II

Calendar No. 717

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2912

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to remove certain limitations

on the eligibility of aliens residing in the United States to obtain lawful

permanent resident status.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 25, 2000

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr.

LEAHY, Mr. WELLSTONE, and Mr. DASCHLE) introduced the following

bill; which was read the first time

JULY 26, 2000

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to remove

certain limitations on the eligibility of aliens residing

in the United States to obtain lawful permanent resident

status.

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 ‘‘Latino and Immigrant

5 Fairness Act of 2000’’.
2

•S 2912 PCS

1 TITLE I—CENTRAL AMERICAN

2 AND HAITIAN PARITY

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Central American and

5 Haitian Parity Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 102. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NATION7 ALS FROM EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HON8 DURAS, AND HAITI.

9 Section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Cen10 tral American Relief Act is amended—

11 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘NICA12 RAGUANS AND CUBANS’’ and inserting ‘‘NICA13 RAGUANS, CUBANS, SALVADORANS, GUATEMALANS,

14 HONDURANS, AND HAITIANS’’;

15 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘2000’’

16 and inserting ‘‘2003’’;

17 (3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘Nicaragua

18 or Cuba’’ and inserting ‘‘Nicaragua, Cuba, El Sal19 vador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Haiti’’; and

20 (4) in subsection (d)—

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking

22 ‘‘Nicaragua or Cuba’’ and inserting ‘‘Nica23 ragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatamala, Hon24 duras, or Haiti; and
3

•S 2912 PCS

1 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking

2 ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2003’’.

3 SEC. 103. APPLICATIONS PENDING UNDER AMENDMENTS

4 MADE BY SECTION 203 OF THE NICARAGUAN

5 ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RE6 LIEF ACT.

7 An application for relief properly filed by a national

8 of Guatemala or El Salvador under the amendments made

9 by section 203 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central

10 American Relief Act which was filed on or before the date

11 of enactment of this Act, and on which a final administra12 tive determination has not been made, shall, at the election

13 of the applicant, be considered to be an application for

14 adjustment of status under the provisions of section 202

15 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Re16 lief Act, as amended by section ll12 of this Act, upon

17 the payment of any fees, and in accordance with proce18 dures, that the Attorney General shall prescribe by regula19 tion. The Attorney General may not refund any fees paid

20 in connection with an application filed by a national of

21 Guatemala or El Salvador under the amendments made

22 by section 203 of that Act.
4

•S 2912 PCS

1 SEC. 104. APPLICATIONS PENDING UNDER THE HAITIAN

2 REFUGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF

3 1998.

4 An application for adjustment of status properly filed

5 by a national of Haiti under the Haitian Refugee Immi6 gration Fairness Act of 1998 which was filed on or before

7 the date of enactment of this Act, and on which a final

8 administrative determination has not been made, may be

9 considered by the Attorney General, in the unreviewable

10 discretion of the Attorney General, to also constitute an

11 application for adjustment of status under the provisions

12 of section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central

13 American Relief Act, as amended by section ll12 of

14 this Act.

15 SEC. 105. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE NICARAGUAN

16 ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RE17 LIEF ACT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Nicaraguan

19 Adjustment and Central American Relief Act is

20 amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)—

22 (A) by inserting before the period at the

23 end of paragraph (1)(B) the following: ‘‘, and

24 the Attorney General may, in the unreviewable

25 discretion of the Attorney General, waive the

26 grounds of inadmissibility specified in section
5

•S 2912 PCS

1 212(a)(1) (A)(i) and (6)(C) of such Act for hu2 manitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or

3 when it is otherwise in the public interest’’;

4 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

5 paragraph (3);

6 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI9 SIONS.—In determining the eligibility of an alien de10 scribed in subsection (b) or (d) for either adjustment

11 of status under this section or other relief necessary

12 to establish eligibility for such adjustment, the provi13 sions of section 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and

14 Nationality Act shall not apply. In addition, an alien

15 who would otherwise be inadmissible pursuant to

16 section 212(a)(9) (A) or (C) of such Act may apply

17 for the Attorney General’s consent to reapply for ad18 mission without regard to the requirement that the

19 consent be granted prior to the date of the alien’s

20 reembarkation at a place outside the United States

21 or attempt to be admitted from foreign contiguous

22 territory, in order to qualify for the exception to

23 those grounds of inadmissibility set forth in section

24 212(a)(9) (A)(iii) and (C)(ii) of such Act.’’; and
6

•S 2912 PCS

1 (D) by amending paragraph (3) (as redes2 ignated by subparagraph (B)) to read as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER5 TAIN ORDERS.—An alien present in the United

