I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1970 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for expedited 

naturalization processes for the alien spouses of first responders who 

die as a result of their employment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 6, 2017 

Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. FORTENBERRY, and Mr. YOUNG of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

for expedited naturalization processes for the alien 

spouses of first responders who die as a result of their 

employment, 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 ‘‘Kerrie Orozco Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPEDITED NATURALIZATION FOR SPOUSES OF 

2 FIRST RESPONDERS. 

3 Section 319 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1430) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(f) SPOUSES OF FIRST RESPONDERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is the sur8 viving spouse, child, or parent of a United States 

9 citizen, whose citizen spouse, parent, or child dies as 

10 a result of injury or disease incurred in or aggra11 vated by employment as a first responder, and who, 

12 in the case of a surviving spouse, was living in mar13 ital union with the citizen spouse at the time of his 

14 death, may be naturalized upon compliance with all 

15 the requirements of this title except that no prior 

16 residence or specified physical presence within the 

17 United States shall be required. 

18 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub19 section— 

20 ‘‘(A) the term ‘first responder’ includes law 

21 enforcement officers, firefighters, and emer22 gency medical personnel; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the terms ‘United States citizen’ and 

24 ‘citizen spouse’ include a person granted post25 humous citizenship under section 329B.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. POSTHUMOUS CITIZENSHIP THROUGH DEATH 

2 WHILE SERVING AS A FIRST RESPONDER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Immigration and 

4 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is amended by 

5 inserting after section 329A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 329B. POSTHUMOUS CITIZENSHIP THROUGH DEATH 

7 WHILE SERVING AS A FIRST RESPONDER. 

8 ‘‘(a) PERMITTING GRANTING OF POSTHUMOUS CITI9 ZENSHIP.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

10 title, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide, 

11 in accordance with this section, for the granting of post12 humous citizenship at the time of death to a person de13 scribed in subsection (b) if the Secretary of Homeland Se14 curity approves an application for that posthumous citi15 zenship under subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(b) NONCITIZENS ELIGIBLE FOR POSTHUMOUS

17 CITIZENSHIP.—A person referred to in subsection (a) is 

18 a person who, while an alien or a noncitizen national of 

19 the United States— 

20 ‘‘(1) was employed as a first responder (as such 

21 term is defined in section 319(f)); and 

22 ‘‘(2) died as a result of injury or disease in23 curred in or aggravated by that employment. 

24 The chief officer of the entity that employed the person 

25 shall determine whether the person satisfied the require26 ments of paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 ‘‘(c) REQUESTS FOR POSTHUMOUS CITIZENSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A request for the granting 

3 of posthumous citizenship to a person described in 

4 subsection (b) may be filed on behalf of that per5 son— 

6 ‘‘(A) upon locating the next-of-kin, and if 

7 so requested by the next-of-kin, by the Director 

8 of United States Citizenship and Immigration 

9 Services immediately upon the death of that 

10 person; or 

11 ‘‘(B) by the next-of-kin. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Director of United 

13 States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall 

14 approve a request for posthumous citizenship filed 

15 by the next-of-kin in accordance with paragraph 

16 (1)(B) if— 

17 ‘‘(A) the request is filed not later than 2 

18 years after— 

19 ‘‘(i) the date of enactment of this sec20 tion; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the date of the person’s death; 

22 whichever date is later; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the request is accompanied by a duly 

24 authenticated certificate from the chief officer 

25 of the entity that employed the person which 


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1 states that the person satisfied the require2 ments of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 

3 (b). 

4 ‘‘(d) DOCUMENTATION OF POSTHUMOUS CITIZEN5 SHIP.—If the Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and 

6 Immigration Services approves the request referred to in 

7 subsection (c), the Director shall send to the next-of-kin 

8 of the person who is granted citizenship, a suitable docu9 ment which states that the United States considers the 

10 person to have been a citizen of the United States at the 

11 time of the person’s death.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

14 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

15 to section 329A the following: 

‘‘329B. Posthumous citizenship through death while serving as a first responder.’’. 

Æ 


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