen had acquired or had 

10 a reasonable expectation that the noncit11 izen would acquire a foreign nationality or 

12 citizenship; 

13 ‘‘(iv) except as provided in paragraph 

14 (2) of this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(I) is not inadmissible under 

16 section subparagraph (C), (E), (G), or 

17 (H) of section 212(a)(2) or section 

18 212(a)(3) (other than subparagraph 

19 (D)); and 

20 ‘‘(II) is not removable under sec21 tion 237(a)(4); 

22 ‘‘(v) is not described in section 

23 241(b)(3)(B)(i); 


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1 ‘‘(vi) is not otherwise ineligible for 

2 stateless protected status under this sec3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(vii) is not a stateless person because 

5 the noncitizen has voluntarily relinquished 

6 United States nationality under section 

7 349. 

8 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE AND CHIL9 DREN.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

11 provide stateless protected status to a noncit12 izen who— 

13 ‘‘(i) is present in the United States; 

14 ‘‘(ii) is the spouse or child of a noncit15 izen described in subparagraph (A), if such 

16 spouse or child is not otherwise eligible for 

17 admission under that subparagraph; 

18 ‘‘(iii) applies for stateless protected 

19 status under this section; 

20 ‘‘(iv) is accompanying, or following to 

21 join, such noncitizen; 

22 ‘‘(v) established the qualifying rela23 tionship to such noncitizen before the date 

24 on which such noncitizen applied for state25 less protected status; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) except as provided in paragraph 

2 (2) of this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(I) is not inadmissible under 

4 section subparagraph (C), (E), (G), or 

5 (H) of section 212(a)(2) or section 

6 212(a)(3) (other than subparagraph 

7 (D)); and 

8 ‘‘(II) is not removable under sec9 tion 237(a)(4); and 

10 ‘‘(vii) is not described in section 

11 241(b)(3)(B)(i). 

12 ‘‘(C) STATELESS PROTECTED STATUS.— 

13 Noncitizens with stateless protected status 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) receive relevant protections 

16 against deportation, removal, and deten17 tion, as described in paragraph (3); 

18 ‘‘(ii) be authorized for employment in19 cident to status; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) be issued a travel document, as 

21 described in paragraph (5). 

22 ‘‘(D) CONCURRENT GRANT OF LAWFUL

23 PERMANENT RESIDENCE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

25 any other provision of law, immediately on 


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1 granting stateless protected status to a 

2 noncitizen, the Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity may adjust the status of the noncit4 izen to that of a noncitizen lawfully admit5 ted for permanent residence, provided that 

6 the noncitizen is admissible (except as oth7 erwise provided in clause (ii)) as an immi8 grant under this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(ii) ADMISSIBILITY.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The grounds 

11 of inadmissibility under paragraphs 

12 (4), (5), (7)(A), and (9)(B) of section 

13 212(a) shall not be applicable to any 

14 noncitizen seeking adjustment of sta15 tus under this section. 

16 ‘‘(II) WAIVER AVAILABLE.—A 

17 noncitizen seeking adjustment of sta18 tus under this section may request a 

19 waiver of inadmissibility under para20 graph (2). 

21 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security may not adjust the sta23 tus of a noncitizen with stateless protected 

24 status who is described in section 

25 241(b)(3)(B)(i). 


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1 ‘‘(iv) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE AND

2 CHILDREN.—The Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security may adjust the status of a spouse 

4 or child granted stateless protected status 

5 under subparagraph (B) to that of a non6 citizen lawfully admitted for permanent 

7 residence even if the principal applicant 

8 concerned is ineligible for adjustment of 

9 status. 

10 ‘‘(2) WAIVERS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law, with respect to a noncit13 izen applying for stateless protected status or 

14 adjustment of status under this section, the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security may waive any 

16 applicable provision of section 212(a) (other 

17 than subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (E) or (F) of 

18 paragraph (3) of that section) and section 

19 237(a)(4)(F)— 

20 ‘‘(i) for humanitarian purposes; 

21 ‘‘(ii) to ensure family unity; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) if such a waiver is otherwise in 

23 the public interest. 

24 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—In making a determina25 tion under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security shall consider all relevant 

2 factors, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) mitigating and aggravating fac4 tors of the basis for inadmissibility; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the duration of the noncitizen’s 

6 residence in the United States; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the degree to which the nonciti8 zen’s removal, or the denial of the nonciti9 zen’s application, would result in hardship 

10 to the noncitizen or the noncitizen’s par11 ent, spouse, child, or adult son or daugh12 ter. 

