II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 890

To facilitate the naturalization of aliens who served with special guerrilla

units or irregular forces in Laos.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 27, 1999

Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself, Mr. ROBB, and Mr. FEINGOLD) introduced the

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

Judiciary

A BILL

To facilitate the naturalization of aliens who served with

special guerrilla units or irregular forces in Laos.

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 ‘‘Hmong Veterans’ Nat5 uralization Act of 1999’’.
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•S 890 IS

1 SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIRE2 MENT FOR CERTAIN ALIENS WHO SERVED

3 WITH SPECIAL GUERRILLA UNITS OR IRREG4 ULAR FORCES IN LAOS.

5 The requirement of paragraph (1) of section 312(a)

6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

7 1423(a)(1)) shall not apply to the naturalization of any

8 person—

9 (1) who—

10 (A) was admitted into the United States as

11 a refugee from Laos pursuant to section 207 of

12 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

13 1157); and

14 (B) served with a special guerrilla unit, or

15 irregular forces, operating from a base in Laos

16 in support of the United States military at any

17 time during the period beginning February 28,

18 1961, and ending September 18, 1978; or

19 (2) who—

20 (A) satisfies the requirement of paragraph

21 (1)(A); and

22 (B) was the spouse of a person described

23 in paragraph (1) on the day on which such de24 scribed person applied for admission into the

25 United States as a refugee.
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•S 890 IS

1 SEC. 3. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION CONCERNING CIVICS RE2 QUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN ALIENS WHO

3 SERVED WITH SPECIAL GUERRILLA UNITS OR

4 IRREGULAR FORCES IN LAOS.

5 The Attorney General shall provide for special consid6 eration, as determined by the Attorney General, con7 cerning the requirement of paragraph (2) of section

8 312(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

9 1423(a)(2)) with respect to the naturalization of any per10 son described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 2 of this

11 Act.

12 SEC. 4. DOCUMENTATION OF QUALIFYING SERVICE.

13 A person seeking an exemption under section 2 or

14 special consideration under section 3 shall submit to the

15 Attorney General documentation of their, or their

16 spouse’s, service with a special guerrilla unit, or irregular

17 forces, described in section 2(1)(B), in the form of—

18 (1) original documents;

19 (2) an affidavit of the serving person’s superior

20 officer;

21 (3) two affidavits from other individuals who

22 also were serving with such a special guerrilla unit,

23 or irregular forces, and who personally knew of the

24 person’s service; or

25 (4) other appropriate proof.
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1 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR EXEMPTION

2 AND SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.

3 In determining a person’s eligibility for an exemption

4 under section 2 or special consideration under section 3,

5 the Attorney General—

6 (1) shall review the refugee processing docu7 mentation for the person, or, in an appropriate case,

8 for the person and the person’s spouse, to verify that

9 the requirements of section 2 relating to refugee ap10 plications and admissions have been satisfied;

11 (2) shall consider the documentation submitted

12 by the person under section 4;

13 (3) shall request an advisory opinion from the

14 Secretary of Defense regarding the person’s, or their

15 spouse’s, service in a special guerrilla unit, or irreg16 ular forces, described in section 2(1)(B) and shall

17 take into account that opinion; and

18 (4) may consider any certification prepared by

19 the organization known as ‘‘Lao Veterans of Amer20 ica, Inc.’’, or any similar organization maintaining

21 records with respect to Hmong veterans or their

22 families.

23 SEC. 6. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF

24 FEES.

25 This Act shall apply to a person only if the person’s

26 application for naturalization is filed, as provided in sec-
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•S 890 IS

1 tion 334 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

2 1445), with appropriate fees not later than 18 months

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES.

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the

6 total number of aliens who may be granted an exemption

7 under section 2 or special consideration under section 3,

8 or both, may not exceed 45,000.

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