II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 656 

To provide for the adjustment of status of certain nationals of Liberia 

to that of lawful permanent residence. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2005 

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

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the adjustment of status of certain nationals 

of Liberia to that of lawful permanent residence. 

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 ‘‘Liberian Refugee Im5 migration Fairness Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. 

7 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (A) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security shall adjust the status of an 
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1 alien described in subsection (b) to that of an 

2 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, 

3 if the alien— 

4 (i) applies for adjustment before April 

5 1, 2007; and 

6 (ii) is otherwise eligible to receive an 

7 immigrant visa and admissible to the 

8 United States for permanent residence, ex9 cept that, in determining such admissi10 bility, the grounds for inadmissibility speci11 fied in paragraphs (4), (5), (6)(A), and 

12 (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1182(a)) shall not apply. 

15 (B) INELIGIBLE ALIENS.—An alien shall 

16 not be eligible for adjustment of status under 

17 this section if the Secretary of Homeland Secu18 rity finds that the alien has been convicted of— 

19 (i) any aggravated felony (as defined 

20 in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration 

21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1101(a)(43)); or 

23 (ii) 2 or more crimes involving moral 

24 turpitude. 
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1 (2) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER2 TAIN ORDERS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—An alien present in the 

4 United States who has been ordered excluded, 

5 deported, removed, or to depart voluntarily 

6 from the United States under any provision of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act may, not8 withstanding such order, apply for adjustment 

9 of status under paragraph (1) if otherwise 

10 qualified under that paragraph. 

11 (B) SEPARATE MOTION NOT REQUIRED.— 

12 An alien described in subparagraph (A) may 

13 not be required, as a condition of submitting or 

14 granting such application, to file a separate mo15 tion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate the order 

16 described in subparagraph (A). 

17 (C) EFFECT OF DECISION BY SEC18 RETARY.—If the Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity grants the application, the Secretary shall 

20 cancel the order. If the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security makes a final decision to deny the ap22 plication, the order shall be effective and en23 forceable to the same extent as if the applica24 tion had not been made. 
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1 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA2 TUS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The benefits provided under 

4 subsection (a) shall apply to any alien— 

5 (A) who is— 

6 (i) a national of Liberia; and 

7 (ii) has been continuously present in 

8 the United States from January 1, 2005, 

9 through the date of application under sub10 section (a); or 

11 (B) who is the spouse, child, or unmarried 

12 son or daughter of an alien described in sub13 paragraph (A). 

14 (2) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PHYS15 ICAL PRESENCE.—For purposes of establishing the 

16 period of continuous physical presence referred to in 

17 paragraph (1), an alien shall not be considered to 

18 have failed to maintain continuous physical presence 

19 by reasons of an absence, or absences, from the 

20 United States for any period or periods amounting 

21 in the aggregate to not more than 180 days. 

22 (c) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security shall provide by regulation for an alien who 

25 is subject to a final order of deportation or removal 
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1 or exclusion to seek a stay of such order based on 

2 the filing of an application under subsection (a). 

3 (2) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith4 standing any provision in the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

6 shall not order an alien to be removed from the 

7 United States if the alien is in exclusion, deporta8 tion, or removal proceedings under any provision of 

9 such Act and has applied for adjustment of status 

10 under subsection (a), except where the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security has made a final determination 

12 to deny the application. 

13 (3) WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security may authorize an alien who 

16 has applied for adjustment of status under sub17 section (a) to engage in employment in the 

18 United States during the pendency of such ap19 plication and may provide the alien with an 

20 ‘‘employment authorized’’ endorsement or other 

21 appropriate document signifying authorization 

22 of employment. 

23 (B) PENDING APPLICATIONS.—If an appli24 cation under subsection (a) is pending for a pe25 riod exceeding 180 days and has not been de-
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1 nied, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

2 authorize such employment. 

3 (d) RECORD OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE.—Upon 

4 approval of an alien’s application for adjustment of status 

5 under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

6 shall establish a record of the alien’s admission for perma7 nent record as of the date of the alien’s arrival in the 

8 United States. 

9 (e) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

10 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to ap11 plicants for adjustment of status under subsection (a) the 

12 same right to, and procedures for, administrative review 

13 as are provided to— 

14 (1) applicants for adjustment of status under 

15 section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1255); or 

17 (2) aliens subject to removal proceedings under 

18 section 240 of such Act. 

19 (f) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A deter20 mination by the Secretary of Homeland Security as to 

21 whether the status of any alien should be adjusted under 

22 this section is final and shall not be subject to review by 

23 any court. 

24 (g) NO OFFSET IN NUMBER OF VISAS AVAILABLE.— 

25 If an alien is granted the status of having been lawfully 
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1 admitted for permanent residence pursuant to this section, 

2 the Secretary of State shall not be required to reduce the 

3 number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued under 

4 any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

5 (h) APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATION6 ALITY ACT PROVISIONS.— 

7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—Except as otherwise specifi8 cally provided in this Act, the definitions contained 

9 in the Immigration and Nationality Act shall apply 

10 in this section. 

11 (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act 

12 shall be construed to repeal, amend, alter, modify, 

13 effect, or restrict the powers, duties, function, or au14 thority of the Secretary of Homeland Security in the 

15 administration and enforcement of the Immigration 

16 and Nationality Act or any other law relating to im17 migration, nationality, or naturalization. 

18 (3) EFFECT OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADJUSTMENT

19 OF STATUS.—Eligibility to be granted the status of 

20 having been lawfully admitted for permanent resi21 dence under this section shall not preclude an alien 

22 from seeking any status under any other provision 

23 of law for which the alien may otherwise be eligible. 

Æ