I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1221 

To provide for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain 

long-term residents who entered the United States as children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2007 

Mr. GILLMOR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for cancellation of removal and adjustment of 

status for certain long-term residents who entered the 

United States as children. 

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— 

5 (1) the ‘‘Education Access for Rightful Nonciti6 zens Act’’; or 

7 (2) the ‘‘EARN Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 


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1 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

5 (2) UNIFORMED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘uni6 formed services’’ has the meaning given that term in 

7 section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL AND ADJUSTMENT OF 

9 STATUS OF CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESIDENTS 

10 WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL11 DREN. 

12 (a) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESI13 DENTS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL14 DREN.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law and except as otherwise provided in 

17 this Act, the Secretary may cancel removal of, and 

18 adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for 

19 permanent residence, subject to the conditional basis 

20 described in section 625, an alien who is inadmis21 sible or deportable from the United States, if the 

22 alien demonstrates that— 

23 (A) the alien has been physically present in 

24 the United States for a continuous period of 

25 not less than 5 years immediately preceding the 


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1 date of enactment of this Act, and had not yet 

2 reached the age of 16 years at the time of ini3 tial entry; 

4 (B) the alien has been a person of good 

5 moral character since the time of application; 

6 (C) the alien— 

7 (i) is not inadmissible under para8 graph (2), (3), (6)(B), (6)(C), (6)(E), 

9 (6)(F), or (6)(G) of section 212(a) of the 

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

11 1182(a)), or, if inadmissible solely under 

12 subparagraph (C) or (F) of paragraph (6) 

13 of such subsection, the alien was under the 

14 age of 16 years at the time the violation 

15 was committed; and 

16 (ii) is not deportable under paragraph 

17 (1)(E), (1)(G), (2), (3)(B), (3)(C), (3)(D), 

18 (4), or (6) of section 237(a) of the Immi19 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1227(a)), or, if deportable solely under 

21 subparagraphs (C) or (D) of paragraph (3) 

22 of such subsection, the alien was under the 

23 age of 16 years at the time the violation 

24 was committed; 


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1 (D) the alien, at the time of application, 

2 has been admitted to an institution of higher 

3 education in the United States, or has earned 

4 a high school diploma or obtained a general 

5 education development certificate in the United 

6 States; and 

7 (E) the alien has never been under a final 

8 administrative or judicial order of exclusion, de9 portation, or removal, unless the alien has re10 mained in the United States under color of law 

11 or received the order before attaining the age of 

12 16 years. 

13 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

14 grounds of ineligibility under section 212(a)(6) of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act and the 

16 grounds of deportability under paragraphs (1), (3), 

17 and (6) of section 237(a) of that Act for humani18 tarian purposes or family unity or when it is other19 wise in the public interest. 

20 (3) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall provide 

21 a procedure by regulation allowing eligible individ22 uals to apply affirmatively for the relief available 

23 under this subsection without being placed in re24 moval proceedings. 


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1 (b) TERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PERIOD.—For 

2 purposes of this section, any period of continuous resi3 dence or continuous physical presence in the United States 

4 of an alien who applies for cancellation of removal under 

5 this section shall not terminate when the alien is served 

6 a notice to appear under section 239(a) of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

8 (c) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRES9 ENCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be considered 

11 to have failed to maintain continuous physical pres12 ence in the United States under subsection (a) if the 

13 alien has departed from the United States for any 

14 period in excess of 90 days or for any periods in the 

15 aggregate exceeding 180 days. 

16 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXCEPTIONAL CIR17 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary may extend the time 

18 periods described in paragraph (1) if the alien dem19 onstrates that the failure to timely return to the 

20 United States was due to exceptional circumstances. 

21 The exceptional circumstances determined sufficient 

22 to justify an extension should be no less compelling 

23 than serious illness of the alien, or death or serious 

24 illness of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or child. 


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1 (d) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

2 Nothing in this section may be construed to apply a nu3 merical limitation on the number of aliens who may be 

4 eligible for cancellation of removal or adjustment of status 

5 under this section. 

6 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

7 (1) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary shall publish proposed regulations imple10 menting this section. Such regulations shall be effec11 tive immediately on an interim basis, but are subject 

12 to change and revision after public notice and oppor13 tunity for a period for public comment. 

14 (2) INTERIM, FINAL REGULATIONS.—Within a 

15 reasonable time after publication of the interim reg16 ulations in accordance with paragraph (1), the Sec17 retary shall publish final regulations implementing 

18 this section. 

19 (f) REMOVAL OF ALIEN.—The Secretary may not re20 move any alien who has a pending application for condi21 tional status under this Act. 

22 SEC. 4. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Not25 withstanding any other provision of law, and except 


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1 as provided in section 626, an alien whose status has 

2 been adjusted under section 624 to that of an alien 

3 lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be 

4 considered to have obtained such status on a condi5 tional basis subject to the provisions of this section. 

6 Such conditional permanent resident status shall be 

7 valid for a period of 6 years, subject to termination 

8 under subsection (b). 

