I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4303 
To designate the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under section 244 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit nationals of the Common-
wealth of The Bahamas to be eligible for temporary protected status 
under such section, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 
Ms. WILSON of Florida (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 
SABLAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. COX of Cali-
fornia, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali-
fornia, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, 
Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, 
Mr. RICHMOND, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. 
HAYES, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. MOORE, 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. DIN-
GELL, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SOTO, Mr. CRIST, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. 
FRANKEL, Ms. FUDGE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. 
BASS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. EVANS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 
Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GARAMENDI, and 
Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To designate the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under 
section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
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permit nationals of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 
to be eligible for temporary protected status under such 
section, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bahamas TPS Act 
of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM-
PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1254a), the Commonwealth of The Bahamas shall 
be treated as if it had been designated under sub-
section (b) of that section, subject to the provisions 
of this section. 
(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod of the designation referred to in paragraph (1) 
shall be for the 18-month period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the designa-
tion made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national 
of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is deemed to sat-
isfy the requirements under paragraph (1) of section 
244(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
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1254a(c)), subject to paragraph (3) of such section, if the 
alien— 
(1) has been continuously physically present in 
the United States since the date of the enactment of 
this Act; 
(2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 
otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec-
tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 
status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 
(3) registers for temporary protected status in 
a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security. 
(c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 
accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 
an alien who is granted temporary protected status 
pursuant to the designation made under subsection 
(a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 
extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 
alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem-
porary trip abroad. 
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(2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re-
turning to the United States in accordance with an 
authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 
treated as any other returning alien provided tem-
porary protected status under section 244 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Æ 
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