zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Increases to five years the period during which a Cuban national must be physically present in the United States in order to adjust to permanent resident status. Makes an alien who returns to Cuba after admission or parole into the United States ineligible for such status adjustment. Rescinds such adjusted status in the case of an alien who returns to Cuba before being granted U.S. citizenship and subjects the alien to all the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the same extent as if the status adjustment had not been made.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Doctors for Underserved Areas in America Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to make the J-1 visa waiver (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas) program permanent.

Date: 2011-08-05
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Cuban Adjustment Act to make an alien who returns to Cuba after admission or parole into the United States ineligible for such status adjustment. Rescinds such adjusted status in the case of an alien who returns to Cuba before being granted U.S. citizenship, and subjects the alien to all the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the same extent as if the status adjustment had not been made.

Date: 2011-08-30
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Compassionate Visa for Medical Treatment Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include among nonimmigrant classifications: (1) an alien seeking to enter the United States temporarily and solely to receive medical treatment (including participation in a research study) for a disease or condition that if untreated threatens to undermine the alien's survival or day-to-day functioning with an increased likelihood of progression to a more severe disease or condition; or (2) such alien's accompanying or following son, daughter, spouse, or parent. Sets forth related conditions of admission.

Date: 2011-09-09
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Legal Workforce Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish an employment eligibility verification system (EEVS), patterned after the E-Verify system. (Eliminates the current paper-based I-9 system.) Requires an employer to attest, during the verification period and under penalty of perjury, that the employer has verified that an individual is not an unauthorized alien by: (1) obtaining and recording the individual's social security account number, and (2) examining specified documents that establish such individual's identity and employment authorization. Requires an individual to attest that he or she is a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the United States. Subjects an individual who knowingly uses the social security number or other identification of another person to fine and/or imprisonment. Establishes a phased-in EEVS participation deadline (six months to two years) for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. (Exempts from verification requirements seasonal agricultural workers who return to work for a previous employer.) Requires reverification of the following workers who have not been verified under E-verify: (1) federal, state, or local government employees; (2) certain employees who require a federal security clearance; and (3) certain employees assigned to work in the United States under a federal or state contract. Authorizes an employer to voluntarily reverify employees. (Requires any such reverification to be applied to all individuals so employed). Includes employment recruitment and referral within the scope of EEVS. Requires EEVS use by union halls and nonprofit employment agencies. Requires EEVS to provide employers with: (1) temporary verification or nonverification within 3 working days of an inquiry; and (2) in the case of nonverification, a final verification or nonverification within 10 working days. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) an employer utilizing a good faith defense, (2) preemption of state or local law, (3) employer penalties, and (4) worker remedies for EEVS errors. Provides for the establishment of programs to: (1) block the use of misused social security numbers, and (2) suspend or limit the use of social security numbers of victims of identity fraud.

Date: 2011-09-12
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Immigration Backlog Reduction Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth provisions regarding the expedited removal of: (1) inadmissible arriving aliens, and (2) criminal aliens.

Date: 2011-09-15
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Senior Citizenship Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) exempt certain persons over the age of 75 from the U.S. history, government, and English language naturalization examination requirements; and (2) permit certain persons over the age of 65 to take such history and government examination in a language other than English.

Date: 2011-09-15
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Investment Act - Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 to make the EB-5 visa (alien investor) regional center program permanent.

Date: 2011-09-20
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Restoring Protection to Victims of Persecution Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the one-year deadline for application for U.S. asylum.

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese (PRC) immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. Sets forth the following transition period for employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas: (1) for FY2012, 15% of such visas allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2010; (2) for FY2013, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; and (3) for FY2014, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012. Sets forth the following per country distribution rules: (1) for transition period visas, not more than 25% of the total number of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country; and (2) for non-transition period visas, not more than 85% of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country. Provides that the amendments made by this Act will take place as if enacted on September 30, 2011, and shall apply beginning in FY2012.

