I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3188 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide protection for 
immigrant victims of violence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 30, 2005 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GUTIERREZ, 
Ms. SOLIS, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. 
LANTOS, Mr. KIND, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 
SLAUGHTER, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. WAXMAN, 
Mr. BERMAN, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Ms. LEE, Ms. WATSON, Ms. LINDA T. 
SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKER-
MAN, Mr. BACA, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 
Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FARR, 
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, 
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. JACKSON 
of Illinois, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Is-
land, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. 
MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RUSH, 
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. STARK, Mr. 
STUPAK, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 
WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. WU) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
to the Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, Financial Services, 
and Energy and Commerce, 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 amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 
protection for immigrant victims of violence. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as ‘‘Immi-
grant Victims of Violence Protection Act of 2005’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
TITLE I—IMMIGRATION PROTECTIONS 
Subtitle A—Victims of Crime 
Sec. 101. Conditions applicable to U and T visas. 
Sec. 102. Clarification of basis for relief under hardship waivers for conditional 
permanent residence. 
Sec. 103. Adjustment of status for victims of trafficking. 
Subtitle B—VAWA Petitioners 
Sec. 111. Definition of VAWA petitioner. 
Sec. 112. Self-petitioning for children. 
Sec. 113. Self-petitioning parents. 
Sec. 114. Promoting consistency in VAWA adjudications. 
Sec. 115. Relief for certain victims pending actions on petitions and applica-
tions for relief. 
Sec. 116. Access to VAWA protection regardless of manner of entry. 
Sec. 117. Eliminating abusers’ control over applications for adjustments of sta-
tus. 
Sec. 118. Parole for VAWA petitioners and derivatives. 
Sec. 119. Exemption of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and traf-
ficking from sanctions for failure to depart voluntarily. 
Sec. 120. Clarification of access to naturalization for victims of domestic vio-
lence. 
Sec. 121. Consolidating adjudication of VAWA cases in VAWA unit. 
Sec. 122. Prohibition of adverse determinations of admissibility or deportability 
based on protected information. 
Subtitle C—Miscellaneous Provisions
Sec. 131. Removing 2 year custody and residency requirement for battered 
adopted children. 
Sec. 132. Waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility for VAWA petitioners. 
Sec. 133. Treatment of good moral character. 
Sec. 134. Employment authorization for battered spouses of H–1B visa holders. 
Sec. 135. Grounds for hardship waiver for conditional permanent residence for 
intended spouses. 
Sec. 136. Cancellation of removal. 
Sec. 137. Motions to reopen. 
Sec. 138. Removal proceedings. 
Sec. 139. Conforming relief in suspension of deportation parallel to the relief 
available in VAWA–2000 cancellation for bigamy. 
Sec. 140. Correction of cross-reference to credible evidence provisions. 
Sec. 141. Technical corrections. 
TITLE II—ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS 
Subtitle A—Ensuring Crime Victim Access to Legal Services 
Sec. 201. Ensuring crime victim access to legal services. 
Subtitle B—Eligibility for Certain Public Benefits of Aliens Suffering from 
Domestic Abuse 
Sec. 211. Eligibility for certain public benefits of aliens suffering from domestic 
abuse. 
Subtitle C—Law Enforcement Training Grants 
Sec. 221. Grants for law enforcement training programs to identify and protect 
victims of trafficking. 
(c) REFERENCES TO VAWA–2000.—In this Act, the 
term ‘‘VAWA–2000’’ means the Violence Against Women 
Act of 2000 (division B of Public Law 106–386). 
(d) REGULATIONS.— Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Secretary 
of State shall promulgate regulations to implement the 
provisions contained in the Battered Immigrant Women 
Protection Act of 2000 (title V of VAWA–2000) and the 
amendments made by (and the provisions of) this Act.
TITLE I—IMMIGRATION 
PROTECTIONS 
Subtitle A—Victims of Crime 
SEC. 101. CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO U AND T VISAS. 
(a) TREATMENT OF U DERIVATIVES.—Clause (ii) of 
section 101(a)(15)(U)(ii) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)(ii)), as added by sec-
tion 1513(b) of VAWA–2000, is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(ii) the spouse or child of an alien de-
scribed in clause (i), or the parent of such an 
alien if the alien is a child, or the unmarried 
sibling of such a child if such sibling is under 
18 years of age on the date on which such alien 
applied for status under such clause, if— 
‘‘(I) the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity considers it necessary to avoid extreme 
hardship to such alien or such spouse, 
child, parent, or sibling; or 
‘‘(II) a government official described 
in clause (i)(III) certifies that an investiga-
tion or prosecution described in such 
clause would be harmed without the assist-
ance of such spouse, child, parent, or sib-
ling; and’’.
