II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3212 

To provide benefits for noncitizen members of the Armed Forces, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2021 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide benefits for noncitizen members of the Armed 

Forces, 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 ‘‘Veteran Deportation 

5 Prevention and Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) military service to the United States is a 

9 sacrifice that demonstrates loyalty to our Nation; 


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1 (2) a noncitizen who takes an oath of enlist2 ment or an oath of office to join the United States 

3 Armed Forces, by promising to support and defend 

4 the Constitution of the United States against all en5 emies, foreign and domestic, deserves facilitated ac6 cess to naturalization; 

7 (3) each noncitizen described in paragraph (2) 

8 and his or her immediate family members deserve 

9 consideration for the exercise of prosecutorial discre10 tion in immigration removal proceedings; and 

11 (4) a noncitizen veteran who is deported after 

12 consideration under this Act should be provided the 

13 same veterans’ benefits to which a similarly situated 

14 United States citizen veteran would be entitled. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi18 sory Committee’’ means the Military Family Immi19 gration Advisory Committee established pursuant to 

20 section 8. 

21 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

25 the Senate; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

3 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

4 Senate; 

5 (D) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

6 the Senate; 

7 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of 

8 the House of Representatives; 

9 (F) the Committee on Homeland Security 

10 of the House of Representatives; 

11 (G) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

12 House of Representatives; and 

13 (H) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

14 the House of Representatives. 

15 (3) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘‘Armed 

16 Forces’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘armed 

17 forces’’ in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United 

18 States Code, and includes the reserve components of 

19 the Armed Forces. 

20 (4) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi21 sory Committee’’ means the Military Family Immi22 gration Advisory Committee established pursuant to 

23 section 8. 

24 (5) COVERED FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

25 ‘‘covered family member’’ means the noncitizen 


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1 spouse, noncitizen parent, or noncitizen minor child 

2 of— 

3 (A) a member of the Armed Forces serving 

4 on active duty or in a reserve component; or 

5 (B) a veteran. 

6 (6) CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘crime of 

7 violence’’ means an offense defined in section 16(a) 

8 of title 18, United States Code— 

9 (A) that is not a purely political offense; 

10 and 

11 (B) for which a noncitizen has served a 

12 term of imprisonment of at least 5 years. 

13 (7) ELIGIBLE VETERAN.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible vet15 eran’’ means a veteran who— 

16 (i) is a noncitizen; and 

17 (ii) meets the criteria described in sec18 tion 12(e). 

19 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘eligible vet20 eran’’ includes a veteran who— 

21 (i) was removed from the United 

22 States; or 

23 (ii) is abroad and is inadmissible 

24 under section 212(a) of the Immigration 

25 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)). 


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1 (8) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra2 tion laws’’ has the meaning given such term in sec3 tion 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

4 U.S.C. 1101). 

5 (9) NONCITIZEN.—The term ‘‘noncitizen’’ 

6 means an individual who is not a citizen or national 

7 of the United States (as defined in section 101(a) of 

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

9 1101(a))). 

10 (10) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ means a 

11 person who served as a member of the Armed 

12 Forces on active duty or in a reserve component and 

13 who was discharged or released from such service 

14 under conditions other than dishonorable. 

15 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

16 FORCES, VETERANS, AND COVERED FAMILY 

17 MEMBERS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—No Federal agency may initiate 

19 removal proceedings or reinstatement of a removal order 

20 without first asking the individual, and recording the an21 swer in a searchable electronic database, whether such in22 dividual is— 

23 (1) a member of the Armed Forces serving on 

24 active duty or in a reserve component; 

25 (2) a veteran; or 


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1 (3) a covered family member. 

2 (b) TRANSFER OF CASE FILES.—The Director of 

3 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Director 

4 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the 

5 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, as ap6 plicable, shall transfer a copy of the complete case file of 

7 any individual identified under subsection (a), immediately 

8 after such identification, to the Advisory Committee. 