13 ‘‘(3) RELEASE FROM POST-ORDER DETEN14 TION.—A grant of stateless protected status to a 

15 principal applicant under subsection (b)(1)(A) 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) in the case of such an applicant who 

18 is detained pursuant to an order of removal, 

19 trigger immediate release from the custody of 

20 the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

21 ‘‘(B) be considered to establish that there 

22 is no significant likelihood of the individual’s re23 moval in the reasonably foreseeable future; and 

24 ‘‘(C) establish a presumption that travel 

25 documents are not available for the individual. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION WHILE AP2 PLICATION PENDING.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the 150-day 

4 period after the date on which an application 

5 for status under this section is submitted, the 

6 Secretary of Homeland Security may authorize 

7 the applicant to engage in employment in the 

8 United States. 

9 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY EMPLOYMENT AUTHOR10 IZATION.—If the Secretary of Homeland Secu11 rity has not issued a decision within the 150- 

12 day period beginning on the date on which an 

13 application for status under this section is sub14 mitted, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

15 shall authorize the applicant to engage in em16 ployment in the United States until the date on 

17 which a decision is issued on the application for 

18 stateless protected status. 

19 ‘‘(5) TRAVEL DOCUMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security shall provide to any noncit22 izen granted relief under this section, a travel 

23 document that facilitates the noncitizen’s ability 

24 to travel abroad and to be admitted to the 

25 United States upon return. 


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1 ‘‘(B) VALIDITY.—The minimum period of 

2 validity for a document issued under subpara3 graph (A) shall be— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of such a noncitizen 

5 who is 16 years of age or older, 10 years; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of such a noncitizen 

8 who is under 16 years of age, 5 years. 

9 ‘‘(6) FRIVOLOUS APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the time of filing 

11 an application for stateless protected status or 

12 adjustment of status under this section, the 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security shall advise the 

14 noncitizen of the privilege of being represented 

15 by counsel and of the consequences, under sub16 paragraph (D), of knowingly filing a frivolous 

17 application under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF WITHDRAWAL OF APPLI19 CATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen may 

21 request that the noncitizen’s application 

22 for status under this section be withdrawn, 

23 prior to the adjudication of the application. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF CONSENT TO WITH25 DRAWAL.—If the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security consents to the withdrawal of the 

2 noncitizen’s application, the application 

3 shall be considered denied without preju4 dice to any future application. 

5 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF DECLINE TO CON6 SENT TO WITHDRAWAL.—If the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security declines to consent 

8 to the withdrawal of the noncitizen’s appli9 cation, the application shall be adjudicated 

10 on its merits. 

11 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION ON NEGATIVE IN12 FERENCE.—In determining whether an ap13 plication under this section is frivolous, the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security may not 

15 draw a negative inference from a nonciti16 zen’s request to withdraw the application. 

17 ‘‘(C) DENIAL.—The denial of an applica18 tion for stateless protected status or adjustment 

19 of status under this section shall not be con20 strued to establish that the application was friv21 olous. 

22 ‘‘(D) CONSEQUENCE OF FILING A FRIVO23 LOUS APPLICATION.—If the Secretary of Home24 land Security determines that a noncitizen has 

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1 tus under this section and the noncitizen has 

2 received notice under subparagraph (A), the 

3 noncitizen shall be permanently ineligible for 

4 stateless protected status or adjustment of sta5 tus under this section, effective as of the date 

6 on which a final determination on such applica7 tion is made. 

8 ‘‘(c) EVIDENTIARY MATTERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining if an indi10 vidual is a stateless person under this section, the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security may consider and 

12 obtain any credible evidence relevant to the applica13 tion, including information from— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Department of State, including 

15 the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Mi16 gration and the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

17 Rights, and Labor; and 

18 ‘‘(B) relevant international and foreign 

19 bodies, the United Nations High Commissioner 

20 for Refugees, the Law Library of Congress, 

21 nongovernmental organizations, and the com22 petent authorities of other countries. 

23 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF SPECIFIC GROUPS OF

24 STATELESS PERSONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

3 Secretary of State, may designate 1 or more 

4 groups the members of which shall be presumed 

5 to be stateless persons for purposes of this sec6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(B) PRESUMPTION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen shall 

9 be presumed to be a stateless person if the 

10 noncitizen— 

11 ‘‘(I) belongs to a group des12 ignated under subparagraph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(II) applies for stateless pro14 tected status under this section. 

15 ‘‘(ii) REBUTTAL.—The presumption 

16 under clause (i) may be rebutted if the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security finds, by 

18 clear and convincing evidence, that the in19 dividual concerned is considered as a na20 tional of any state under the operation of 

21 its law. 