(b) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE AND CHILDREN OF VIC-
TIMS
OF
TRAFFICKING.—Clause 
(ii) 
of 
section 
101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(ii) if accompanying, or following to join, 
the alien described in clause (i)— 
‘‘(I) in the case of an alien so de-
scribed who is under 21 years of age, the 
spouse, children, unmarried siblings under 
18 years of age on the date on which such 
alien applied for status under such clause, 
and parents of such alien; or 
‘‘(II) in the case of an alien described 
in clause (i) who is 21 years of age or 
older, the spouse and children of such 
alien;’’. 
(c) DURATION OF U AND T VISAS.— 
(1) U VISAS.—Section 214(p) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) DURATION OF STATUS.—The authorized 
period of status of an alien as a nonimmigrant 
under section 101(a)(15)(U) shall be 4 years, but 
shall be extended—
‘‘(A) on a year-by-year basis upon certifi-
cation from a Federal, State or local law en-
forcement official, prosecutor, judge, or other 
Federal, State or local authority investigating 
or prosecuting criminal activity described in 
section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii) that the alien’s con-
tinued presence in the United States is required 
to assist in the investigation or prosecution of 
such criminal activity; and 
‘‘(B) if the alien files an application for ad-
justment of status under section 245(m), until 
final adjudication of such application.’’. 
(2) T VISAS.—Section 214(o) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1184(o)), as redesignated by section 8(a)(3) 
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–193), is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) The authorized period of status of an alien as 
a nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(T) shall 
be 4 years, but shall be extended— 
‘‘(A) on a year-by-year basis upon certification 
from a Federal, State or local law enforcement offi-
cial, prosecutor, judge, or other Federal, State or 
local authority investigating or prosecuting criminal 
activity relating to human trafficking that the alien’s
continued presence in the United States is required 
to assist in the investigation or prosecution of such 
criminal activity; and 
‘‘(B) if the alien files an application for adjust-
ment of status under section 245(l), until final adju-
dication of such application.’’. 
(d) PERMITTING CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT STA-
TUS TO U AND T NONIMMIGRANT STATUS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 248 of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1258) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(a) The Secretary of Homeland 
Security’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘(subject to subsection 
(b))’’ after ‘‘except’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(b) The limitation based on inadmissibility under 
section 212(a)(9)(B) and the exceptions specified in num-
bered paragraphs of subsection (a) shall not apply to a 
change of nonimmigrant classification to that of a non-
immigrant under subparagraph (T) or (U) of section 
101(a)(15), other than from such classification under sub-
paragraph (C) or (D) of such section.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
214(l)(2)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)(2)(A)) is 
amended by 
striking 
‘‘248(2)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘248(a)(2)’’. 
(e) U VISA CRIMES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(U) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) is amended— 
(A) in clause (i)(I)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘or injury’’ after 
‘‘physical or mental abuse’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or witness’’ after 
‘‘victim’’; and 
(B) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘child 
abuse; stalking (including physical or electronic 
stalking);’’ after ‘‘unlawful criminal restraint; 
false imprisonment;’’. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—It is the intent of Con-
gress that certifications should be made under clause 
(i)(III) of section 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) 
where an alien provides information to a law en-
forcement official on criminal activity described in 
clause (iii) of such section and is willing to help in 
the investigation of such activity, regardless of 
whether a prosecution is made in such case or if
prosecution is made for criminal activity not de-
scribed in such clause. 
(f) CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF-
FICKING.— 
(1) VICTIM ASSISTANCE IN INVESTIGATION OR 
PROSECUTION.—Section 107(b)(1)(E) of the Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Division A 
of Public Law 106–386; 22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(1)(E)) 
is amended— 
(A) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘investiga-
tion and prosecution’’ and inserting ‘‘investiga-
tion or prosecution, by the United States or a 
State or local government’’; and 
(B) in clause (iii)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘INVESTIGATION AND 
PROSECUTION’’ and ‘‘investigation and 
prosecution’’ and inserting ‘‘INVESTIGA-
TION OR PROSECUTION’’ and ‘‘investigation 
or prosecution’’, respectively; 
(ii) in subclause (II), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(iii) in subclause (III), by striking the 
period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the following 
new subclause:
‘‘(IV) responding to and cooper-
ating with requests for evidence and 
information.’’. 
(2) CLARIFYING ROLES OF ATTORNEY GENERAL 
AND SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 
(A) Section 107 of the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000 (Division A of Public 
Law 106–386; 22 U.S.C. 7105) is amended— 
(i) in subsections (b)(1)(E)(i)(II)(bb), 
(b)(1)(E)(ii), (e)(5), and (g), by striking 
‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec-
retary of Homeland Security’’; and 
(ii) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘, 
Secretary of Homeland Security,’’ after 
‘‘Attorney General’’. 
(B) Section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigra-
tion 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(T)) is amended by striking ‘‘Attor-
ney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 
Homeland Security’’ each place it appears. 
(C) Section 212(d)(13) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(13)) is 
amended—