[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4681 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  2d Session

                               H. R. 4681

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To provide for the adjustment of status of certain Syrian nationals.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4681

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To provide for the adjustment of status of certain Syrian nationals.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) President Bush and President Clinton successively 
        conducted successful negotiations with the Government of Syria 
        to bring about the release of members of the Syrian Jewish 
        population and their immigration to the United States.
            (2) In order to accommodate the Syrian Government, the 
        United States was required to admit these aliens by first 
        granting them temporary nonimmigrant visas and subsequently 
        granting them asylum, rather than admitting them as refugees 
        (as is ordinarily done when the United States grants refuge to 
        members of a persecuted alien minority group).
            (3) The asylee status of these aliens has resulted in a 
        long and unnecessary delay in their adjustment to lawful 
        permanent resident status that would not have been encountered 
        had they been admitted as refugees.
            (4) This delay has impaired these aliens' ability to work 
        in their chosen professions, travel freely, and apply for 
        naturalization.
            (5) The Attorney General should act without further delay 
        to grant lawful permanent resident status to these aliens in 
        accordance with section 2.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN SYRIAN NATIONALS.

    (a) Adjustment of Status.--Subject to subsection (c), the Attorney 
General shall adjust the status of an alien described in subsection (b) 
to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, if the 
alien--
            (1) applies for adjustment of status under this section not 
        later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act 
        or applied for adjustment of status under the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act before the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (2) has been physically present in the United States for at 
        least 1 year after being granted asylum;
            (3) is not firmly resettled in any foreign country; and
            (4) is admissible as an immigrant under the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act at the time of examination for adjustment of 
        such alien.
    (b) Aliens Eligible for Adjustment of Status.--The benefits 
provided by subsection (a) shall apply to any alien--
            (1) who--
                    (A) is a Jewish national of Syria;
                    (B) arrived in the United States after December 31, 
                1991, after being permitted by the Syrian Government to 
                depart from Syria; and
                    (C) is physically present in the United States at 
                the time of filing the application described in 
                subsection (a)(1); or
            (2) who is the spouse, child, or unmarried son or daughter 
        of an alien described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Numerical Limitation.--The total number of aliens whose status 
may be adjusted under this section may not exceed 2,000.
    (d) Record of Permanent Residence.--Upon approval of an application 
for adjustment of status under this section, the Attorney General shall 
establish a record of the alien's admission for lawful permanent 
residence as of the date 1 year before the date of the approval of the 
application.
    (e) Availability of Administrative Review.--The Attorney General 
shall provide to applicants for adjustment of status under subsection 
(a) the same right to, and procedures for, administrative review as are 
provided to applicants for adjustment of status under section 209(b) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1159(b)).
    (f) No Offset in Number of Visas Available.--Whenever an alien is 
granted the status of having been lawfully admitted for permanent 
residence pursuant to this section, 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.
    (g) Application of Immigration and Nationality Act Provisions.--The 
definitions contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act shall 
apply in the administration of this section. 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 11, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.