I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 163 

To render certain military spouses eligible for adjustment of status, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. SOTO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To render certain military spouses eligible for adjustment 

of status, 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 ‘‘Protect Patriot 

5 Spouses Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN MILITARY 

7 SPOUSES. 

8 Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(n)(1) In applying this section to an alien described 

2 in paragraph (2)— 

3 ‘‘(A) such alien shall be deemed, for purposes 

4 of subsection (a), to have been inspected and admit5 ted into the United States; and 

6 ‘‘(B) in determining the alien’s admissibility as 

7 an immigrant— 

8 ‘‘(i) paragraphs (6)(A), (7)(A), and (9)(B) 

9 of section 212(a) shall not apply; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

11 in the discretion of the Secretary, may waive 

12 the application of paragraphs (6)(C), (9)(A), 

13 and (9)(C) of section 212(a) if the alien estab14 lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 

15 the alien does not pose a threat to the public 

16 and has not committed any criminal offenses in 

17 violation of Federal or State law unrelated to 

18 the alien’s status. 

19 ‘‘(2) An alien is described in this paragraph if the 

20 alien— 

21 ‘‘(A) is or was the spouse of a United States 

22 citizen who— 

23 ‘‘(i) is or was serving on active duty in the 

24 United States Armed Forces or in a reserve 


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1 component of the United States Armed Forces; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) if discharged or released from service 

4 in the Armed Forces, was discharged or re5 leased under honorable conditions; and 

6 ‘‘(B) is the beneficiary of a petition for classi7 fication under section 204(a)(1)(A) as an immediate 

8 relative (as defined in section 201(b)) by reason of 

9 the marriage to such citizen.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMIS11 SIBILITY FOR CERTAIN MILITARY SPOUSES. 

12 Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended by inserting after subsection 

14 (b) the following: 

15 ‘‘(c)(1) In determining the admissibility as an immi16 grant of an alien described in paragraph (2)— 

17 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(9)(B) shall not apply; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

19 the discretion of the Secretary, may waive the appli20 cation of paragraphs (6)(C), (9)(A), and (9)(C) of 

21 subsection (a) if the alien establishes to the satisfac22 tion of the Secretary that the alien does not pose a 

23 threat to the public and has not committed any 

24 criminal offenses in violation of Federal or State law 

25 unrelated to the alien’s status. 


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1 ‘‘(2) An alien is described in this paragraph if the 

2 alien— 

3 ‘‘(A) is or was the spouse of a United States 

4 citizen who— 

5 ‘‘(i) is or was serving on active duty in the 

6 United States Armed Forces or in a reserve 

7 component of the United States Armed Forces; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) if discharged or released from service 

10 in the Armed Forces, was discharged or re11 leased under honorable conditions; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is the beneficiary of a petition for classi13 fication under section 204(a)(1)(A) as an immediate 

14 relative (as defined in section 201(b)) by reason of 

15 the marriage to such citizen.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF REMOVED OR VOLUNTARILY DE17 PARTED ALIENS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity and the Secretary of State shall take such steps as 

20 may be necessary to ensure that eligible aliens who were 

21 removed or permitted to depart voluntarily from the 

22 United States before the date of the enactment of this Act 

23 may apply from abroad for an immigrant visa pursuant 

24 to the amendment made by section 3. 


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1 (b) NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSION PENDING ADJUDICA2 TION.—The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec3 retary of State shall establish a program under which an 

4 eligible alien with a pending application made under sub5 section (a) may be authorized to enter the United States 

6 as a nonimmigrant to reunite with their United States cit7 izen spouse during the period in which such application, 

8 and an associated application for adjustment of status, re9 main pending. In determining whether an alien is eligible 

10 to be admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant 

11 under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

12 and the Secretary of State shall require the alien to estab13 lish to the satisfaction of each Secretary that the alien 

14 does not pose a threat to the public or to national security. 

15 In determining the admissibility as a nonimmigrant of an 

16 alien described in this subsection, the Secretary of Home17 land Security, in the discretion of the Secretary, may 

18 waive the application of paragraphs (6)(C) and (9) of sec19 tion 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1182(a)). 

Æ 


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