I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5610 

To prevent sex offenders from using immigration laws to bring innocent, 

unsuspecting victims into the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2006 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. 

WATSON, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. LEWIS of 

Georgia, and Mr. SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prevent sex offenders from using immigration laws to 

bring innocent, unsuspecting victims into the United States. 

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 ‘‘Foreign Anti-Sex Of5 fender Protection Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Immigration law allows citizens and aliens 

2 lawfully admitted for permanent residence to bring 

3 foreign family members to the United States on the 

4 basis of immediate relative status or a preference 

5 classification. 

6 (2) Immediate relative status and preference 

7 classifications are obtained by filing petitions with 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

9 (3) For national security purposes, the Sec10 retary of Homeland Security conducts background 

11 checks on the beneficiaries of such petitions and, 

12 since September 11, 2001, on the petitioners as well. 

13 (4) The Government Accountability Office 

14 (GAO) has determined that, in fiscal year 2005, at 

15 least 398 of the petitioners who filed family-based 

16 visa petitions were on the National Sex Offender 

17 Registry maintained by the Federal Bureau of In18 vestigations. 

19 (5) GAO was only able to ascertain the nature 

20 of the sex offense for 194 of the 398 petitioners. 

21 (6) GAO was able to ascertain, however, that 

22 119 of the convictions were for sex assault, 35 for 

23 child fondling, 9 for strong arm rape, 9 for carnal 

24 abuse combined with a sexual assault, 7 were for 

25 statutory rape, 4 for crimes against persons, 3 for 


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1 indecent exposure, 2 for kidnapping, 2 for obscene 

2 material possession, 1 for exploitation of a minor 

3 with photographs, 1 for incest with a minor, 1 for 

4 sodomizing a boy, and 1 for restricting movement. 

5 (7) At least 14 of the 398 petitioners were clas6 sified as ‘‘sexual predators’’, which means a deter7 mination had been made that they are likely to com8 mit additional sex offenses. 

9 (8) At least 45 of the petitioners were convicted 

10 of sex offenses against children. 

11 (9) The Immigration and Nationality Act does 

12 not provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with 

13 authorization to deny family-based petitions on the 

14 basis of a petitioner’s conviction for a sex offense, 

15 even when the conviction record indicates that a 

16 spouse or a child beneficiary may be in grave dan17 ger. 

18 SEC. 3. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY TO DENY FAMILY19 SPONSORED CLASSIFICATION PETITION BY 

20 PETITIONER LISTED ON NATIONAL SEX OF21 FENDER REGISTRY. 

22 Section 204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

23 (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(l) AUTHORITY TO DENY FAMILY-BASED PETITION

2 BY PETITIONER LISTED ON NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER

3 REGISTRY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary Homeland 

5 Security may, in the discretion of the Secretary, 

6 deny a petition under subsection (a) for classifica7 tion of a spouse or child if— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Secretary has confirmed that the 

9 petitioner is on the national sex offender reg10 istry maintained by the Federal Bureau of In11 vestigation for a conviction that individually 

12 (disregarding any aggregation due to any other 

13 conviction) resulted in incarceration for more 

14 than 1 year; 

15 ‘‘(B) the petitioner has been given at least 

16 90 days to establish that the petitioner is not 

17 the person named on the registry or that the 

18 conviction did not result in incarceration for 

19 more than 1 year and has failed to establish 

20 such fact; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the Secretary finds that granting the 

22 petition would put a primary or derivative 

23 spouse or child beneficiary in grave danger of 

24 being sexually abused. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DETERMINING DANGER.—In making the 

2 determination under paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary 

3 shall use the following principles: 

4 ‘‘(A) NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP.—In 

5 evaluating a petitioner who has filed a petition 

6 for a spouse, consideration should be given to 

7 indications of how well the petitioner and the 

8 spouse know each other. Petitions filed on the 

9 basis of marriages between men and women 

10 who have had little direct, personal contact with 

11 each other should be viewed with suspicion. In 

12 cases where the petitioner and the spouse have 

13 had little direct, personal contact with each 

14 other, evidence should be submitted to establish 

15 that they have gotten to know each other in 

16 some other way. 