9 (2) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (A) AT TIME OF OBTAINING PERMANENT

11 RESIDENCE.—At the time an alien obtains per12 manent resident status on a conditional basis 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro14 vide for notice to the alien regarding the provi15 sions of this section and the requirements of 

16 subsection (c) to have the conditional basis of 

17 such status removed. 

18 (B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE NO19 TICE.—The failure of the Secretary to provide 

20 a notice under this paragraph— 

21 (i) shall not affect the enforcement of 

22 the provisions of this Act with respect to 

23 the alien; and 

24 (ii) shall not give rise to any private 

25 right of action by the alien. 


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1 (b) TERMINATION OF STATUS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall termi3 nate the conditional permanent resident status of 

4 any alien who obtained such status under this Act, 

5 if the Secretary determines that the alien— 

6 (A) ceases to meet the requirements of 

7 subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 624(a)(1); 

8 (B) has become a public charge; or 

9 (C) has received a dishonorable or other 

10 than honorable discharge from the uniformed 

11 services. 

12 (2) RETURN TO PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION STA13 TUS.—Any alien whose conditional permanent resi14 dent status is terminated under paragraph (1) shall 

15 return to the immigration status the alien had im16 mediately prior to receiving conditional permanent 

17 resident status under this Act. 

18 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION FOR RE19 MOVAL OF CONDITION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order for the conditional 

21 basis of permanent resident status obtained by an 

22 alien under subsection (a) to be removed, the alien 

23 must file with the Secretary, in accordance with 

24 paragraph (3), a petition which requests the removal 

25 of such conditional basis and which provides, under 


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1 penalty of perjury, the facts and information so that 

2 the Secretary may make the determination described 

3 in paragraph (2)(A). 

4 (2) ADJUDICATION OF PETITION TO REMOVE

5 CONDITION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a petition is filed in 

7 accordance with paragraph (1) for an alien, the 

8 Secretary shall make a determination as to 

9 whether the alien meets the requirements set 

10 out in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of sub11 section (d)(1). 

12 (B) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF

13 FAVORABLE DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 

14 determines that the alien meets such require15 ments, the Secretary shall notify the alien of 

16 such determination and immediately remove the 

17 conditional basis of the status of the alien. 

18 (C) TERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER19 MINATION.—If the Secretary determines that 

20 the alien does not meet such requirements, the 

21 Secretary shall notify the alien of such deter22 mination and terminate the conditional perma23 nent resident status of the alien as of the date 

24 of the determination. 


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1 (3) TIME TO FILE PETITION.—An alien may pe2 tition to remove the conditional basis to lawful resi3 dent status during the period beginning 180 days 

4 before and ending 2 years after either the date that 

5 is 6 years after the date of the granting of condi6 tional permanent resident status or any other expi7 ration date of the conditional permanent resident 

8 status as extended by the Secretary in accordance 

9 with this Act. The alien shall be deemed in condi10 tional permanent resident status in the United 

11 States during the period in which the petition is 

12 pending. 

13 (d) DETAILS OF PETITION.— 

14 (1) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—Each petition 

15 for an alien under subsection (c)(1) shall contain in16 formation to permit the Secretary to determine 

17 whether each of the following requirements is met: 

18 (A) The alien has demonstrated good 

19 moral character during the entire period the 

20 alien has been a conditional permanent resi21 dent. 

22 (B) The alien is in compliance with section 

23 3(a)(1)(C). 

24 (C) The alien has not abandoned the 

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1 retary shall presume that the alien has aban2 doned such residence if the alien is absent from 

3 the United States for more than 365 days, in 

4 the aggregate, during the period of conditional 

5 residence, unless the alien demonstrates that 

6 alien has not abandoned the alien’s residence. 

7 An alien who is absent from the United States 

8 due to active service in the uniformed services 

9 has not abandoned the alien’s residence in the 

10 United States during the period of such service. 

11 (D) The alien has completed at least 1 of 

12 the following: 

13 (i) The alien has acquired a degree 

14 from an institution of higher education in 

15 the United States or has completed at 

16 least 2 years, in good standing, in a pro17 gram for a bachelor’s degree or higher de18 gree in the United States. 

19 (ii) The alien has served in the uni20 formed services for at least 2 years and, if 

21 discharged, has received an honorable dis22 charge. 

23 (E) The alien has provided a list of all of 

24 the secondary educational institutions that the 

25 alien attended in the United States. 


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1 (2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, in 

3 the Secretary’s discretion, remove the condi4 tional status of an alien if the alien— 

5 (i) satisfies the requirements of sub6 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph 

7 (1); 

8 (ii) demonstrates compelling cir9 cumstances for the inability to complete 

10 the requirements described in paragraph 

11 (1)(D); and 

12 (iii) demonstrates that the alien’s re13 moval from the United States would result 

14 in exceptional and extremely unusual hard15 ship to the alien or the alien’s spouse, par16 ent, or child who is a citizen or a lawful 

17 permanent resident of the United States. 

