3.0.0 1041 2022-11-01T19:02:19Z 2022-11-05T19:27:27Z Senate S 2019-04-04 116 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2019-04-04T17:24:13Z Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019 116 2098 HR 2019-05-15 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Related bill CRS 2019-04-04 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. IntroReferral 2019-04-04 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress D000622 Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] Tammy Duckworth D IL N H001042 Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] Mazie Hirono D HI K. 2019-04-04 True B001277 Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] Richard Blumenthal D CT 2019-04-04 True M001176 Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] Jeff Merkley D OR 2019-04-04 True W000779 Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] Ron Wyden D OR 2019-04-04 True Armed Forces and National Security Border security and unlawful immigration Citizenship and naturalization Government information and archives Immigration status and procedures Military personnel and dependents Veterans' organizations and recognition Veterans' pensions and compensation Armed Forces and National Security 00 2019-04-04 Introduced in Senate 2022-01-21T19:50:53Z Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019

This bill implements procedures relating to the legal permanent resident status of noncitizen veterans.

Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a program that allows (1) eligible veterans outside of the United States to be admitted as aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and (2) eligible veterans in the United States to adjust their status to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. If noncitizen aliens obtain this status, they shall be eligible for naturalization through service in the Armed Forces. Additionally, they are eligible for military and veterans benefits as if they had not been ordered removed or removed from the United States.

The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reopen removal proceedings for noncitizen veterans who are subjects of final orders of removal, make a determination with respect to whether such noncitizen veterans are eligible veterans who may be lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and adjust the status of eligible veterans.

A noncitizen veteran shall be eligible if DHS or DOJ determines the noncitizen veteran was not removed or ordered removed, and is not inadmissible or deportable, based on a conviction for a crime of violence or a crime that endangers national security for which the veteran has served at least five years in prison. DHS may waive eligibility requirements for humanitarian, family unity, public interest, or exceptional military service reasons.

The bill also protects noncitizen veterans or service members from being removed from the country unless the noncitizen has been convicted of a crime of violence.

]]> Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019 Display Title Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019 Short Title(s) as Introduced Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019 Introduced in Senate IS Official Title as Introduced A bill to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a veterans visa program to permit veterans who have been removed from the United States to return as immigrants, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Introduced in Senate 2019-04-04T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116s1041is/xml/BILLS-116s1041is.xml 2019-04-04 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.