17 ‘‘(B) NATURE OF THE SEX OFFENSE.— 

18 Consideration should be given to when each of19 fense occurred for which the petitioner was in20 carcerated for more than a year, how serious it 

21 was, the sentence that was imposed, how long 

22 the petitioner was incarcerated, the age of the 

23 petitioner when it was committed, and the char24 acteristics of the victim. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REHABILITATION.—Evidence of reha2 bilitation should be evaluated with respect to 

3 whether it diminishes the risk of sexual abuse 

4 to the primary or derivative spouse or child 

5 beneficiaries. 

6 ‘‘(D) PREVIOUS VISA PETITIONS.—The 

7 records for any previous petitions shall be ex8 amined to determine whether they provide or 

9 might lead to evidence that is pertinent to de10 termining whether granting the petition would 

11 put a primary or derivative spouse or child ben12 eficiary in grave danger of being sexually 

13 abused. 

14 ‘‘(3) REBUTTAL.—If the Secretary intends to 

15 deny a petition under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

16 shall provide the petitioner with a notice that states 

17 the reasons for the intended denial and provides the 

18 petitioner with at least 90 days to submit rebuttal 

19 evidence. Rebuttal should focus primarily on the fac20 tors that led the Secretary to believe that granting 

21 the petition would put a primary or derivative 

22 spouse or child beneficiary in grave danger of being 

23 sexually abused. 

24 ‘‘(4) POST-DENIAL REMEDIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) APPEAL.—All final denials under 

2 paragraph (1) may be appealed to the Board of 

3 Immigration Appeals. 

4 ‘‘(B) NEW PETITION.—The petitioner may 

5 file a new petition whenever the petitioner has 

6 additional evidence that the petitioner believes 

7 might be sufficient to warrant granting the new 

8 petition. 

9 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURE BY THE SECRETARY OF

10 HOMELAND SECURITY TO BENEFICIARIES.—In all 

11 cases in which it has been confirmed that the name 

12 of a petitioner under subsection (a) is listed on the 

13 national sex offender registry maintained by the 

14 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and regardless of 

15 whether the Secretary may exercise discretion under 

16 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give the petitioner 

17 at least 90 days to establish that the petitioner is 

18 not the person named on the registry. If the peti19 tioner fails to establish that the petitioner is not the 

20 person named on the registry within the time allot21 ted, the Secretary shall provide the beneficiaries with 

22 a written copy of the information on the registry 

23 that is available to the public before making a deci24 sion on the petition. The beneficiary shall be inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:34 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5610.IH H5610

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1 formed that the registry information is based on 

2 available records and may not be complete. 

3 ‘‘(6) DISCLOSURE TO DEPARTMENT OF

4 STATE.—In all cases in which it has been confirmed 

5 that the name of a petitioner under subsection (a) 

6 is listed on the national sex offender registry main7 tained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and 

8 regardless of whether the Secretary may exercise 

9 discretion under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

10 provide the Secretary of State with— 

11 ‘‘(A) a separate document with information 

12 about the record on the national sex offender 

13 registry that is available to the public; 

14 ‘‘(B) any additional information it has that 

15 raises concern that a primary or derivative 

16 spouse or child beneficiary may be subject to 

17 sexual abuse, including information from the 

18 registry that is not available to the public; and 

19 ‘‘(C) information about any previous peti20 tions under subsection (a) filed by the peti21 tioner. 

22 ‘‘(7) DISCLOSURE BY CONSULAR OFFICER TO

23 BENEFICIARIES.—When a petition under subsection 

24 (a) is granted, if the petition is filed by a petitioner 

25 who has failed to make the demonstration of misVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:34 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5610.IH H5610

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1 identification described in paragraph (5), the con2 sular officer shall conduct an interview with the pri3 mary or derivative spouse or child beneficiary of the 

4 petition before issuing a visa to the beneficiary. At 

5 least part of the interview must be held without the 

6 presence of the petitioner. During the private part of 

7 the interview, the beneficiary will be given a written 

8 copy of the information about the petitioner from 

9 the registry that is available to the public. This doc10 ument must be written in the beneficiary’s primary 

11 language. The consular officer is required to advise 

12 the beneficiary that approval of the visa petition 

13 does not mean that there are no reasons to be con14 cerned about his or her safety. 

