Restoring Respect for Immigrant Service in Uniform Act

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the grounds of deportability for certain alien members of the United States Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Restoring Respect for Immigrant Service in Uniform Act 2. Readmission of deported veterans (a) In general It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Homeland Security should exercise the Secretary’s discretion, including under subsections (a)(9)(A)(iii), (a)(9)(B)(v), (d)(3)(A), and (d)(5)(A) of section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182 (1) has been a member of the United States Armed Forces for a period of not less 180 days, and has not received a discharge other than an honorable discharge; (2) has not been convicted of— (A) a felony; (B) a significant misdemeanor; or (C) 3 or more misdemeanors that are not significant misdemeanors, each of which occurred on a different date, and arose out of separate conduct; and (3) is not otherwise a threat to national security or public safety. (b) Significant misdemeanor defined In this section, the term significant misdemeanor (1) which is a crime of domestic violence (as such term is defined in section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) (2) which is a sexual assault (as such term is defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 ( 42 U.S.C. 13925(a) (3) which involved the unlawful possession of a firearm (as such term is defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); or (4) for which the alien was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of longer than 90 days. 3. Limiting grounds of deportability for servicemembers and veterans Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1227 (e) Alien members of the United States armed forces The provisions of this section shall not apply to an alien who has been a member of the United States Armed Forces for a period of not less than 180 days, and who has not received a discharge other than an honorable discharge, except in the case of an alien who— (1) has been convicted of— (A) a felony; (B) a significant misdemeanor (as such term is defined in section 2 of the Restoring Respect for Immigrant Service in Uniform Act); or (C) 3 or more misdemeanors that are not significant misdemeanors, each of which occurred on a different date, and arose out of separate conduct; and (2) is otherwise a threat to national security or public safety. .

Summary: Restoring Respect for Immigrant Service in Uniform Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Homeland Security should exercise its discretion (including through the use of exceptions to inadmissibility based upon family reunification, humanitarian, or public benefit grounds, temporary waiver of inadmissibility, or consent to reapply for admission) to admit to the United States an alien who is inadmissible, was previously subject to an order of removal or has been removed, is outside of the United States, and is seeking U.S. admission, if such alien: has been a member of the Armed Forces for at least 180 days and has not received an other-than honorable discharge; has not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors that are not significant misdemeanors and that each occurred on a different date and arose out of separate conduct; and is not otherwise a threat to national security or public safety. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to exempt from deportation an alien who has been a member of the Armed Forces for at least 180 days and has not received an other-than honorable discharge, except in the case of an alien who: has been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors that are not significant misdemeanors and that each occurred on a different date and arose out of separate conduct; and is otherwise a threat to national security or public safety. "Significant misdemeanor" means a misdemeanor: (1) that is a crime of domestic violence, (2) that is a sexual assault, (3) that involved the unlawful possession of a firearm, or (4) for which the alien was sentenced to prison for more than 90 days.