6 States who has been ordered excluded, deported, or

7 removed, or ordered to depart voluntarily from the

8 United States under any provision of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such

10 order, apply for adjustment of status under para11 graph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a

12 condition of submitting or granting such application,

13 to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or

14 vacate such order. Such an alien may be required to

15 seek a stay of such an order in accordance with sub16 section (c) to prevent the execution of that order

17 pending the adjudication of the application for ad18 justment of status. If the Attorney General denies a

19 stay of a final order of exclusion, deportation, or re20 moval, or if the Attorney General renders a final ad21 ministrative determination to deny the application

22 for adjustment of status, the order shall be effective

23 and enforceable to the same extent as if the applica24 tion had not been made. If the Attorney General
7

•S 2912 PCS

1 grants the application for adjustment of status, the

2 Attorney General shall cancel the order.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end

4 the following: ‘‘Subsection (a) shall not apply to an

5 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, un6 less the alien is applying for relief under that sub7 section in deportation or removal proceedings.’’;

8 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end

9 the following: ‘‘Nothing in this Act requires the At10 torney General to stay the removal of an alien who

11 is ineligible for adjustment of status under this

12 Act.’’;

13 (4) in subsection (d)—

14 (A) by amending the subsection heading to

15 read as follows: ‘‘SPOUSES, CHILDREN, AND

16 UNMARRIED SONS AND DAUGHTERS.—’’;

17 (B) by amending the heading of paragraph

18 (1) to read as follows: ‘‘ADJUSTMENT OF STA19 TUS.—’’;

20 (C) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘(A) the alien entered the United States

23 on or before the date of enactment of the Cen24 tral American and Haitian Parity Act of

25 2000;’’;
8

•S 2912 PCS

1 (D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘ex2 cept that in the case of’’ and inserting the fol3 lowing: ‘‘except that—

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of such a spouse, step5 child, or unmarried stepson or step6 daughter, the qualifying marriage was en7 tered into before the date of enactment of

8 the Central American and Haitian Parity

9 Act of 2000; and

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of’’; and

11 (E) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN SPOUSES AND

14 CHILDREN FOR ISSUANCE OF IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with

16 regulations to be promulgated by the Attorney

17 General and the Secretary of State, upon ap18 proval of an application for adjustment of sta19 tus to that of an alien lawfully admitted for

20 permanent residence under subsection (a), an

21 alien who is the spouse or child of the alien

22 being granted such status may be issued a visa

23 for admission to the United States as an immi24 grant following to join the principal applicant,

25 if the spouse or child—
9

•S 2912 PCS

1 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements in para2 graphs (1)(B) and (1)(D); and

3 ‘‘(ii) applies for such a visa within a

4 time period to be established by such regu5 lations.

6 ‘‘(B) RETENTION OF FEES FOR PROC7 ESSING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary of State

8 may retain fees to recover the cost of immi9 grant visa application processing and issuance

10 for certain spouses and children of aliens whose

11 applications for adjustment of status under sub12 section (a) have been approved. Such fees—

13 ‘‘(i) shall be deposited as an offsetting

14 collection to any Department of State ap15 propriation to recover the cost of such

16 processing and issuance; and

17 ‘‘(ii) shall be available until expended

18 for the same purposes of such appropria19 tion to support consular activities.’’;

20 (5) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘, or an im21 migrant classification,’’ after ‘‘for permanent resi22 dence’’; and

23 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section:
10

•S 2912 PCS

1 ‘‘(i) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

2 section authorizes any alien to apply for admission to, be

3 admitted to, be paroled into, or otherwise lawfully return

4 to the United States, to apply for, or to pursue an applica5 tion for adjustment of status under this section without

6 the express authorization of the Attorney General.’’.

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

8 paragraphs (1)(D), (2), and (6) shall be effective as if in9 cluded in the enactment of the Nicaraguan and Central

10 American Relief Act. The amendments made by para11 graphs (1) (A)–(C), (3), (4), and (5) shall take effect on

12 the date of enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 106. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE HAITIAN REF14 UGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 1998.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 902 of the Haitian Ref16 ugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 is amended—

17 (1) in subsection (a)—

18 (A) by inserting before the period at the

19 end of paragraph (1)(B) the following: ‘‘, and

20 the Attorney General may waive the grounds of

21 inadmissibility specified in section 212(a)

22 (1)(A)(i) and (6)(C) of such Act for humani23 tarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when

24 it is otherwise in the public interest’’;
11

•S 2912 PCS

1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

2 paragraph (3);

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI6 SIONS.—In determining the eligibility of an alien de7 scribed in subsection (b) or (d) for either adjustment

8 of status under this section or other relief necessary

9 to establish eligibility for such adjustment, or for

10 permission to reapply for admission to the United

11 States for the purpose of adjustment of status under

12 this section, the provisions of section 241(a)(5) of

13 the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply.