22 ‘‘(C) REVOCATION.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security may revoke the designation 

24 of a group under subparagraph (A) as of any 

25 date on which the Secretary determines that 


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1 members of the group are no longer stateless 

2 persons. 

3 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF PROOF.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant shall 

5 have the burden of establishing, by the prepon6 derance of the evidence, that the applicant is el7 igible for a grant of stateless protected status, 

8 adjustment of status, or a waiver of inadmis9 sibility under this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT OF NATIONALITY.—The 

11 nationality of an individual shall be assessed as 

12 of the date of adjudication of an application 

13 under this section, without regard to future 

14 possible acquisitions of nationality. 

15 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTARY EVI16 DENCE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FROM AP18 PLICANT.—An applicant for relief under this 

19 section shall submit, as part of the application 

20 for such relief— 

21 ‘‘(i) a full and truthful account, to the 

22 best of the noncitizen’s knowledge, of such 

23 noncitizen’s legal status with regard to any 

24 state in which the applicant was born or 

25 resided before entering the United States 


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1 or with which the applicant has a relevant 

2 association; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) all evidence reasonably available, 

4 including any valid or expired travel docu5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(B) EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO SEC7 RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security determines that an ap10 plicant is not a stateless person, the Sec11 retary shall submit to the applicant and, if 

12 relevant, to the applicant’s counsel, any in13 formation or evidence available to the Sec14 retary (other than information or evidence 

15 initially provided by the applicant) regard16 ing the legal status of the applicant in the 

17 applicant’s country of birth or prior resi18 dence or any country with which the appli19 cant has a relevant association, including 

20 information on the relevant laws and prac21 tices of the countries concerned. 

22 ‘‘(ii) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN

23 INFORMATION.—Clause (i) shall not apply 

24 to information that is classified or other25 wise protected from disclosure by law. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF RESPONSE.—The 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security may consider 

3 as substantial evidence that an individual is not 

4 considered by a state to be national of the state 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) In a case in which the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security requests, from a 

8 state with which a noncitizen has a rel9 evant association, information with respect 

10 to the noncitizen’s nationality status, a 

11 lack of response from the competent au12 thority of such state during the 120-day 

13 period beginning on the date of such re14 quest. 

15 ‘‘(ii) A pro forma response from the 

16 state that lacks an application of the law 

17 or facts to the particular individual. 

18 ‘‘(iii) For non-recalcitrant states, the 

19 refusal of the state to accept the noncitizen 

20 for deportation or removal. 

21 ‘‘(d) FEES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

22 may not charge a noncitizen any fee in connection with 

23 an application for, or issuance of, stateless protected sta24 tus under this section, employment authorization, or travel 

25 documents. 


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1 ‘‘(e) JURISDICTION AND REVIEW.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. Citi3 zenship and Immigration Services shall have juris4 diction over an application for stateless protected 

5 status and adjustment of status filed by a noncitizen 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—An initial denial of an applica8 tion for relief under this section shall be subject to 

9 review by the Administrative Appeals Office of U.S. 

10 Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

11 ‘‘(f) EFFECT ON REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—With re12 spect to a noncitizen in removal proceedings who files a 

13 nonfrivolous application for relief under this section, the 

14 Attorney General shall administratively close the removal 

15 proceedings pending the adjudication of the application. 

16 ‘‘(g) APPLICANTS WITH FINAL ORDERS OF RE17 MOVAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for 

20 stateless protected status or adjustment of sta21 tus under this section who has been issued a 

22 final order of removal, deportation, or exclusion 

23 may request a stay of removal, deportation, or 

24 exclusion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST.—With 

2 respect to an individual who requests a stay 

3 under subparagraph (A), if the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security determines that the applica5 tion for relief is nonfrivolous, the Secretary 

6 shall automatically stay the execution of the 

7 final order of deportation, exclusion, or removal, 

8 and the stay will remain in effect until a final 

9 decision is made on the applications. 

10 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—If such an ap11 plication is denied, the stay of such a final 

12 order shall be deemed lifted as of the date on 

13 which such denial becomes final upon— 

14 ‘‘(i) dismissal of an appeal; 

15 ‘‘(ii) waiver of appeal by the noncit16 izen; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) expiration of the time allotted 

18 for an appeal if the noncitizen does not file 

19 an appeal within that time. 

20 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—On the approval of an ap21 plication for stateless protected status or adjustment 

22 of status under this section to a noncitizen in re23 moval proceedings or with an order of removal, de24 portation, or exclusion, the proceedings or order of 

25 removal, deportation, or exclusion shall be deemed 


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1 canceled by operation of law as of the date of the 

2 approval. 

