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Committees shall have the substance of the consultations printed in the
Congressional Record.
(c) COMMITTEE HEARINGS.—After the President begins appropriate con-
sultation before acting under section 5102 or 5103 of this title, each Com-
mittee shall hold a hearing to review the proposed action unless—
(1) public disclosure of the details of the action would jeopardize the
lives or safety of individuals; and
(2) if an action under section 5103, the time and nature of the emer-
gency refugee situation do not permit hearings.
§ 5105. Admissions
(a) AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General
may admit a refugee under regulations the Attorney General prescribes and
subject to the numerical limitations of sections 5102 and 5103 of this title.
The Attorney General may admit the refugee when the refugee is—
(1) not resettled firmly in a foreign country;
(2) admissible (except as otherwise provided under subsections (d)
and (e) of this section) as an immigrant under this title; and
(3) of special humanitarian concern to the United States.
(b) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien claiming refugee status has the bur-
den of proving that the alien is entitled to that status.
(c) ADMISSION OF SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.—(1) The spouse or child
(as defined in section 108(a)(1)–(5) of this title) of a refugee qualifying for
admission under subsection (a) of this section is entitled to be admitted the
same as the refugee if the spouse or child is—
(A) accompanying or following to join the refugee;
(B) not an individual referred to in section 132(2) of this title;
(C) not admissible under subsection (a) of this section; and
(D) admissible (except as otherwise provided under subsections (d)
and (e) of this section) as an immigrant under this title.
(2) The admission of the spouse or child shall be charged against the nu-
merical limitation under which the refugee’s admission is charged.
(d) NONAPPLICATION.—Sections 6304(a) and 6313(a)(2), (b), and (c) of
this title do not apply to an alien applying for admission under this section.
(e) WAIVERS.—(1) The Attorney General may waive subchapter I of
chapter 63 of this title (except sections 6307(a)(3), 6308(a)–(c), and 6309)
for the alien—
(A) for humanitarian purposes;
(B) to ensure family unity; or
(C) when otherwise in the public interest.
(2) A waiver under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be in writing
and granted only after an investigation of the alien. The Attorney General
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shall report to Congress after the end of each fiscal year on the number
of waivers granted in that fiscal year and a summary of the reasons for
granting the waivers.
(f) CERTAIN CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONERS.—(1) In this subsection,
‘‘process’’ means accepting and reviewing an application and preparing nec-
essary documents and making appropriate decisions related to the applica-
tion.
(2) Consistent with the procedure applicable to similar cases in other for-
eign countries, and except as necessary to ensure the orderly process of
available applicants, consular officers and the Attorney General shall proc-
ess an application for admission to the United States as a refugee from a
Cuban national imprisoned for political reasons by the Cuban Government
for any period of time after December 31, 1958.
(g) ENDING REFUGEE STATUS.—Under regulations the Attorney General
prescribes, the Attorney General may end the refugee status of an alien and
the spouse and child of the alien on finding that the alien was not a refugee
at the time of the alien’s admission.
§ 5106. Asylum
(a) APPLICATIONS FOR, AND GRANTING, ASYLUM.—The Attorney Gen-
eral shall prescribe a procedure for an alien physically present in the United
States or at a land border or port of entry, regardless of the alien’s status,
to apply for asylum. If the Attorney General decides that the alien is a refu-
gee as defined in section 132(1)(A) of this title, the Attorney General may
grant asylum to the alien. However, an alien convicted of an aggravated fel-
ony may not apply for, or be granted, asylum.
(b) ENDING ASYLUM.—Under regulations the Attorney General pre-
scribes, the Attorney General may end asylum granted under subsection (a)
of this section if the Attorney General decides that the alien is no longer
a refugee as defined in section 132(1)(A) of this title because of a change
in circumstances—
(1) in the alien’s country of nationality; or
(2) if the alien has no nationality, in the country in which the alien
last habitually resided.
(c) GRANTING ASYLUM TO SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.—The spouse or
child (as defined in section 108(a)(1)–(5) of this title) of an alien granted
asylum under subsection (a) of this section may be granted asylum under
subsection (a) if the spouse or child—
(1) is accompanying or following to join the alien; and
(2) may not be granted asylum otherwise under subsection (a) of this
section.