Date: 2011-09-22
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Access to Agricultural Labor Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include within the H-2A nonimmigrant visa category (temporary agricultural workers) an alien coming temporarily to the United States to work as a sheepherder or dairy worker. Provides for a three-year initial period of admission with additional three-year extensions.

Date: 2011-09-22
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Welcoming Business Travelers and Tourists to America Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) set a visa processing standard of 12 or fewer calendar days at U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China, Brazil, and India; and (2) use machine readable nonimmigrant visa fees to hire a sufficient number of Foreign Service officers and limited non-career appointment consular officers to maintain such standard. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a two-year pilot program for the processing of nonimmigrant visas using secure remote video-conferencing technology for visa interviews, and (2) work with other federal agencies that use such secure communications to help ensure security of the video-conferencing transmission and encryption. Directs the Secretary to provide Congress with an annual forecast of demand through 2020 for nonimmigrant visas in the high-growth markets of Brazil, China, and India. Authorizes the Secretary to modify or enter into agreements with certain countries on a non-reciprocal basis to allow for longer visa validity periods if doing so causes no adverse effects to the United States.

Date: 2011-09-23
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act of 2011 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend through FY2012 the eligibility period for benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act for certain aliens and victims of trafficking. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a diversity immigrant VISA petition fee of $30, which shall be deposited directly in the general fund of the Treasury. Applies such fees only to petitions filed before October 1, 2013.

Date: 2011-10-03
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Social welfare
Protecting American Families and Businesses Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants. Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese (PRC) immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. Allows extensions of stay based upon a lengthy labor certification or priority adjudication for: (1) foreign students, (2) speciality occupation aliens, and (3) intracompany transfers. Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students. Provides for the recapture of unused employment-based and family-based immigrant visas.

Date: 2011-10-06
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
American Innovation and Education Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a priority worker immigrant visa for an alien who has a qualifying: (1) master's or higher degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. institution of higher education; and (2) employment offer from a U.S. employer. Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students. Revises per country (and dependent) area limits to: (1) eliminate employment-based limits, and (2) increase family-based limits. Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese (PRC) immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. Establishes in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account. Sets aside specified Account funds for: (1) a STEM scholarship program for low-income U.S. students enrolled in degree programs in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; (2) a grant program to improve K-12 education, including through private-public partnerships; and (3) programs for STEM capacity building at minority-serving institutions of higher education. Revises labor certification provisions, including: (1) requiring the Department of Labor to adjudicate an application within 120 days, and (2) creating an Established U.S. Recruiter designation for recruiters who regularly recruit U.S. workers. Establishes in the Treasury the Labor Certification Application Fee Account. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a pre-certification procedure for employers who file multiple petitions for employment-based immigrants or for certain nonimmigrant workers. Makes the discretionary fee for employment-based petitions and applications mandatory.

Date: 2011-10-11
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Improving Methods to Promote Regular Occurrences of the Verification of Employability Status Act of 2011 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to eliminate the pilot program status of the E-verify (employment authorization) program, thus making the program permanent. Revises confirmation provisions. Adds provisions respecting fraudulent documentation and sanctions. Provides that information posters required to be displayed shall be written only in English.

Date: 2011-10-12
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from: (1) implementing, amending, or enforcing the rule "Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program" or any substantially similar rule; and (2) finalizing, implementing, amending, or enforcing the proposed rule "Temporary Non-agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens in the United States" or any substantially similar rule. Directs the Secretary, in computing the prevailing occupational wage level for employees of institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations for certain alien worker labor certifications, to: (1) use Occupational Employment Statistics program data, and (2) comply with specified provisions regarding the number of wage levels required to make such computation.

Date: 2011-10-12
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Labor and employment
Enemy Expatriation Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include engaging in or purposefully and materially supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which U.S. nationals would lose their nationality. Defines "hostilities" as any conflict subject to the laws of war.