9 (c) LIMITATION ON REMOVAL.—Notwithstanding any 

10 other provision of law, an individual described in sub11 section (a) may not be ordered removed or removed until 

12 the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee has 

13 provided recommendations with respect to such individual 

14 to the Secretary of Homeland Security and to the Attor15 ney General in accordance with section 8. 

16 (d) PROHIBITION OF DETENTION DURING ADVISORY

17 COMMITTEE REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, no individual described in paragraph (1), (2), 

19 or (3) of subsection (a) may be detained by the Depart20 ment of Homeland Security while the Advisory Committee 

21 is reviewing his or her case unless such individual poses 

22 a danger to public safety or national security. 


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1 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON NONCITIZEN VETERANS 

2 REMOVED FROM THE UNITED STATES. 

3 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

5 Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 

6 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly carry out a 

7 study of noncitizen veterans of the Armed Forces who 

8 were removed from the United States during the period 

9 beginning on January 1, 1990, and ending on the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, which shall include— 

11 (1) the number of noncitizens removed by U.S. 

12 Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Im13 migration and Naturalization Service during the pe14 riod covered by the report who served on active duty 

15 in the Armed Forces or in a reserve component of 

16 the Armed Forces; 

17 (2) for each noncitizen described in paragraph 

18 (1)— 

19 (A) the country of origin of the noncitizen; 

20 (B) the length of time the noncitizen 

21 served as a member of the Armed Forces; 

22 (C) the number of covered family members 

23 of the noncitizen, as applicable; 

24 (D) the grounds for removal under section 

25 212(a) or 237(a) of the Immigration and NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Nov 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3212.IS S3212

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1 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a) and 1227(a)), 

2 as applicable; 

3 (E) whether the noncitizen appealed the 

4 removal order; 

5 (F) whether the noncitizen was detained; 

6 and 

7 (G) whether the noncitizen was represented 

8 by a lawyer; 

9 (3) the number of noncitizens described in 

10 paragraph (1) who— 

11 (A) were discharged or released from serv12 ice under honorable conditions; 

13 (B) were deployed overseas; 

14 (C) served on active duty in the Armed 

15 Forces in an overseas contingency operation; 

16 (D) were awarded military decorations, 

17 campaign medals, or service medals; 

18 (E) applied for benefits under laws admin19 istered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or 

20 (F) are receiving benefits described in sub21 paragraph (E); 

22 (4) a description of the reasons preventing any 

23 of the noncitizens who applied for benefits described 

24 in paragraph (3)(E) from receiving such benefits; 

25 (5) the number of noncitizens who— 


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1 (A) currently serve or previously served as 

2 a member of the Armed Forces; and 

3 (B) are currently in removal proceedings; 

4 and 

5 (6) for each noncitizen described in paragraph 

6 (5), the grounds for inadmissibility or deportability 

7 under section 212(a) or 237(a) of the Immigration 

8 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a) and 

9 1227(a)), as applicable. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

11 of the completion of the study required under subsection 

12 (a), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall joint14 ly submit a report containing the results of such study 

15 to the appropriate congressional committees. 

16 SEC. 6. INFORMATION REGARDING VETERANS SUBJECT TO 

17 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home20 land Security shall create a system to maintain informa21 tion, that is shared across the Department of Homeland 

22 Security (including Enforcement and Removal Operations, 

23 the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and Homeland 

24 Security Investigations), regarding potentially removable 

25 noncitizen veterans (including the names and last known 


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1 addresses of such individuals) and removal proceedings 

2 with respect to any such individual, for the purpose of en3 suring that service in the Armed Forces of any such indi4 vidual is taken into consideration during any adjudication 

5 under the immigration laws with respect to such indi6 vidual, including— 

7 (1) information collected pursuant to the pro8 tocol established under section 7(a); 

9 (2) information regarding the covered family 

10 members of the noncitizens described in section 

11 7(a)(1); and 

12 (3) information provided by the Secretary of 

13 Defense pursuant subsection (b). 

14 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY DEPARTMENT

15 OF DEFENSE.—Not later than 30 days after a noncitizen 

16 veteran is honorably discharged from the Armed Forces, 

17 the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security a copy of the Certificate of Release 

19 or Discharge from Active Duty form, or other discharge 

20 documents from a Reserve Component, for inclusion in the 

21 system established pursuant to subsection (a). 

