I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 849
To provide for adjustment of status for certain nationals of Bangladesh.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
Mr. GILMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for adjustment of status for certain nationals
of Bangladesh.
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 ‘‘Bangladeshi Adjust-
ment Act’’.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NATIONALS
OF BANGLADESH.
(a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The status of any alien de-
scribed in subsection (b) shall be adjusted by the At-
torney General to that of an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence, if the alien—
(A) applies for such adjustment before
July 1, 2001; and
(B) is otherwise admissible to the United
States for permanent residence, except in deter-
mining such admissibility the grounds for inad-
missibility specified in paragraphs (4), (5),
(6)(A), (7)(A), and (9)(B) 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 of submitting or granting such application,
to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or
vacate such order. If the Attorney General grants
the application, the Attorney General shall cancel
the order. If the Attorney General 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.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The benefits provided by
subsection (a) shall apply to any alien who is a na-
tional of Bangladesh and who has been physically
present in the United States for a continuous period,
beginning not later than July 1, 1989, and ending
not earlier than the date the application for adjust-
ment under such subsection is filed, except an alien
shall not be considered to have failed to maintain
continuous physical presence by reason of an ab-
sence, or absences, from the United States for any
periods in the aggregate not exceeding 180 days.
(2) PROOF OF COMMENCEMENT OF CONTINU-
OUS PRESENCE.—For purposes of establishing that
the period of continuous physical presence referred
to in paragraph (1) commenced not later than July
1, 1989, an alien—
(A) shall demonstrate that the alien, prior
to July 1, 1989—
(i) performed service, or engaged in a
trade or business, within the United States
which is evidenced by records maintained
by the Commissioner of Social Security; or
(ii) applied for any benefit under the
Immigration and Nationality Act by means
of an application establishing the alien’s
presence in the United States prior to July
1, 1989; or
(B) shall make such other demonstration
of physical presence as the Attorney General
may provide for by regulation.
(c) STAY OF REMOVAL; WORK AUTHORIZATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
provide by regulation for an alien subject to a final
order of deportation or removal to seek a stay of
such order based on the filing of an application
under subsection (a).
(2) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith-
standing any provision of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act, the Attorney General shall not order
any alien to be removed from the United States, if
the alien is in exclusion, deportation, or removal pro-
ceedings under any provision of such Act and has
applied for adjustment of status under subsection
(a), except where the Attorney General has rendered
a final administrative determination to deny the ap-
plication.
(3) WORK
AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney
General may authorize an alien who has applied for
adjustment of status under subsection (a) to engage
in employment in the United States during the
pendency of such application and may provide the
alien with an ‘‘employment authorized’’ endorsement
or other appropriate document signifying authoriza-
tion of employment, except that if such application
is pending for a period exceeding 180 days, and has
not been denied, the Attorney General shall author-
ize such employment.
(d) ADJUSTMENT
OF STATUS
FOR SPOUSES
AND
CHILDREN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The status of an alien shall
be adjusted by the Attorney General to that of an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, if—
(A) the alien is a national of Bangladesh;
(B) the alien is the spouse, child, or un-
married son or daughter, of an alien whose sta-
tus is adjusted to that of an alien lawfully ad-
mitted for permanent residence under sub-
section (a), except that in the case of such an
unmarried son or daughter, the son or daughter