14 In addition, an alien who would otherwise be inad15 missible pursuant to section 212(a)(9) (A) or (C) of

16 such Act may apply for the Attorney General’s con17 sent to reapply for admission without regard to the

18 requirement that the consent be granted prior to the

19 date of the alien’s reembarkation at a place outside

20 the United States or attempt to be admitted from

21 foreign contiguous territory, in order to qualify for

22 the exception to those grounds of inadmissibility set

23 forth in section 212(a)(9) (A)(iii) and (C)(ii) of such

24 Act.’’; and
12

•S 2912 PCS

1 (D) by amending paragraph (3) (as redes2 ignated by subparagraph (B)) to read as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER5 TAIN ORDERS.—An alien present in the United

6 States who has been ordered excluded, deported, re7 moved, or ordered to depart voluntarily from the

8 United States under any provision of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such

10 order, apply for adjustment of status under para11 graph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a

12 condition of submitting or granting such application,

13 to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or

14 vacate such order. Such an alien may be required to

15 seek a stay of such an order in accordance with sub16 section (c) to prevent the execution of that order

17 pending the adjudication of the application for ad18 justment of status. If the Attorney General denies a

19 stay of a final order of exclusion, deportation, or re20 moval, or if the Attorney General renders a final ad21 ministrative determination to deny the application

22 for adjustment of status, the order shall be effective

23 and enforceable to the same extent as if the applica24 tion had not been made. If the Attorney General
13

•S 2912 PCS

1 grants the application for adjustment of status, the

2 Attorney General shall cancel the order.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end

4 the following: ‘‘Subsection (a) shall not apply to an

5 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, un6 less the alien is applying for such relief under that

7 subsection in deportation or removal proceedings.’’;

8 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end

9 the following: ‘‘Nothing in this Act shall require the

10 Attorney General to stay the removal of an alien

11 who is ineligible for adjustment of status under this

12 Act.’’;

13 (4) in subsection (d)—

14 (A) by amending the subsection heading to

15 read as follows: ‘‘SPOUSES, CHILDREN, AND

16 UNMARRIED SONS AND DAUGHTERS.—’’;

17 (B) by amending the heading of paragraph

18 (1) to read as follows: ‘‘ADJUSTMENT OF STA19 TUS.—’’;

20 (C) by amending paragraph (1)(A), to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘(A) the alien entered the United States

23 on or before the date of enactment of the Cen24 tral American and Haitian Parity Act of

25 2000;’’;
14

•S 2912 PCS

1 (D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘ex2 cept that in the case of’’ and inserting the fol3 lowing: ‘‘except that—

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of such a spouse, step5 child, or unmarried stepson or step6 daughter, the qualifying marriage was en7 tered into before the date of enactment of

8 the Central American and Haitian Parity

9 Act of 2000; and

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of’’;

11 (E) by adding at the end of paragraph (1)

12 the following new subparagraph:

13 ‘‘(E) the alien applies for such adjustment

14 before April 3, 2003.’’; and

15 (F) by adding at the end the following new

16 paragraph:

17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN SPOUSES AND

18 CHILDREN FOR ISSUANCE OF IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with

20 regulations to be promulgated by the Attorney

21 General and the Secretary of State, upon ap22 proval of an application for adjustment of sta23 tus to that of an alien lawfully admitted for

24 permanent residence under subsection (a), an

25 alien who is the spouse or child of the alien
15

•S 2912 PCS

1 being granted such status may be issued a visa

2 for admission to the United States as an immi3 grant following to join the principal applicant,

4 if the spouse or child—

5 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements in para6 graphs (1)(B) and (1)(D); and

7 ‘‘(ii) applies for such a visa within a

8 time period to be established by such regu9 lations.

10 ‘‘(B) RETENTION OF FEES FOR PROC11 ESSING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary of State

12 may retain fees to recover the cost of immi13 grant visa application processing and issuance

14 for certain spouses and children of aliens whose

15 applications for adjustment of status under sub16 section (a) have been approved. Such fees—

17 ‘‘(i) shall be deposited as an offsetting

18 collection to any Department of State ap19 propriation to recover the cost of such

20 processing and issuance; and

21 ‘‘(ii) shall be available until expended

22 for the same purposes of such appropria23 tion to support consular activities.’’;
16

•S 2912 PCS

1 (5) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘, or an im2 migrant classification,’’ after ‘‘for permanent resi3 dence’’;

4 (6) by redesignating subsections (i), (j), and (k)

5 as subsections (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and

6 (7) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol7 lowing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(i) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

9 section authorizes any alien to apply for admission to, be

10 admitted to, be paroled into, or otherwise lawfully return

11 to the United States, to apply for, or to pursue an applica12 tion for adjustment of status under this section without

13 the express authorization of the Attorney General.’’.