3 ‘‘(h) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

4 Individuals provided status under this section shall not be 

5 counted against any numerical limitation under sections 

6 201, 202, or 203. 

7 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Except as provided 

8 in subparagraph (b)(1)(B), nothing in this section may be 

9 construed to authorize or require the admission or parole 

10 of any noncitizen into the United States. 

11 ‘‘(j) REPORTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this section, and 

14 every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security shall provide to the Committee on the Judi16 ciary and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the 

18 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep19 resentatives a briefing on— 

20 ‘‘(A) the number and outcome of applica21 tions submitted under each of paragraphs (1), 

22 (4), and (5) of subsection (b) since such date 

23 of enactment, disaggregated by— 

24 ‘‘(i) the country of birth of the appli25 cants; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the fiscal year in which the appli2 cations were received; and 

3 ‘‘(B) with respect to applications adju4 dicated during the 180-day period immediately 

5 preceding the date of the briefing, the median 

6 processing time, by application type. 

7 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security shall publish on the internet 

9 website of the Department of Homeland Security the 

10 information described in each report submitted 

11 under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(k) PUBLICATION OF GUIDANCE.—Not later than 

13 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue on the internet 

15 website of the Department of Homeland Security public 

16 guidance and application instructions relating to the re17 quirements of this section. 

18 ‘‘(l) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding chapter 5 of 

19 title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘Ad20 ministrative Procedures Act’), the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security may issue such regulations as the Secretary con22 siders appropriate to carry out this section. 

23 ‘‘(m) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION

24 ACT.—During the 1-year period beginning on the date 

25 that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 section, the requirements under chapter 35 of title 44, 

2 United States Code, shall not apply to any collection of 

3 information required under this section or any rule pro4 mulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to imple5 ment this section.’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con8 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

10 the item relating to section 245A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 245B. Protection of stateless persons in the United States.’’. 

11 (2) NATURALIZATION.—Section 316 of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1427) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) The requirements of subsection (a) shall apply 

15 to an individual who adjusts status to that of a lawful 

16 permanent resident under section 245B of this Act, except 

17 that such an individual shall be eligible for naturalization 

18 if— 

19 ‘‘(1) during the 3-year period immediately pre20 ceding the date on which the individual files his or 

21 her application for naturalization, the individual has 

22 resided continuously within the United States after 

23 having been lawfully admitted for permanent resi24 dence; 


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1 ‘‘(2) during such 3-year period, the individual 

2 has been physically present in the United States for 

3 1 or more periods totaling not less than 18 months; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(3) the individual who has resided within the 

6 State or within the district of U.S. Citizenship and 

7 Immigration Services in which the individual filed 

8 the application for not less than 90 days.’’. 

9 (3) QUALIFIED NONCITIZEN.—Section 431(b) 

10 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor11 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

12 1641(b)) is amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘, or’’ 

14 and inserting a comma; 

15 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(9) a noncitizen in stateless protected status 

19 under section 245B of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. PROGRAMS TO PREVENT STATELESSNESS. 

22 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State 

24 shall jointly engage in and support activities and efforts 


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1 aimed at preventing and reducing statelessness, which 

2 may include— 

3 (1) conducting an assessment of United States 

4 citizenship law to determine and propose amend5 ments to any provision of law that results in state6 lessness or a delayed acquisition of nationality that 

7 increases the risk of statelessness; 

8 (2) conducting studies on the profiles and num9 ber of stateless people living in the United States; 

10 (3) implementing programs— 

11 (A) to promote inclusive and nondiscrim12 inatory nationality laws and practices in other 

13 countries, with particular attention to the pre14 vention of human rights violations and atrocity 

15 crimes; and 

16 (B) to encourage other countries to estab17 lish stateless status determination and protec18 tion legislation; and 

19 (4) awarding grants to universities, inter20 national organizations, and nongovernmental organi21 zations to accelerate research, education, curricula, 

22 and knowledge on nationality law and practice and 

23 statelessness. 


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1 SEC. 5. UPDATING CITIZENSHIP RELINQUISHMENT PROVI2 SIONS. 

3 (a) LOSS OF NATIONALITY BY NATIVE-BORN OR

4 NATURALIZED CITIZENS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 349(a) of the Immi6 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481(a)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (6); and 

9 (B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

10 paragraph (6). 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 351(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1483(a)), is amended by striking ‘‘para14 graphs (6) and (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (6)’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—The amend16 ments made by this section— 

17 (1) shall be effective on the date of the enact18 ment of this Act; and 

19 (2) shall apply to any pending renunciation re20 quest under section 349(a) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481(a)) with respect to 

22 which a final decision has not been made. 

Æ 


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