Date: 2011-10-12
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Deport Convicted Foreign Criminals Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to report quarterly to Congress regarding each country that has refused or unreasonably delayed repatriation of an alien who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of such country. Requires a report to include the aliens' detention and criminal status. Prohibits the Secretary of State, upon the passage of specified periods of time, from issuing certain nonimmigrant (including certain diplomatic) visas and immigrant visas to a citizen, subject, national, or resident of a listed country. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the chief law enforcement officer of the state and of the local jurisdiction in which an alien who has been detained by the United States is released. Defines "alien" as an individual who has been detained by the United States and has received a final order of removal but has not been removed.

Date: 2011-10-25
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2011 or the H.E.L.P. Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to V-visa nonimmigrants (spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents who come to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) to include certain Haitian nationals whose petition for a family-sponsored immigrant visa was approved on or before January 12, 2010. Authorizes the Secretary of State to use secondary evidence to verify eligibility for such status or for immediate relative status. Sunsets the provisions of this Act two years after its enactment.

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Foster Children Opportunity Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require state plans for foster care and adoption assistance to have procedures to assist alien children in the child welfare system achieve special immigrant juvenile status and lawful permanent resident status before exiting foster care. Requires case plans to include documentation to include documentation of the steps the state child welfare agency is taking in assisting children obtain lawful immigrant status before exiting foster care. Requires a permanency hearing to determine whether a petition for special immigrant juvenile status or lawful permanent resident status has been filed on behalf of an alien foster child and, if it has not been filed, whether it is in the child's best interest to have such a petition filed or to have immigration counsel appointed. Authorizes the use of court improvement program grant funds to educate and train child welfare and court staff to assist alien children in achieving special immigrant juvenile status, lawful permanent resident status, and other forms of relief under immigration law. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), on the request of a child welfare agency, to provide technical assistance in carrying out this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to and contract with qualified non-profit or other community-based service providers to perform the assistance. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make an exception to the five-year limited eligibility of qualified aliens for federal means-tested public benefits for individuals who have obtained special immigrant juvenile status. Makes a similar exception for such individuals with respect to the limited eligibility of qualified aliens for certain Federal programs.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Families
American Jobs First Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the election to deduct dividends received by a domestic corporation from a controlled foreign corporation.  Increases the amount of such deduction by increases in the payroll of the domestic corporation over the previous taxable year.  Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide, by regulations, for a recapture of any portion of the increased tax deduction allowed to a domestic corporation if such corporation's payroll decreases during either of the two taxable years following the taxable year in which the increased deduction was allowed.

Date: 2011-11-17
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Taxation
Religious Worker Visa Reciprocity Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from approving a petition for classification of an alien as a special immigrant religious worker/minister if the Secretary has determined that the alien's country of nationality: (1) is identified as a Country of Particular Concern or a country where religious freedom is of significant interest in the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, or (2) does not extend reciprocal immigration treatment to U.S. nationals who are seeking resident status in order to work in a religious vocation or occupation.

Date: 2011-12-02
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Indonesian Family Refugee Protection Act - Authorizes a qualifying Indonesian citizen whose asylum claim was denied solely upon a failure to meet the one-year application filing deadline to file a motion to reopen such claim. Requires that such motion be filed during the two-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.

Date: 2011-12-07
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Immigration and Naturalization Investment Ventures for Engineering, Science, and Technology in America Act of 2011 or INVEST in America Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide conditional permanent resident status for an alien entrepreneur (and spouse and children) who: (1) is in the process of completing, or has completed, a graduate level degree in science, technology, engineering, math or a related academic discipline from an accredited U.S. institute of higher education; (2) establishes a new commercial enterprise related to such study that meets specified employment and wage requirements; and (3) is admissible as an immigrant. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate such alien's status for fraud or failure to meet status requirements during the 60-month period after obtaining such status. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Education to submit a recruitment, retainment, and investment strategic plan to Congress to attract skilled and talented foreign nationals to immigrate to the United States to create jobs and grow the economy.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker) from annual numerical limitations.