15 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF CON16 SULAR OFFICER.—The consular officer may return 

17 files to the Secretary of Homeland Security for fur18 ther consideration in cases where the consular offi19 cer is concerned that granting the visa might put a 

20 primary or derivative spouse or child beneficiary in 

21 grave danger of being sexually abused. When return22 ing a file under the previous sentence, the consular 

23 officer may add any additional information or obser24 vations the officer has that might have a bearing on 

25 whether the visa should be granted, including the reVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:34 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5610.IH H5610

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1 sults of any field examination that has been con2 ducted.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT 

4 STATUS. 

5 (a) IDENTIFY AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR

6 SPOUSES AND CHILDREN WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SEXUAL

7 ABUSE OR RELATED TYPES OF HARM.—Section 

8 216(d)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1186a(d)(3)) is amended— 

10 (1) by inserting before ‘‘The interview’’ the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), the interview’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(B) PETITIONER LISTED ON NATIONAL

16 SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY.—In all cases where 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security has con18 firmed that a petitioning spouse is listed on the 

19 national sex offender registry maintained by the 

20 Federal Bureau of Investigation, an interview 

21 with the alien spouse, and any alien sons or 

22 daughters, shall be required prior to removal of 

23 the conditional status, and at least part of the 

24 interview shall be held without the presence of 

25 the petitioning spouse. During the private porVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:34 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5610.IH H5610

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1 tion of the interview, questions will be asked to 

2 determine whether an investigation should be 

3 conducted regarding the welfare of the alien 

4 spouse, or any alien son or daughter. If it is de5 termined that any alien spouse, son, or daugh6 ter is being abused or harmed by the peti7 tioning spouse, the victim shall be offered what8 ever assistance is appropriate, including infor9 mation on ways to remain in the United State 

10 that do not depend on continuing the qualifying 

11 marriage.’’. 

12 (b) HARDSHIP WAIVER IN CASES WHERE THE ALIEN

13 SPOUSE OR CHILD IS SUBJECT TO SEXUAL ABUSE.—Sec14 tion 216(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1186a(c)(4)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

17 the end 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

19 at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(D) the qualifying marriage was entered 

23 into in good faith by the alien spouse and dur24 ing the marriage the alien spouse, or a son or 

25 daughter of the spouse, was sexually abused 


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1 and the alien was not at fault in failing to meet 

2 the requirements of paragraph (1).’’. 

3 SEC. 5. SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE NAMED 

4 ON THE NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY 

5 WHO HAVE FILED FAMILY-BASED CLASSI6 FICATION PETITIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity shall establish a task force, to be known as the ‘‘Task 

9 Force to Rescue Immigrant Victims of American Sex Of10 fenders’’. The task force shall consist of officials from 

11 Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies with 

12 experience in domestic violence, sex crimes, immigration 

13 law, trafficking in humans, organized crime, or any other 

14 area of experience which may be useful in completing the 

15 duties described in subsection (b). 

16 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the task force shall be 

17 the following: 

18 (1) Working back in time from the date of the 

19 establishment of the task force, identifying individ20 uals on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s sex of21 fender registry who have filed family-based petitions 

22 under section 204(a) of the Immigration and Na23 tionality Act. When a confirmed match has been 

24 made with the sex offender registry, the task force 


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1 should ascertain whether the petitioner filed previous 

2 petitions. 

3 (2) Maintaining the information about the peti4 tioners in a comprehensive database. 

5 (3) Prioritizing the information according to 

6 the likelihood that primary or derivative spouse or 

7 child beneficiaries are in danger of sexual abuse. 

8 (4) Developing a system for investigating the 

9 cases in which beneficiaries may be at risk and pro10 viding them with information on how to seek assist11 ance if they are abused. 

12 (5) Except for information on the registry that 

13 is available to the public, protecting the information 

14 produced by its investigations in accordance with the 

15 privacy rights of everyone involved in the investiga16 tion. 

17 (6) Taking whatever other actions as are rea18 sonable and appropriate when investigations lead to 

19 information about sexual abuse or other criminal ac20 tivities, including notifying State and local police de21 partments, government offices, public organizations 

22 that provide assistance to victims of sexual abuse, 

23 and religious organizations. 

24 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 270 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall submit to the Congress a report on the findings and 

2 recommendations of the task force. The report shall in3 clude the following: 

4 (1) An analysis of the information obtained in 

5 searching visa petition and national sex offender reg6 istry records. 

7 (2) The results of any investigations conducted 

8 by the task force. 

9 (3) Recommendations on administrative and 

10 legislative actions that would assist in identifying 

11 and protecting immigrant victims of sexual abuse or 

12 related harm. 

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

15 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

16 Act. Amounts appropriated under this section shall remain 

17 available until expended. 

18 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 

19 Regulations implementing this Act shall be promul20 gated in final form not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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