I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2843
To adjust the immigration status of certain Colombian and Peruvian nationals 
who are in the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2003
Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 
MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. NUNES, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Vir-
ginia, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. CORRINE BROWN 
of Florida, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 
FRANK
of Massachusetts, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. 
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FARR, and 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To adjust the immigration status of certain Colombian and 
Peruvian nationals who are in the United States.
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 ‘‘Andean Adjustment 
Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN COLOMBIAN 
AND PERUVIAN NATIONALS. 
(a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the 
status of any alien described in subsection (b) shall 
be adjusted by the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
residence, if the alien—
(A) applies for such adjustment not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) is otherwise eligible to receive an im-
migrant visa and is otherwise admissible to the 
United States for permanent residence, except 
in determining such admissibility the grounds 
for inadmissibility specified in paragraphs (4), 
(5), (6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act shall not 
apply. 
(2) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER-
TAIN
ORDERS.—An alien present in the United 
States who has been ordered excluded, deported, re-
moved, or ordered to depart voluntarily, from the 
United States under any provision of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such
order, apply for adjustment of status under para-
graph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a 
condition on submitting or granting such applica-
tion, to file a motion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate 
such order. If the Secretary of Homeland Security 
grants the application, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall cancel the order. If the Secretary of 
Homeland Security renders a final administrative 
decision to deny the application, the order shall be 
effective and enforceable to the same extent as if the 
application had not been made. 
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA-
TUS.—The benefits provided by subsection (a) shall apply 
to any alien who is a national of Colombia or Peru who—
(1) was physically present in the United States 
on December 31, 1999; and 
(2) is physically present in the United States on 
the date the application for adjustment of status 
under this Act is filed. 
(c) STAY OF REMOVAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall provide by regulation for an alien sub-
ject to a final order of deportation, removal, or ex-
clusion to seek a stay of such order based on the fil-
ing of an application under subsection (a).
(2) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith-
standing any provision of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall not order any alien to be removed from the 
United States, if the alien is in exclusion, deporta-
tion, or removal proceedings under any provision of 
such Act and raises as a defense to such an order 
the eligibility of the alien to apply for adjustment of 
status under subsection (a), except where the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security has rendered a final 
administrative determination to deny the application. 
(3) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may authorize an alien who has 
applied for adjustment of status under subsection 
(a), and the spouse of the alien, to engage in em-
ployment in the United States during the pendency 
of such application and may provide the alien and 
the alien’s spouse with an ‘‘employment authorized’’ 
endorsement or other appropriate document signi-
fying authorization of employment, except that if 
such application is pending for a period exceeding 
180 days, and has not been denied, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall authorize such employment. 
(d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR SPOUSES AND 
CHILDREN.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the 
status of an alien shall be adjusted by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security to that of an alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence, if the alien—
(A) is the spouse, child, or unmarried son 
or daughter, of an alien whose status is ad-
justed to that of an alien lawfully admitted for 
permanent residence under subsection (a), ex-
cept that in the case of such an unmarried son 
or daughter, the son or daughter shall be re-
quired to establish that they have been phys-
ically present in the United States for a contin-
uous period, beginning not later than December 
31, 1999, and ending not earlier than the date 
the application for adjustment under this sub-
section is filed; 
(B) applies for such adjustment not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act and is physically present in the United 
States on the date the application is filed; and 
(C) is otherwise eligible to receive an immi-
grant visa and is otherwise admissible to the 
United States for permanent residence, except 
in determining such admissibility the grounds
for exclusion specified in paragraphs (4), (5), 
(6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act shall not apply. 
(2) PROOF OF CONTINUOUS PRESENCE.—For 
purposes of establishing the period of continuous 
physical presence referred to in paragraph (1)(B), 
an alien shall not be considered to have failed to 
maintain continuous physical presence by reason of 
an absence, or absences, from the United States for 
any periods in the aggregate not exceeding 180 
days. 
(e) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to ap-
plicants for adjustment of status under subsection (a) the 
same right to, and procedures for, administrative review 
as are provided to—
(1) applicants for adjustment of status under 
section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; 
or 
(2) aliens subject to removal proceedings under 
section 240 of such Act. 
(f) LIMITATION
ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A deter-
mination by the Secretary of Homeland Security as to 
whether the status of any alien should be adjusted under
this Act is final and shall not be subject to review by any 
court. 
(g) NO OFFSET IN NUMBER OF VISAS AVAILABLE.—
When an alien is granted the status of having been law-
fully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to this 
Act, the Secretary of State shall not be required to reduce 
the number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued 
under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act. 
(h) APPLICATION
OF IMMIGRATION
AND NATION-
ALITY ACT PROVISIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically 
provided in this section, the definitions contained in the 
Immigration and Nationality Act shall apply in the admin-
istration of this Act. Nothing contained in this Act shall 
be held to repeal, amend, alter, modify, effect, or restrict 
the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the Secretary 
of Homeland Security in the administration and enforce-
ment of such Act or any other law relating to immigration, 
nationality, or naturalization. The fact that an alien may 
be eligible to be granted the status of having been lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence under this section shall 
not preclude the alien from seeking such status under any 
other provision of law for which the alien may be eligible.
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