Date: 2011-12-16
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
New IDEA Act or New Illegal Deduction Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax deduction for wages and benefits paid to or on behalf of an unauthorized alien. Extends to six years the period for assessing and collecting underpayments of tax due to deductions claimed for wages paid to unauthorized aliens. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretaries of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Treasury to jointly establish a program to share information that may lead to the identification of unauthorized aliens. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide taxpayer identity information to the Commissioner of Social Security and the DHS Secretary on employers who paid nondeductible wages to unauthorized aliens and on the aliens to whom such wages were paid. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to: (1) make permanent the E-Verify Program for verifying the employment eligibility of alien workers, (2) apply such program to current employees in addition to new hires, (3) establish a rebuttable presumption that employers who participate in the E-Verify Program and obtain confirmation of identity and employment eligibility have not violated hiring requirements under such Act, and (4) allow employers participating in the E-Verify Program to make a conditional offer of employment pending final verification of the identity and employment eligibility of the job applicant.

Date: 2011-12-16
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Taxation
Scott Gardner Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General (DOJ) to take into custody an alien who is unlawfully in the United States and is arrested by a state or local law enforcement officer for driving while intoxicated or a similar violation. Directs the officer, upon reasonable grounds to believe the individual is an alien, to: (1) verify the individual's immigration status, and (2) take into custody for federal transfer an individual who is unlawfully in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to reimburse states and localities for related transportation costs when such transportation is not done in the course of normal duties.

Date: 2012-01-23
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Prohibits federal funds from being used by a federal agency or instrumentality to participate in a lawsuit to overturn, enjoin, or otherwise invalidate specified immigration-related laws in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Alabama, South Carolina, or Georgia.

Date: 2012-01-31
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions.

Date: 2012-01-31
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Ensuring Mental Competence in Immigration Proceedings Act- Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize immigration judges to order a competency evaluation, terminate a proceeding, or appoint counsel when necessary for aliens with mental disabilities.

Date: 2012-02-02
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Strengthening America's Public Schools Through Promoting Foreign Investment Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit a lawful alien who enters the United States on a nonimmigrant student visa (including Mexican and Canadian commuter students) to attend a U.S. public secondary school for longer than one year if such alien reimburses the local educational agency for the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of providing education at such school for the period of the alien's attendance.

Date: 2012-02-08
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Makes Israeli nationals eligible to enter the United States as E-2 visa nonimmigrant investors as provided for under the Immigration and Nationality Act if Israel provides reciprocal nonimmigrant treatment to U.S. nationals.

Date: 2012-02-09
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to waive specified requirements for naturalization for American Samoan U.S. nationals to become U.S. citizens.

Date: 2012-02-14
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
American Jobs in American Forests Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, as a component of the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) labor certification process, to take specified actions to recruit U.S. workers before petitioning to hire H-2B workers. Requires a prospective H-2B employer to submit a separate petition for each state in which the employer plans to employ H-2B non-immigrants for a period of at least seven days. Prohibits the Secretary from granting a temporary labor certification to a prospective H-2B employer until the Director of the state workforce agency has determined that: (1) employer recruitment requirements have been met, and (2) U.S. nationals are not qualified or available to fill such employment opportunities.

Date: 2012-03-07
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax on nonresident alien individuals, to: (1) make permanent the tax exemption for interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends received from a regulated investment company, and (2) expand the categories of interest-related dividends for which a tax exemption is allowed.

Date: 2012-04-25
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Taxation
Amerasian Paternity Recognition Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to confer automatic citizenship on aliens residing in the United States in lawful permanent resident status: (1) pursuant to a classification petition approved under a provision that gives preferential treatment to persons born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand after 1950 and before October 22, 1982, and fathered by a U.S. citizen; or (2) who were born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, and fathered by a U.S. citizen.

Date: 2012-04-27
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Violence Against Immigrant Women Act of 2012 - Amends provisions regarding violence against immigrant women in the following areas: (1) employment of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U-visa (victims of certain crimes) nonimmigrant aliens, (2) self-petitioning, (3) protections for children and family members from traffickers and criminals, (4) recapture of unused U-visas, (5) battered spouse and family member protections, (6) asylum, (7) removal, (8) naturalization, (9) VAWA confidentiality, (10) services for trafficking victims, (11) fiancee/fiance protections and marriage broker regulation, and (12) sexual abuse in custodial settings.

