[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4681 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4681

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                                 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.