II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1382

To reform the naturalization process, to clarify the procedures for investigating the criminal background of individuals submitting applications in

connection with certain benefits under the Immigration and Nationality

Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 6, 1997

Mr. ABRAHAM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To reform the naturalization process, to clarify the procedures for investigating the criminal background of individuals submitting applications in connection with certain

benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 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 ‘‘Naturalization Reform

5 Act of 1997’’.
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1 SEC. 2. BAR TO NATURALIZATION FOR ALIENS DEPORT2 ABLE FOR CRIMES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316(a) of the Immigra4 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1427(a)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

6 end;

7 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘States.’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘States, and’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(4) on

10 the date of the application, is not deportable under

11 paragraph (1) (other than subparagraph (A)), (2),

12 (3), or (6) of section 237(a), subparagraph (A), (B),

13 or (D) of paragraph (4) of such section, or para14 graph (1)(A) of such section (but only to the extent

15 that such paragraph relates to inadmissibility under

16 paragraph (2), (6), (8), or (9) of section 212(a),

17 subparagraph (A), (B), or (E) of section 212(a)(3),

18 or subparagraph (A), (C), (D), or (E) of section

19 212(a)(10)).’’.

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

21 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and

22 shall apply to applications for naturalization submitted on

23 or after such date.
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1 SEC. 3. EXTENSION TO 10 YEARS OF GOOD MORAL CHAR2 ACTER PERIOD FOR NATURALIZATION.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316(a)(3) of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1427(a)(3)) is

5 amended by striking ‘‘during all the periods referred to

6 in this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘during the ten years

7 immediately preceding the date of filing of the applica8 tion’’.

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

10 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and

11 shall apply to applications for naturalization submitted on

12 or after such date.

13 SEC. 4. INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND OF

14 CERTAIN ALIENS AND PERSONS SPONSORING

15 ALIENS FOR ENTRY.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Immigration and

17 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by

18 adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND OF AN

20 ALIEN APPLYING FOR CERTAIN BENEFITS AND CER21 TAIN PETITIONERS FOR CLASSIFICATION OF AN

22 ALIEN

23 ‘‘SEC. 106. (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a per24 son described in a subparagraph of subsection (c)(1) who

25 is petitioning, or applying to, the Attorney General to

26 grant the benefit or take the action described in such sub-
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1 paragraph (and with respect to an individual described in

2 subparagraph (E) of such subsection whose residence is

3 the home of such a person), the Attorney General may

4 not grant the benefit or take the action, unless, during

5 the pendency of the person’s petition or application, the

6 following has been completed:

7 ‘‘(1) An employee of the Service, or a Federal,

8 State, or local criminal law enforcement agency,

9 after verifying the person’s identity, has prepared a

10 complete and legible set of fingerprints of the per11 son.

12 ‘‘(2) The Commissioner has requested the Di13 rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to con14 duct a criminal history background check on the

15 person for the appropriate purpose described in sub16 section (c)(2), and the Commissioner has submitted

17 the fingerprints to the Director, along with any sup18 plementary information required by the Director to

19 complete the check.

20 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Federal Bureau of In21 vestigation, using the fingerprints and information

22 provided by the Commissioner, has conducted the

23 check, and has provided the Commissioner with a re24 sponse describing the person’s criminal history, as
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1 reflected in records maintained by the Federal Bu2 reau of Investigation.

3 ‘‘(4) The Commissioner has conducted an inves4 tigation of the person’s criminal history, including

5 all criminal offenses listed in the Director’s re6 sponse, all criminal offenses listed in informational

7 databases maintained by the Service, and all other

8 criminal offenses of which the Commissioner has

9 knowledge, for the appropriate purpose described in

10 subsection (c)(2).

11 ‘‘(5) In a case where the investigation under

12 paragraph (4) of an applicant for naturalization re13 veals criminal history that bears upon the appli14 cant’s eligibility for naturalization, and the employee

15 designated under section 335 to conduct the exam16 ination under such section has determined that the

17 application should be granted, such determination

18 has been reviewed by at least one Service officer

19 whose duties include performing such reviews.

20 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a),

21 when the Attorney General certifies to the Director of the

22 Federal Bureau of Investigation that a person described

23 in subsection (c)(1) is physically unable to provide legible

24 fingerprints—
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1 ‘‘(1) the requirement that the Commissioner

2 submit fingerprints to the Director shall not apply;

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) the Director shall conduct a criminal his5 tory background check based on the person’s name

6 and any other method of positive identification other

7 than fingerprints used by the Federal Bureau of In8 vestigation for criminal history background checks.

