I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4319 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the annual 

numerical limitation on U visas, to require the Secretary of Homeland 

Security to grant work authorization to aliens with a pending application 

for nonimmigrant status under subparagraph (U) or (T) of section 

101(a)(15) of such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CORREA, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

HAALAND, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, Ms. 

MOORE, Mrs. MURPHY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Mr. SUOZZI, 

Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate 

the annual numerical limitation on U visas, to require 

the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant work authorization to aliens with a pending application for nonimmigrant status under subparagraph (U) or (T) of section 101(a)(15) of such Act, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Immigrant Witness 

5 and Victim Protection Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE; FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to remove 

8 barriers for alien survivors of domestic violence, sexual as9 sault, human trafficking, and other crimes who may be 

10 eligible for protections under the Violence Against Women 

11 Act of 1994 (VAWA), the Trafficking Victims Protection 

12 Act of 2000 (TVPA). 

13 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

14 (1) Threats of deportation are one of the most 

15 potent tools abusers and perpetrators of crime use 

16 to maintain control over and silence alien victims 

17 and to avoid criminal prosecution. Abusers and per18 petrators leverage the immigration system in the 

19 abuse and exploitation of aliens they victimize. 

20 (2) A bipartisan majority in Congress created 

21 critical immigration protections in VAWA, TVPA 

22 and their subsequent reauthorizations in recognition 

23 that alien survivors of domestic violence, sexual as24 sault, human trafficking, and other eligible crimes 


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1 often fear that reaching out for help may lead to 

2 their deportation. 

3 (3) Detention and removal of those with victim4 based cases undermines the intent of VAWA and re5 traumatizes victims and their children. Deporting 

6 survivors while they await decisions on their cases 

7 discourages victims from accessing justice, under8 mines the usefulness of these forms of relief as tools 

9 for law enforcement that seek to keep all commu10 nities safe, separates them from their children and 

11 support networks, and eliminates the ability of local 

12 law enforcement to continue protecting and working 

13 with such crime survivors. 

14 (4) Lack of timely access to employment au15 thorization makes victims more vulnerable and likely 

16 to need to endure or return to abusive relationships 

17 or exploitative conditions. Crime survivors should 

18 have access to work authorization to escape abusive 

19 situations, and gain self-sufficiency following victim20 ization so they can support themselves and their 

21 children. 

22 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that the Secretary of Homeland Security should not 

24 deport crime victims before their applications for humaniVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Sep 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4319.IH H4319

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1 tarian relief are fully adjudicated, as it undermines critical 

2 bi-partisan protections created in VAWA and the TVPA. 

3 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL NUMERICAL LIMITATION 

4 ON U VISAS. 

5 Section 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended by striking paragraph 

7 (2). 

8 SEC. 4. WORK AUTHORIZATION WHILE APPLICATIONS FOR 

9 U AND T VISAS ARE PENDING. 

10 (a) U VISAS.—Section 214(p) of the Immigration 

11 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking the last sen13 tence; and 

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

15 ‘‘(8) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding 

16 any provision of this Act granting eligibility for em17 ployment in the United States, the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security shall grant employment author19 ization to an alien who has filed an application for 

20 nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(U) 

21 on the date that is the earlier of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the date on which the alien’s applica23 tion for such status is approved; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a date determined by the Secretary 

2 that is not later than 180 days after the date 

3 on which the alien filed the application.’’. 

4 (b) T VISAS.—Section 214(o) of the Immigration and 

5 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(o)) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(8) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act grant8 ing eligibility for employment in the United States, the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment 

10 authorization to an alien who has filed an application for 

11 nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(T) on the 

12 date that is the earlier of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the date on which the alien’s application 

14 for such status is approved; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a date determined by the Secretary that 

16 is not later than 180 days after the date on which 

17 the alien filed the application.’’. 

18 (c) VAWA SELF-PETITIONERS.—Section 

19 204(a)(1)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(K)) is amended— 

21 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik22 ing ‘‘, the alien’’; 

23 (2) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘the alien’’ before 

24 ‘‘is eligible’’; and 

25 (3) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any provision of 

2 this Act restricting eligibility for employ3 ment in the United States, the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security shall grant employ5 ment authorization to such an alien on the 

6 date that is the earlier of— 

7 ‘‘(I) the date on which the alien’s 

8 application for lawful permanent resi9 dent status is approved; or 

10 ‘‘(II) a date determined by the 

11 Secretary that is not later than 180 

12 days after the date that is the earlier 

13 of the date on which the alien filed 

14 the application or the alien’s petition 

15 as a VAWA self-petitioner is ap16 proved.’’. 

17 (d) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL.—Section 

18 240A(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1229b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(E) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—Notwith22 standing any provision of this Act granting eli23 gibility for employment in the United States, 

24 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant 

25 employment authorization to an alien who has 


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1 filed an application for cancellation of removal 

2 under this paragraph on a date that is not later 

3 than 180 days after the date on which the alien 

4 filed the application.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. STAY OF REMOVAL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in subsection 

7 (b) shall not be removed from the United States under 

8 section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1229a) or any other provision of law until there 

10 is a final denial of the alien’s application for status after 

11 the exhaustion of administrative and judicial review. 

12 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described in 

13 this subsection if the alien— 

14 (1) has a pending application under section 

15 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 106, 240A(b)(2), or 

16 244(a)(3) (as in effect on March 31, 1997) of the 

17 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101, 

18 1229a, 1254a); or 

19 (2) is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined in sec20 tion 101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nationality 

21 Act, with a pending application for relief under a 

22 provision referred to in one of subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (G) of such section. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CERTAIN VICTIMS 

2 WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICA3 TIONS. 

4 Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

5 (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CERTAIN VIC8 TIMS WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of this Act, there shall be a presumption 

11 that the alien described in paragraph (2) should be 

12 released from detention. The Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security shall have the duty of rebutting this pre14 sumption, which may only be shown based on clear 

15 and convincing evidence, including credible and indi16 vidualized information, that the use of alternatives 

17 to detention will not reasonably ensure the appear18 ance of the alien at removal proceedings, or that the 

19 alien is a threat to another person or the commu20 nity. The fact that an alien has a criminal charge 

21 pending against the alien may not be the sole factor 

22 to justify the continued detention of the alien. 

23 ‘‘(2) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien is described 

24 in this paragraph if the alien— 

25 ‘‘(A) has a pending application under sec26 tion 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 106, 


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1 240A(b)(2), or 244(a)(3) (as in effect on March 

2 31, 1997); or 

3 ‘‘(B) is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined 

4 in section 101(a)(51), with a pending applica5 tion for relief under a provision referred to in 

6 one of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such 

7 section.’’. 

Æ 


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