Date: 2012-05-07
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Visa Waiver for Israel Act of 2012 - Includes Israel in the visa waiver program upon the Secretary of Homeland Security's (DHS) determination that Israel: (1) has entered into an agreement with the United States to report, or make available through Interpol or other means, information about passport theft or loss; (2) has entered into an information sharing agreement with the United States regarding whether Israeli citizens and nationals traveling to the United States represent a U.S. security threat; (3) cooperates with the U.S. government on counterterrorism initiatives, information sharing, and preventing terrorist travel; (4) issues all new and reissued passports with biometric identifiers; and (5) has made every reasonable effort, without jeopardizing Israeli security, to ensure that reciprocal privileges are extended to all U.S. citizens.

Date: 2012-05-18
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from granting deferred action or otherwise suspending the effectiveness or enforcement of the immigration laws.

Date: 2012-06-18
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Validating Entitlement Recipients through Indicated Federal Immigration Status Act of 2012 or the VERIFI Act of 2012 - Prohibits a person from receiving a federal public benefit unless such person is in "satisfactory immigration status" in accordance with the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program.

Date: 2012-06-21
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Equal Protection for American Workers Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from granting a work authorization to an alien who has been determined, in a valid immigration proceeding during which due process was afforded, to have been at any time unlawfully present in the United States.

Date: 2012-06-21
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Protecting Department of Homeland Security Personnel Act - Prohibits any adverse personnel action, including termination, against any employee of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who refuses to carry out a provision of the DHS memorandum issued on June 15, 2012, regarding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the United States as children.

Date: 2012-06-29
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study to determine the impact on the United States of the policy set forth in the memorandum dated June 15, 2012, from the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding exercising prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the United States illegally as children. Requires the study to examine the impact on: (1) national security, including how much implementing this policy will cost the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in terms of manpower and other costs; (2) fraud, including how impacted federal agencies will address an increase in fraudulent documents; (3) U.S. workers, including the effectiveness of programs under the Social Security Act (such as Medicare), the national unemployment rate and unemployment compensation, and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and (4) the U.S. economy, including federal Pell grants, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, college admissions and scholarships, and federal work-study programs. Directs the Secretary to refrain from implementing such policy until after the Comptroller General has reported to Congress on the results of such study.

Date: 2012-06-29
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Stop Handouts to Unauthorized Taxpayers Act of 2012 or the SHUT Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the refundable portion of the child tax credit to individuals unless they include their social security number on their tax return or otherwise demonstrate that they are authorized to be employed in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury or any delegate of the Secretary employed by the Department of the Treasury from issuing an individual taxpayer identification number unless supporting documentary evidence is submitted.

Date: 2012-06-29
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Taxation
Help Separated Families Act of 2012 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) require state child protection standards to ensure that the immigration status alone of a parent, legal guardian, or relative shall not disqualify the parent, legal guardian, or relative from being a placement for a child; and (2) require the state procedures for criminal records checks to require the state to accept foreign identification documents as sufficient identification for purposes of initiating a criminal records check or a fingerprint-based check. Expresses the sense of Congress that the child welfare agency of a state, or of any county or other political subdivision of a state, should grant a waiver of any requirement which would prevent the placement of a child with a relative of the child, on the basis of a minor legal infraction, if the relative would otherwise be considered eligible for such a placement. Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to notify relatives seeking placement of a child that their immigration status will not be questioned, except to the extent necessary in determining eligibility for relevant services or programs. Prohibits a state or local government agency from filing for termination of parental rights in foster care cases based on the removal of the parent from the United States or the parent's involvement in an immigration proceeding, unless: (1) the state (or local agency) has made reasonable efforts to notify of the intention to file such a petition any parent of the child who has been removed from the United States, and any adult relative of the child, including through the diplomatic or consular offices of the country to which the parent was removed, and to reunify the child with any such parent or relative; or (2) the parent is unfit or unwilling to be a parent of the child.