22 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Information collected under 

23 this section or under section 7 may not be disclosed for 

24 purposes of immigration enforcement. 


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1 SEC. 7. PROTOCOL FOR IDENTIFYING NONCITIZEN VET2 ERANS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the last day of the 

4 first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall es6 tablish— 

7 (1) a protocol, which shall be known as the 

8 ‘‘Immigrant Veterans Eligibility Tracking System’’ 

9 or ‘‘I–VETS’’, for— 

10 (A) identifying noncitizens who are or may 

11 be veterans and the covered family members of 

12 such veterans; and 

13 (B) collecting and maintaining data, for 

14 use by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce15 ment, with respect to such veterans and covered 

16 family members who are— 

17 (i) are in removal proceedings; or 

18 (ii) have been removed; 

19 (2) best practices with respect to addressing 

20 issues related to the removal of any noncitizen or 

21 covered family member described in paragraph (1); 

22 and 

23 (3) an annual training program with respect to 

24 the protocol and best practices established under 

25 paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 (b) TRAINING.—Beginning in the first fiscal year 

2 that begins after the Secretary of Homeland Security com3 pletes the requirements under subsection (a), personnel of 

4 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. 

5 Citizenship and Immigration Services shall annually par6 ticipate in the training program on the protocol and best 

7 practices developed pursuant to subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 8. MILITARY FAMILY IMMIGRATION ADVISORY COM9 MITTEE. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 

12 and in cooperation with the Secretary of the Army, the 

13 Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and 

14 the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall establish the 

15 Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee to pro16 vide recommendations to the Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity and the Attorney General regarding the exercise of 

18 prosecutorial discretion in cases involving removal pro19 ceedings of individuals described in section 4(a). 

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be 

21 composed of the following officers of the Armed Forces: 

22 (1) The Deputy Commanding General of Army 

23 Human Resources Command, or designee. 

24 (2) The Judge Advocate of the Army, or des25 ignee. 


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1 (3) The Deputy Commander of Navy Personnel 

2 Command, or designee. 

3 (4) The Judge Advocate of the Navy, or des4 ignee. 

5 (5) The Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. 

6 (6) The Judge Advocate of the Air Force, or 

7 designee. 

8 (7) The Deputy Commandant for Mission Sup9 port of the Coast Guard. 

10 (8) The Judge Advocate of the Coast Guard, or 

11 designee. 

12 (9) The Deputy Commandant of Manpower and 

13 Reserve Affairs of the Marine Corps, or designee. 

14 (10) The Chief of Space Operations. 

15 (c) CASE REVIEWS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

17 the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs En18 forcement notifies the Advisory Committee of an in19 dividual described in section 4(a), the Advisory Com20 mittee shall meet to review the case and to provide 

21 a written recommendation to the Secretary of Home22 land Security and to such individual regarding 

23 whether the individual— 


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1 (A) notwithstanding the grounds for re2 moval asserted by U.S. Immigration and Cus3 toms Enforcement, should be granted— 

4 (i) a dismissal or termination of re5 moval procedures; 

6 (ii) a stay of removal or cancellation 

7 of removal and allowed to apply for asy8 lum; 

9 (iii) an adjustment of status to that of 

10 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

11 residence; 

12 (iv) deferred action; 

13 (v) parole; or 

14 (vi) other applicable immigration re15 lief; or 

16 (B) should be removed from the United 

17 States. 

18 (2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—An indi19 vidual who is the subject of a case review under 

20 paragraph (1) may submit information to the Advi21 sory Committee, which shall be considered by the 

22 Advisory Committee before making a recommenda23 tion pursuant to paragraph (1). 

24 (3) PROCEDURES.—In conducting each case re25 view under paragraph (1), the Advisory Committee 


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1 shall consider, as factors weighing in favor of a rec2 ommendation under paragraph (1)(A)— 

