Reentry and Reunification Act of 2018

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide lawful permanent resident status to previously removed alien parents and spouses of citizens of the United States, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Reentry and Reunification Act of 2018 2. Lawful permanent resident status for previously removed spouses and parents of citizens of the United States (a) Eligibility requirements (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall admit to the United States as an alien admitted for lawful permanent residence an alien who is inadmissible to or deportable from the United States if the alien demonstrates that— (A) the alien is the spouse, parent, or guardian of a citizen of the United States; (B) (i) prior to the date of the enactment of this Act, the alien departed the United States pursuant to an order of removal; or (ii) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is subject to an order of removal, or is in removal proceedings; (C) the alien has been a person of good moral character (as defined in section 101(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(f) (D) subject to paragraph (2), the alien— (i) is not inadmissible under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (6)(E), (8), (10)(A), (10)(C), or (10)(D) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) (ii) is not deportable under paragraph (1)(E), (1)(G), (2), (4), (5), or (6) of section 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1227(a) (iii) has not ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; and (iv) other than an offense under State or local law for which an essential element was the alien’s immigration status, a minor traffic offense, or a violation of the immigration laws, has not been convicted of— (I) any offense under Federal or State law punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than 1 year; or (II) any combination of offenses under Federal or State law, for which the alien was imprisoned for a total of more than 1 year in the aggregate; and (E) in the case of an alien described in subparagraph (B)(ii), the alien has been continuously physically present in the United States since the date that is 4 years before the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) Waiver With respect to any benefit under this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive subclauses (I) and (II) of paragraph (1)(D)(iv), the ground of inadmissibility under paragraph (1),(4), or (6)(E) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) 8 U.S.C. 1227(a) (b) Application period An alien seeking status under this Act may file an application during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the date that is 3 years after such date. (c) Determination of continuous presence (1) Termination of continuous period Any period of continuous physical presence in the United States of an alien described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) who applies for status under this section shall not terminate when the alien is served a notice to appear under section 239(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1229(a) (2) Treatment of certain breaks in presence (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), an alien shall be considered to have failed to maintain continuous physical presence in the United States under subsection (a)(1)(E) if the alien has departed from the United States for any period exceeding 90 days or for any periods, in the aggregate, exceeding 180 days. (B) Extensions for extenuating circumstances The Secretary may extend the time periods described in subparagraph (A) for an alien who demonstrates that the failure to timely return to the United States was due to extenuating circumstances beyond the alien’s control, including the serious illness of the alien, or death or serious illness of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or child of the alien. (C) Travel authorized by the secretary Any period of travel outside of the United States by an alien that was authorized by the Secretary may not be counted toward any period of departure from the United States under subparagraph (A). (d) Numerical limitations An alien admitted to the United States under this section shall not be subject to any numerical limitation under the immigration laws. (e) Definitions Except as specifically provided, the terms in this Act have the meanings given those terms in the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101

Summary: Reentry and Reunification Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to admit an otherwise inadmissible alien for lawful permanent residence if such person is the spouse, parent, or guardian of a U.S. citizen; has been a person of good moral character; has been removed from the United States or is subject to removal; is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds; has not participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion; has not been convicted of federal or state crimes with a term of imprisonment of more than one year; and in the case of an alien subject to removal, has been continuously present in the United States for four years.