9 ‘‘(c) PERSONS SUBJECT TO, AND PURPOSES FOR,

10 BACKGROUND CHECKS.—

11 ‘‘(1) PERSONS AND PETITIONS DESCRIBED.—

12 The persons (and applications and petitions) de13 scribed in this paragraph are as follows:

14 ‘‘(A) An alien 14 through 79 years of age

15 applying for adjustment of status to that of an

16 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

17 ‘‘(B) An alien 14 through 75 years of age

18 applying for naturalization as a citizen of the

19 United States.

20 ‘‘(C) An alien 14 years of age or older ap21 plying for asylum, or treatment as a spouse or

22 child accompanying an asylee.

23 ‘‘(D) An alien 14 years of age or older ap24 plying for temporary protected status under

25 section 244.
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1 ‘‘(E) A person who has filed a petition to

2 accord a child defined in section 101(b)(1)(F)

3 classification as an immediate relative under

4 section 201(b)(2)(A)(i), and any additional indi5 vidual, over the age of 18, whose principal or

6 only residence is the home of such person.

7 ‘‘(F) A person who has submitted a guar8 antee of legal custody and financial responsibil9 ity under paragraphs (2)(B) and (4) of section

10 204(f) in connection with a petition to accord

11 an alien, who is the subject of the guarantee,

12 classification under section 201(b), 203(a)(1),

13 or 203(a)(3).

14 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES FOR CHECKS DESCRIBED.—

15 ‘‘(A) ALIENS APPLYING FOR BENEFITS.—

16 With respect to the aliens, and the applications,

17 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of

18 paragraph (1), the requirements of subsection

19 (a) shall be applied (subject to subsection (b))

20 for the purpose of determining whether the

21 alien has a criminal history that bears upon the

22 alien’s eligibility for the benefit for which the

23 alien applied.

24 ‘‘(B) ORPHAN PETITIONS.—With respect

25 to a person described in paragraph (1)(E), the
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1 requirements of subsection (a) shall be applied

2 (subject to subsection (b)) for the purpose of

3 determining whether the person has a criminal

4 history that bears upon whether proper care

5 will be furnished the child described in such

6 paragraph.

7 ‘‘(C) AMERASIAN PETITIONS.—With re8 spect to a person described in paragraph

9 (1)(F), the requirements of subsection (a) shall

10 be applied (subject to subsection (b)) for the

11 purpose of determining whether the person is of

12 good moral character.

13 ‘‘(d) FEE.—The Attorney General may charge a per14 son described in subsection (c)(1) a fee to cover the actual

15 cost of the criminal background check process under this

16 section.

17 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not be con18 strued to affect or impair the ability of the Attorney Gen19 eral to require a criminal history background check as a

20 condition for obtaining any benefit under this Act (includ21 ing a classification under section 204) that is not de22 scribed in subsection (c)(1).’’.

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

24 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by in25 serting after the item relating to section 105 the following:
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‘‘Sec. 106. Investigation of criminal background of an alien applying for certain benefits and certain petitioners for classification of an

alien.’’.

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

2 this section shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and shall

3 apply to applications for a benefit under the Immigration

4 and Nationality Act (including petitions to accord a classi5 fication under section 204 of such Act) submitted on or

6 after such date.

7 SEC. 5. INTERVIEW FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Immigration and Nationality

9 Act is amended by inserting after section 245A the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘INTERVIEW FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS TO THAT OF

12 PERSON ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

13 ‘‘SEC. 245B. Before the status of an alien may be

14 adjusted by the Attorney General to that of an alien law15 fully admitted for permanent residence, the alien shall ap16 pear before an employee of the Service, who shall conduct

17 a personal interview of the alien for the purpose of verify18 ing that the alien is eligible for such adjustment.’’.

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

20 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by in21 serting after the item relating to section 245A the follow22 ing:

‘‘Sec. 245B. Interview for adjustment of status to that of person admitted for

permanent residence.’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and shall

3 apply to applications for adjustment of status submitted

4 on or after such date.