3 (A) with respect to a member of the 

4 Armed Forces serving on active duty or in a re5 serve component, whether the individual— 

6 (i) took an oath of enlistment or an 

7 oath of office; 

8 (ii) received military decorations, cam9 paign medals, or service medals, was de10 ployed, or was otherwise evaluated for 

11 merit in service during his or her service in 

12 the Armed Forces; 

13 (iii) is a national of a country that 

14 prohibits repatriation of an individual after 

15 any service in the Armed Forces; 

16 (iv) contributed to his or her local 

17 community during his or her service in the 

18 Armed Forces; and 

19 (v) is a national of a country that— 

20 (I) persecutes members or vet21 erans of the United States military; 

22 (II) is home to criminal organiza23 tions that target and recruit veterans 

24 of the United States military; or 


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1 (III) has hostile relations with 

2 the United States; or 

3 (B) with respect to a veteran, whether the 

4 individual— 

5 (i) took an oath of enlistment or an 

6 oath of office; 

7 (ii) completed a term of service in the 

8 Armed Forces and was discharged under 

9 conditions other than dishonorable; 

10 (iii) received military decorations, 

11 campaign medals, or service medals, was 

12 deployed, or was otherwise evaluated for 

13 merit in service during his or her service in 

14 the Armed Forces; 

15 (iv) is a national of a country that 

16 prohibits repatriation of an individual after 

17 any service in the Armed Forces; 

18 (v) contributed to his or her local 

19 community during or after his or her serv20 ice in the Armed Forces; or 

21 (vi) is a national of a country that— 

22 (I) persecutes members or vet23 erans of the United States military; 


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1 (II) is home to criminal organiza2 tions that target and recruit veterans 

3 of the Unites States military; or 

4 (III) has hostile relations with 

5 the United States; and 

6 (C) with respect to a covered family mem7 ber, whether the individual— 

8 (i) supported a member of the Armed 

9 Forces serving on active duty or a veteran, 

10 including through financial support, emo11 tional support, or caregiving; or 

12 (ii) contributed to his or her local 

13 community during or after the military 

14 service of the member or of the veteran. 

15 (4) PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR OF FOLLOWING

16 ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION.—The 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall follow the rec18 ommendations received from the Advisory Com19 mittee pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to in20 dividuals in removal proceedings unless the Sec21 retary, on a case-by-case basis— 

22 (A) issues a written determination that a 

23 recommendation regarding an individual de24 scribed in section 4(a) is unjustified; and 


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1 (B) provides such written determination to 

2 such individual. 

3 (d) CONSULTATION WITH PRINCIPAL LEGAL ADVI4 SOR OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCE5 MENT.—The Principal Legal Advisor of U.S. Immigration 

6 and Customs Enforcement, or designee, shall consult with 

7 the Advisory Committee at the request of members of the 

8 Advisory Committee. 

9 (e) BRIEFINGS ON UNSUITABILITY OF NONCITIZEN

10 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The Under Sec11 retary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall pro12 vide detailed briefings to the Advisory Committee regard13 ing the reasons for determining the unsuitability of noncit14 izen members of the Armed Forces whose cases are being 

15 considered by the Advisory Committee. 

16 (f) BRIEFINGS ON ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO REC17 OMMENDATIONS.—Not less frequently than quarterly, the 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide detailed 

19 briefings to the Advisory Committee regarding actions 

20 taken in response to the recommendations of the Advisory 

21 Committee, including detailed explanations for any cases 

22 in which a recommendation of the Advisory Committee 

23 was not followed. 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 9. LIST OF COUNTRIES UNWILLING TO REPATRIATE 

5 UNITED STATES VETERANS. 

6 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

7 with the Secretary of State, shall compile, and annually 

8 update, a list of countries that refuse to repatriate nation9 als of such country who have enlisted or been appointed 

10 in the United States Armed Forces. 

11 SEC. 10. PROGRAM OF CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MILITARY 

12 SERVICE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity, acting through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 

15 Immigration Services, and the Secretary of Defense shall 

16 jointly carry out a program under which any individual 

17 noncitizen who serves in the Armed Forces, and the cov18 ered family members of such noncitizen, shall be natural19 ized as a United States citizen if such individual, and such 

20 covered family members, submit an application for natu21 ralization and are not otherwise ineligible for citizenship 

22 under the immigration laws. 