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 paragraphs (1)(D), (2), and (6) shall be effective as if in16 cluded in the enactment of the Haitian Refugee Immigra17 tion Fairness Act of 1998. The amendments made by

18 paragraphs (1) (A)–(C), (3), (4), and (5) shall take effect

19 on the date of enactment of this Act.

20 SEC. 107. MOTIONS TO REOPEN.

21 (a) NATIONALS OF HAITI.—Notwithstanding any

22 time and number limitations imposed by law on motions

23 to reopen, a national of Haiti who, on the date of enact24 ment of this Act, has a final administrative denial of an

25 application for adjustment of status under the Haitian
17

•S 2912 PCS

1 Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and is made

2 eligible for adjustment of status under that Act by the

3 amendments made by this title, may file one motion to

4 reopen an exclusion, deportation, or removal proceeding

5 to have the application reconsidered. Any such motion

6 shall be filed within 180 days of the date of enactment

7 of this Act. The scope of any proceeding reopened on this

8 basis shall be limited to a determination of the alien’s eli9 gibility for adjustment of status under the Haitian Ref10 ugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998.

11 (b) NATIONALS OF CUBA.—Notwithstanding any

12 time and number limitations imposed by law on motions

13 to reopen, a national of Cuba or Nicaragua who, on the

14 date of enactment of the Act, has a final administrative

15 denial of an application for adjustment of status under

16 the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief

17 Act, and who is made eligible for adjustment of status

18 under that Act by the amendments made by this title, may

19 file one motion to reopen an exclusion, deportation, or re20 moval proceeding to have the application reconsidered.

21 Any such motion shall be filed within 180 days of the date

22 of enactment of this Act. The scope of any proceeding re23 opened on this basis shall be limited to a determination

24 of the alien’s eligibility for adjustment of status under the

25 Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.
18

•S 2912 PCS

1 TITLE II—RESTORATION OF SEC2 TION 245(i) ADJUSTMENT OF

3 STATUS BENEFITS

4 SEC. 201. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON ELIGI5 BILITY FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS UNDER

6 SECTION 245(i).

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 245(i)(1) of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(i)(1)) is amended

9 by striking ‘‘(i)(1)’’ through ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and

10 inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(i)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections

12 (a) and (c) of this section, an alien physically present in

13 the United States who—

14 ‘‘(A) entered the United States without inspec15 tion; or

16 ‘‘(B) is within one of the classes enumerated in

17 subsection (c) of this section;

18 may apply to the Attorney General for the adjustment of

19 his or her status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for

20 permanent residence. The Attorney General’’.

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

22 subsection (a) shall be effective as if included in the enact23 ment of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and

24 State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations

25 Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–119; 111 Stat. 2440).
19

•S 2912 PCS

1 SEC. 202. USE OF SECTION 245(i) FEES.

2 Section 245(i)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(i)(3)(B)) is amended to read as

4 follows:

5 ‘‘(B) One-half of any remaining portion of such fees

6 remitted under such paragraphs shall be deposited by the

7 Attorney General into the Immigration Examinations Fee

8 Account established under section 286(m), and one-half

9 of any remaining portion of such fees shall be deposited

10 by the Attorney General into the Breached Bond/Deten11 tion Fund established under section 286(r).’’.

12 TITLE III—EXTENSION OF

13 REGISTRY BENEFITS

14 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF REGISTRY BENEFITS TO ALIENS

15 WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES PRIOR

16 TO JANUARY 1, 1986.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 249(a) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1259(a)) is amended

19 by striking ‘‘January 1, 1972’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1,

20 1986’’.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of section

23 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

24 U.S.C. 1259) is amended to read as follows:
20

•S 2912 PCS

1 ‘‘RECORD OF ADMISSION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN

2 THE CASE OF CERTAIN ALIENS WHO ENTERED THE

3 UNITED STATES PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1924 OR JANUARY

4 1, 1986’’.

5 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con6 tents of the Immigration and Nationality Act is

7 amended by amending the item relating to section

8 249 to read as follows:

‘‘Sec. 249. Record of admission for permanent residence in the case of certain

aliens who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924 or

January 1, 1986.’’.

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

10 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2001, and the

11 amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to applica12 tions to record lawful admission for permanent residence

13 that are filed on or after January 1, 2001.

Calendar No. 717

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2912

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to

remove certain limitations on the eligibility ofaliens residing in the United States to obtainlawful permanent residency status.

JULY 26, 2000

Read the second time and placed on the calendar