5 SEC. 6. INTERVIEW FOR NATURALIZATION.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 332 of the Immigration

7 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1443) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(i) The examination under subsection (a) shall in10 clude a personal interview of the applicant, conducted by

11 an employee of the Service who—

12 ‘‘(1) shall require the applicant to demonstrate

13 the ability to speak and understand words in ordi14 nary usage in the English language, in accordance

15 with section 312(a)(1), unless the applicant is ex16 empt from the requirements of such section pursu17 ant to section 312(b);

18 ‘‘(2) shall require the applicant to describe any

19 criminal law violations, other than minor traffic vio20 lations, for which the applicant has ever been ar21 rested, charged, convicted, fined, or imprisoned, or

22 which the applicant has committed but for which the

23 applicant has not been arrested, charged, convicted,

24 fined, or imprisoned; and
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1 ‘‘(3) shall verify each statement or representa2 tion made by the applicant in the written application

3 for naturalization, and in any documents submitted

4 in support of the application, and shall examine the

5 applicant to determine whether the applicant has

6 willfully made any false statements or misrepresen7 tations, or committed any fraud, for the purpose of

8 obtaining United States citizenship.’’.

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

10 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and

11 shall apply to applications for naturalization submitted on

12 or after such date.

13 SEC. 7. CITIZENSHIP TESTING BY OUTSIDE TESTING ENTI14 TIES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) TESTING BY PERSONS OTHER THAN ATTOR17 NEY GENERAL.—Section 312 of the Immigration

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(c)(1) An applicant for naturalization may satisfy

21 the reading and writing requirements of subsection (a)(1),

22 and the knowledge and understanding requirements of

23 subsection (a)(2), by passing a test approved by the Attor24 ney General and administered by a person, other than the

25 Attorney General, who, not later than the date of the en-
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1 actment of the Naturalization Reform Act of 1997, is au2 thorized by the Attorney General to administer such a

3 test.

4 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall revoke the author5 ization granted to a person to administer tests referred

6 to in paragraph (1), unless—

7 ‘‘(A) the person has not subcontracted, fran8 chised, or otherwise delegated the person’s testing

9 authority to any other person; and

10 ‘‘(B) at any time after the person has been au11 thorized by the Attorney General to administer such

12 tests and has administered them for at least 6

13 months during the period beginning on the date of

14 the enactment of the Naturalization Reform Act of

15 1997, the person and the Attorney General are able

16 to demonstrate that—

17 ‘‘(i) in not less than 5 of the 6 preceding

18 months, the Attorney General has conducted

19 unannounced inspections of at least 10 percent

20 of the testing sites operated by the person in

21 each such month;

22 ‘‘(ii) during each such site inspection, the

23 Attorney General has checked the integrity and

24 security of the testing process and has memori25 alized the findings from the inspection in a
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1 written report and, after the inspection, has

2 provided copies of the report to the person; and

3 ‘‘(iii) after reviewing each such inspection

4 report, the Attorney General—

5 ‘‘(I) has determined and certified that

6 the person continues to maintain the over7 all integrity and security of the person’s

8 testing program, and has remedied any se9 rious flaws discovered by the inspections;

10 and

11 ‘‘(II) has provided a copy of the cer12 tification to the person.

13 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall require an applicant

14 for naturalization who has passed a test administered

15 under this subsection to retake and repass such a test in

16 circumstances where the Attorney General has reasonable

17 grounds to believe that the administration of the test was

18 impaired by fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct

19 or negligence that jeopardizes the reliability of the test re20 sults.’’.

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

22 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,

23 1998, and shall apply to applications for naturaliza24 tion submitted on or after such date.

25 (b) STUDY ON INTEGRITY OF TESTING PROCESS.—
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1 (1) REPORT.—Not later than the date that is

2 6 months after the date of the enactment of this

3 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States

4 shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on the

5 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the

6 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate the report

7 described in paragraph (2).

8 (2) CONTENTS.—The report referred to in

9 paragraph (1) shall describe the results of a com10 prehensive study conducted by the Comptroller Gen11 eral of the United States to determine the extent to

12 which tests administered by persons other than the

13 Attorney General, by which an applicant for natu14 ralization may satisfy the reading and writing re15 quirements of subsection (a)(1), and the knowledge

16 and understanding requirements of subsection

17 (a)(2), of section 312 of the Immigration and Na18 tionality Act, are impaired by fraud, misrepresenta19 tion, or other misconduct or negligence that jeopard20 izes the reliability of the test results.