23 (b) JAG TRAINING.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

24 ensure that appropriate members of the Judge Advocate 

25 General Corps of the Armed Forces shall receive training 


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1 to function as liaisons with U.S. Citizenship and Immigra2 tion Services with respect to applications for citizenship 

3 of noncitizen members of the Armed Forces assigned to 

4 units in such areas. 

5 (c) TRAINING FOR RECRUITERS.—The Secretary of 

6 Defense shall ensure that all recruiters in the Armed 

7 Forces receive training regarding— 

8 (1) the steps required for a noncitizen member 

9 of the Armed Forces to become a naturalized United 

10 States citizen; 

11 (2) limitations on the path to citizenship for 

12 family members of such noncitizens; and 

13 (3) points of contact at the Department of 

14 Homeland Security to resolve emergency immigra15 tion-related situations with respect to such nonciti16 zens and family members. 

17 (d) APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION.— 

18 (1) BIOMETRICS.— 

19 (A) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC INFORMA20 TION.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure 

21 that, at the time of accession into the Armed 

22 Forces, biometric information of an individual 

23 who has applied, or who plans to apply, for nat24 uralization is submitted to U.S. Citizenship and 


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1 Immigration Services for the purposes of such 

2 application. 

3 (B) ACCEPTANCE OF BIOMETRIC INFORMA4 TION.—The Director of U.S. Citizenship and 

5 Immigration Services shall accept any biometric 

6 information submitted pursuant to subpara7 graph (A). 

8 (2) FILING OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security, in coordination with the Sec10 retary of Defense, shall ensure that each noncitizen 

11 individual who accesses into the Armed Forces is 

12 permitted to file an application for naturalization as 

13 part of the accessions process. 

14 (3) ADJUDICATION OF APPLICATION.—The Sec15 retary of Homeland Security, in coordination with 

16 the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that the appli17 cation for naturalization of any individual who ap18 plies for naturalization during the accessions process 

19 into the Armed Forces is adjudicated not later than 

20 the last day of active service of such individual in 

21 the Armed Forces. 

22 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of each mili23 tary department shall submit an annual report to the ap24 propriate congressional committees regarding— 


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1 (1) the number of all noncitizens who enlisted 

2 or were appointed in their department; 

3 (2) the number of members of the Armed 

4 Forces in their department who have become natu5 ralized United States citizens; and 

6 (3) the number of members of the Armed 

7 Forces in their department who were discharged or 

8 released without United States citizenship under the 

9 jurisdiction of such Secretary during the preceding 

10 year. 

11 SEC. 11. INFORMATION FOR MILITARY RECRUITS REGARD12 ING NATURALIZATION THROUGH SERVICE IN 

13 THE ARMED FORCES. 

14 The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security, shall ensure that at each 

16 Military Entrance Processing Station there is stationed or 

17 employed— 

18 (1) an employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immi19 gration Services; or 

20 (2) in the case that the Secretary determines 

21 that it is impracticable station or employ a person 

22 described in paragraph (1) at a Military Entrance 

23 Processing Station, a member of the Armed Forces 

24 or employee of the Department of Defense— 


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1 (A) whom the Secretary determines is 

2 trained in the immigration laws; and 

3 (B) who shall inform each military recruit 

4 who is not a citizen of the United States proc5 essed at such Military Entrance Processing Sta6 tion regarding naturalization through service in 

7 the Armed Forces under sections 328 and 329 

8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1439 and 1440). 

10 SEC. 12. RETURN OF ELIGIBLE VETERANS REMOVED FROM 

11 THE UNITED STATES; ADJUSTMENT OF STA12 TUS. 

13 (a) PROGRAM FOR ADMISSION AND ADJUSTMENT OF

14 STATUS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

16 shall establish a program and an application procedure 

17 that allows— 

18 (1) eligible veterans residing outside of the 

19 United States and their covered family members to 

20 be admitted to the United States as noncitizens law21 fully admitted for permanent residence (as defined 

22 in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Na23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))); and 

24 (2) eligible veterans in the United States and 

25 their covered family members to adjust their status 


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1 to that of noncitizens lawfully admitted for perma2 nent residence. 