Date: 2012-07-13
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Families
Responsible Child Tax Credit Eligibility Verification Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer who is an alien and who is claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to attach to his or her tax return a photocopy of: (1) each page of the taxpayer's passport; (2) the taxpayer's nonimmigrant visa or permanent residence card; (3) evidence of valid employment authorization; (4) the taxpayer's arrival-departure documentation; and (5) the passport, visa or permanent residence card, and arrival-departure documentation for each qualifying alien child of the taxpayer.

Date: 2012-07-23
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Taxation
American Investment and Job Creation Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act	to provide an (employment-based) immigrant visa for an alien entrepreneur who has engaged in a new commercial enterprise in the United States that has benefitted the U.S. economy and: (1) has, during the period beginning four years prior to the filing of a preference classification petition for such alien, created full-time employment for at least five U.S. workers, or in the case of an enterprise in a Distressed Area Development Zone, for at least three U.S. workers; and (2) the enterprise has received enough investment or revenue during this period to support such employment creation requirements.

Date: 2012-07-26
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to consider the period of time that a person was employed by the Chief of Mission or the U.S. Armed Forces, under contract with the Chief of Mission or the U.S. Armed Forces, or was employed by a firm or corporation under contract with the Chief of Mission or the U.S. Armed Forces as a translator, interpreter, or in an executive or managerial level security position as a period of U.S. residence and physical presence for naturalization purposes if at least a portion of such period was spent abroad working directly in such capacity for the Chief of Mission or U.S. Armed Forces. Makes such amendment effective as if included in the enactment of a specified section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006.

Date: 2012-07-26
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Attracting the Best and Brightest Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 50,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) possess a graduate degree at the level of master's or higher in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a qualifying U.S. research institution of higher education; (2) have an employment offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to such degree; (3) are the subject of an approved labor certification; and (4) will receive a wage for such employment that is at least the actual wage paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications. Makes unused STEM visas available for other employment-based visa categories. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days, and (3) employers to demonstrate that the total amount of compensation to be paid to a foreign STEM graduate meets or exceeds the total amount of compensation paid by the employer to all other employees with similar experience and qualifications working in the same occupational classification. Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Repeals such STEM and related provisions two years after enactment of this Act. Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students. States that a determination of whether an alien is a child for purposes of: (1) a petition for immigrant status or a petition for adjustment of refugee status to immigrant status shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS, and (2) a petition for nonimmigrant admission or an application for adjustment of status from nonimmigrant to conditional (fiance) immigrant shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS to classify such alien's parent as the fiance of a U.S. citizen. States that the permanent priority date for any family- or employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed with DHS (or the Secretary of State, if applicable), unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date. States that an alien who is the beneficiary of a family- or employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed family- or employment-based petition.

Date: 2012-09-14
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the heads of other relevant federal agencies to conduct a review of refugee processing with the goal of streamlining processing, consistent with maintaining security. Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish overseas refugee English language and work orientation training programs prior to the departure for the United States of refugees who have been approved for U.S. admission. Permits: (1) refugees (and their spouses and children) to be admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents, and (2) asylum seekers (and their spouses and children) to be granted lawful permanent residency. Directs the Secretary when setting the amount of reception and placement grants to: (1) adjust the grant amount to account for anticipated initial refugee resettlement needs, and (2) ensure that funding is provided to national resettlement agencies at the beginning of the fiscal year. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should appoint a White House Coordinator on Refugee Protection. Requires the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Director) to make grants to national resettlement agencies to operate a case management system to assist individuals access eligible services, benefits, and assistance provided by the Office, federal, state, or local agencies, and private or nonprofit organizations. Requires the Office, subject to available appropriations, to provide refugees with a minimum of 12 months' assistance and social services for employment, health, and living expenses. Authorizes the Director to award grants to community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and resettlement agencies for programs to assist newcomers integrate into U.S. civic life. Expands eligibility for, and participation in, the refugee matching grant program (federal-private refugee assistance). Establishes a Domestic Emergency Refugee Resettlement Fund to meet unanticipated refugee resettlement needs. Makes SSI (supplemental security income) benefits available to qualified aliens, U-visa aliens (victim of criminal activity), or certain T-visa aliens (victims of trafficking in persons) who were ineligible for such benefits because of their failure to acquire citizenship within seven years. Makes a child who has been granted special immigrant status as a victim of criminal activity (U-visa) eligible for specified refugee benefits.