18 (B) EXTENSION.—Upon a showing of good 

19 cause, the Secretary may extend the period of 

20 the conditional resident status for the purpose 

21 of completing the requirements described in 

22 paragraph (1)(D). 

23 (e) TREATMENT OF PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF NAT24 URALIZATION.—For purposes of title III of the Immigra25 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), in the 


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1 case of an alien who is in the United States as a lawful 

2 permanent resident on a conditional basis under this sec3 tion, the alien shall be considered to have been admitted 

4 as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence and 

5 to be in the United States as an alien lawfully admitted 

6 to the United States for permanent residence. However, 

7 the conditional basis must be removed before the alien 

8 may apply for naturalization. 

9 SEC. 5. RETROACTIVE BENEFITS. 

10 If, on the date of enactment of this Act, an alien has 

11 satisfied all the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

12 through (E) of section 3(a)(1) and section 4(d)(1)(D), the 

13 Secretary may adjust the status of the alien to that of 

14 a conditional resident in accordance with section 3. The 

15 alien may petition for removal of such condition at the 

16 end of the conditional residence period in accordance with 

17 section 4(c) if the alien has met the requirements of sub18 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 4(d)(1) during 

19 the entire period of conditional residence. 

20 SEC. 6. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall have exclusive 

22 jurisdiction to determine eligibility for relief under this 

23 Act, except where the alien has been placed into deporta24 tion, exclusion, or removal proceedings either prior to or 

25 after filing an application for relief under this Act, in 


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1 which case the Attorney General shall have exclusive juris2 diction and shall assume all the powers and duties of the 

3 Secretary until proceedings are terminated, or if a final 

4 order of deportation, exclusion, or removal is entered the 

5 Secretary shall resume all powers and duties delegated to 

6 the Secretary under this Act. 

7 (b) STAY OF REMOVAL OF CERTAIN ALIENS EN8 ROLLED IN PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The At9 torney General shall stay the removal proceedings of any 

10 alien who— 

11 (1) meets all the requirements of subpara12 graphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of section 3(a)(1); 

13 (2) is at least 12 years of age; and 

14 (3) is enrolled full time in a primary or sec15 ondary school. 

16 (c) EMPLOYMENT.—An alien whose removal is stayed 

17 pursuant to subsection (b) may be engaged in employment 

18 in the United States, consistent with the Fair Labor 

19 Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), and State and 

20 local laws governing minimum age for employment. 

21 (d) LIFT OF STAY.—The Attorney General shall lift 

22 the stay granted pursuant to subsection (b) if the alien— 

23 (1) is no longer enrolled in a primary or sec24 ondary school; or 


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1 (2) ceases to meet the requirements of sub2 section (b)(1). 

3 SEC. 7. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA4 TION. 

5 Whoever files an application for relief under this Act 

6 and willfully and knowingly falsifies, misrepresents, or 

7 conceals a material fact or makes any false or fraudulent 

8 statement or representation, or makes or uses any false 

9 writing or document knowing the same to contain any 

10 false or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined in 

11 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or impris12 oned not more than 5 years, or both. 

13 SEC. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION.—No officer or employee of the 

15 United States may— 

16 (1) use the information furnished by the appli17 cant pursuant to an application filed under this Act 

18 to initiate removal proceedings against any persons 

19 identified in the application; 

20 (2) make any publication whereby the informa21 tion furnished by any particular individual pursuant 

22 to an application under this Act can be identified; or 

23 (3) permit anyone other than an officer or em24 ployee of the United States Government or, in the 

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1 ignated entity, that designated entity, to examine 

2 applications filed under this Act. 

3 (b) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—The Attorney General 

4 or the Secretary shall provide the information furnished 

5 under this section, and any other information derived from 

6 such furnished information, to— 

7 (1) a duly recognized law enforcement entity in 

8 connection with an investigation or prosecution of an 

9 offense described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 

10 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1182(a)), when such information is requested 

12 in writing by such entity; or 

13 (2) an official coroner for purposes of affirma14 tively identifying a deceased individual (whether or 

15 not such individual is deceased as a result of a 

16 crime). 

17 (c) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly uses, publishes, 

18 or permits information to be examined in violation of this 

19 section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

20 SEC. 9. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS; PRO21 HIBITION ON FEES. 

22 Regulations promulgated under this Act shall provide 

23 that applications under this Act will be considered on an 

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1 ment by the applicant of any additional fee for such expe2 dited processing. 

3 SEC. 10. GAO REPORT. 

4 Seven years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

5 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

6 a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

7 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep8 resentatives, which sets forth— 

9 (1) the number of aliens who were eligible for 

10 cancellation of removal and adjustment of status 

11 under section 3(a); 

12 (2) the number of aliens who applied for adjust13 ment of status under section 3(a); 

14 (3) the number of aliens who were granted ad15 justment of status under section 3(a); and 

16 (4) the number of aliens whose conditional per17 manent resident status was removed under section 

18 4. 

Æ 


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