3 (b) VETERANS ORDERED REMOVED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, in the 

6 case of noncitizen veterans and their covered family 

7 members who are the subjects of final orders of re8 moval, including noncitizen veterans and covered 

9 family members who are outside the United States, 

10 the Attorney General shall— 

11 (A) reopen the removal proceedings of each 

12 such noncitizen veteran and covered family 

13 member; and 

14 (B) make a determination with respect to 

15 whether each such noncitizen veteran is an eli16 gible veteran. 

17 (2) RESCISSION OF REMOVAL ORDER.—In the 

18 case of a determination under paragraph (1)(B) that 

19 a noncitizen veteran is an eligible veteran, the Attor20 ney General shall— 

21 (A) rescind the order of removal with re22 spect to such noncitizen and his or her covered 

23 family members; 

24 (B) adjust the status of the eligible veteran 

25 and his or her covered family members to that 


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1 of noncitizens lawfully admitted for permanent 

2 residence; and 

3 (C) terminate removal proceedings with re4 spect to such noncitizen and covered family 

5 members. 

6 (c) VETERANS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, in the 

9 case of noncitizen veterans, the removal proceedings 

10 of whom are pending as of the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Attorney General shall make a deter12 mination with respect to whether each such noncit13 izen veteran is an eligible veteran. 

14 (2) TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—In the 

15 case of a determination under paragraph (1) that a 

16 noncitizen veteran is an eligible veteran, the Attor17 ney General shall— 

18 (A) adjust the status of such eligible vet19 eran and his or her covered family members to 

20 reinstate that of noncitizens lawfully admitted 

21 for permanent residence; and 

22 (B) terminate removal proceedings with re23 spect to such eligible veteran and covered family 

24 members. 


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1 (d) NO NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this 

2 section or in any other law may be construed to apply a 

3 numerical limitation on the number of veterans who may 

4 be eligible to receive a benefit under this section. 

5 (e) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 

7 212 and 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1182 and 1227) or any other provision of 

9 law, a noncitizen veteran and his or her covered 

10 family members shall be eligible to participate in the 

11 program established under subsection (a) or for ad12 justment of status under subsections (b) or (c), as 

13 applicable, if the Secretary or the Attorney General, 

14 as applicable, determines that the noncitizen veteran 

15 or covered family members— 

16 (A) were not removed or ordered removed 

17 from the United States based on a conviction 

18 for— 

19 (i) a crime of violence; or 

20 (ii) a crime that endangers the na21 tional security of the United States for 

22 which the noncitizen veteran has served a 

23 term of imprisonment of at least 5 years; 

24 and 


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1 (B) are not inadmissible to, or deportable 

2 from, the United States based on a conviction 

3 for a crime described in subparagraph (A). 

4 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the ap5 plication of paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) for humanitarian purposes; 

7 (B) to ensure family unity; 

8 (C) based on exceptional service in the 

9 Armed Forces; or 

10 (D) if a waiver otherwise is in the public 

11 interest. 

12 SEC. 13. ESTABLISHING GOOD MORAL CHARACTER OF AP13 PLICANTS FOR CITIZENSHIP WHO SERVED 

14 HONORABLY IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE 

15 UNITED STATES. 

16 Section 328(e) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(e)) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding section 101(f), a finding 

19 that an applicant under this section or under section 329 

20 is described in any of paragraphs (1) through (8) of sec21 tion 101(f) (except in the case of an applicant who is de22 scribed in any such paragraph because of having been con23 victed of an aggravated felony described in subparagraph 

24 (A), (I), (K), or (L) of section 101(a)(43)) shall not preVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Nov 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3212.IS S3212

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1 clude a finding that the applicant is of good moral char2 acter.’’. 

Æ 


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