Date: 2012-09-20
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Preventing Access to Driver's Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act - Requires a state to return any unobligated Community Oriented Policing Services Program (COPS) funds within 30 days after issuing a driver's license to any alien granted deferred action pursuant to the Memorandum dated June 15, 2012, from the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding "Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children." Declares that state ineligible to receive any COPS funding until it has in effect laws and policies that prohibit the issuance of a license to such an alien.

Date: 2012-09-20
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Reform America's Broken Immigration System Act - Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should: strengthen our commitments to border security; pass legislation, such as the DREAM Act, supporting national and economic security; implement a rational legal immigration system to ensure that the best and brightest can come to the United States and create jobs; require all U.S. workers to have tamper-proof identification to further prevent and penalize illegal hiring; hold accountable people here illegally by requiring them to either earn legal status or be immediately deported; and adopt practical and fair immigration reforms to help ensure that families are able to be together.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Prohibits the use of community oriented policing services funds in contravention of provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that restrict a government entity or official from preventing any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the responsible federal immigration agency information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit judicial review of visa or document revocation. (Judicial review is currently permitted in a deportation proceeding if such revocation is the sole ground for deportation.) States that this Act shall: (1) take effect on the date of its enactment, and (2) apply to all visas issued before, on, or after such date.

Date: 2011-01-31
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, with respect to naturalization of an Afghan or Iraqi translator who is a lawful permanent resident, to count a period of absence from the United States working as a translator for the United States or a U.S. contractor in Afghanistan or Iraq towards the accumulation of the required U.S. physical presence.

Date: 2011-03-02
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2011 or the H.E.L.P. Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to V- visa nonimmigrants (spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents who come to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) to include certain Haitian nationals whose petition for a family-sponsored immigrant visa was approved on or before January 12, 2010. Authorizes the Secretary of State to use secondary evidence to verify eligibility for such status or for immediate relative status. Sunsets the provisions of this Act two years after its enactment.

Date: 2011-03-03
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate program countries; (2) replace visa refusal rates with visa overstay rates in determining program participation; (3) set a maximum 3% visa overstay rate for program countries; and (4) revise probationary status and program termination provisions. Directs the Comptroller General to review the Secretary of Homeland Security's methods for tracking aliens entering and exiting the United States and for detecting visa overstays.

Date: 2011-03-07
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
StartUp Visa Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish an employment-based, conditional immigrant visa (StartUp visa) for a sponsored alien entrepreneur: (1) with required amounts of financial backing from a qualifying investor, government entity, or venture capitalist; and (2) whose commercial activities will generate required levels of employment, revenue, or capital investment. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate the status of a sponsored entrepreneur (and the alien spouse and children of such entrepreneur) if not later than three years after the date on which such permanent resident status was conferred: (1) the sponsoring venture capitalist or investor fails to meet investment requirements; or (2) the entrepreneur fails to meet job creation, capital investment, or revenue requirements.

Date: 2011-03-14
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
SCAAP Reimbursement Protection Act of 2011- Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to reimburse states under the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) for incarcerating undocumented aliens charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors. (Currently, such reimbursement is for incarceration of undocumented aliens convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors.)

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
SCAAP Reauthorization Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) through FY2015.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration
Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Investment Act - Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 to make the EB-5 visa (alien investor) regional center program permanent.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Immigration (Immigration)
Subject: Immigration