21 SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO RESIDENT

22 ALIEN CARDS.

23 (a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT LOSS,

24 THEFT, OR DESTRUCTION OF RESIDENT ALIEN CARD.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Immigration and Na2 tionality Act is amended by inserting after section

3 274D the following:

4 ‘‘CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT LOSS, THEFT,

5 OR DESTRUCTION OF RESIDENT ALIEN CARD

6 ‘‘SEC. 274E. Any alien who has been issued by the

7 Attorney General an alien registration receipt card indi8 cating the alien’s status as an alien lawfully admitted for

9 permanent residence, and who fails to report to the Attor10 ney General the loss, theft, or destruction of the card by

11 the date that is 7 days after the date the alien discovers

12 such loss, theft, or destruction, shall pay a civil penalty

13 to the Commissioner of $50 per violation.’’.

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con15 tents of the Immigration and Nationality Act is

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 274D the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 274E. Civil penalty for failure to report loss, theft, or destruction of resident alien card.’’.

18 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

19 by this subsection shall take effect on October 1,

20 1998, and shall apply to alien registration receipt

21 cards that are lost, stolen, or destroyed on or after

22 such date.

23 (b) SURRENDER OF RESIDENT ALIEN CARD UPON

24 NATURALIZATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 338 of the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1449) is amend3 ed—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘A person’’;

5 and

6 (B) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(b)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Attorney

8 General may not deliver a certificate of naturalization to

9 any person to whom the Attorney General previously had

10 issued an alien registration receipt card indicating the per11 son’s status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent

12 residence, unless—

13 ‘‘(A) the person has surrendered the card to the

14 Attorney General; or

15 ‘‘(B) the person has submitted an affidavit to

16 the Attorney General stating that the card was lost,

17 stolen, or destroyed, and describing any facts known

18 to the alien with respect to the circumstances of

19 such loss, theft, or destruction, and a period of not

20 less than 30 days has elapsed since such submission,

21 during which period the Attorney General may con22 duct an investigation of such loss, theft, or destruc23 tion.
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1 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General may charge a person de2 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) a fee to cover the cost of an

3 investigation described in such paragraph.’’.

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

5 by this subsection shall take effect on October 1,

6 1998, and shall apply to certificates of naturaliza7 tion delivered on or after such date.

8 SEC. 9. REVOCATION OF NATURALIZATION.

9 (a) CLARIFICATION OF MATERIALITY REQUIRE10 MENT.—Section 340(a) of the Immigration and National11 ity Act (8 U.S.C. 1451(a)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(1)’’;

13 and

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

15 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, a fact with respect

16 to a naturalized person may not be considered immaterial

17 solely because the fact, had it been known to the Attorney

18 General before the person was naturalized, would not, by

19 itself, have required the Attorney General to deny the per20 son’s application for naturalization.’’.

21 (b) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF WILLFUL22 NESS.—Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality

23 Act (8 U.S.C. 1451) is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h)

25 as subsections (e) though (i), respectively; and
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘(d) In any proceeding under this section in which

4 the United States proves that an order admitting a person

5 to citizenship was procured by the person’s concealment

6 or misrepresentation of a material fact, such proof shall

7 be considered prima facie evidence that the person acted

8 willfully with respect to the concealment or misrepresenta9 tion, and, in the absence of countervailing evidence, such

10 proof shall be sufficient to authorize the revocation and

11 setting aside of the order and the cancellation of the cer12 tificate of naturalization.’’.

13 (c) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE REVOCA14 TIONS.—Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1451), as amended by subsection (b), is fur16 ther amended—

17 (1) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and

18 inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (j), nothing’’; and

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(j) The Attorney General shall commence any pro22 ceeding administratively to correct, reopen, alter, modify,

23 or vacate an order naturalizing a person not later than

24 5 years after the effective date of the order.’’.
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall take effect on October 1, 1998, and shall

3 apply to any order naturalizing a person with an effective

4 date that is on or after October 1, 1998.

5 SEC. 10. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND IMPROVED OVERSIGHT

6 FOR NATURALIZATION.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General

9 shall establish a process (including internal audit proce10 dures, other audit procedures, or both) to review the ongo11 ing compliance with all laws, policies, and procedures af12 fecting naturalization by each office of the Immigration

13 and Naturalization Service that has duties with respect

14 to naturalization.

15 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the ter16 mination of each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, and

17 2001, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the

18 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com19 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives

20 concerning the compliance by the Commissioner of Immi21 gration and Naturalization and the Immigration and Nat22 uralization Service with all laws, policies, and procedures

23 affecting naturalization during such terminated fiscal

24 year.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

2 on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall cease

3 to be effective upon the submission, under subsection (b),

4 of the report with respect to fiscal year 2001.

Æ