[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2025 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2025

  To facilitate the naturalization of aliens who served with special 
              guerrilla units or irregular forces in Laos.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 2, 2000

   Mr. Grams introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To facilitate the naturalization of aliens who served with special 
              guerrilla units or irregular forces in Laos.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS AS TO UNDERSTANDING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR 
              CERTAIN ALIENS WHO SERVED WITH SPECIAL GUERRILLA UNITS OR 
              IRREGULAR FORCES IN LAOS.

    (a) Prohibition.--No alien described in subsection (b) shall be 
naturalized as a citizen of the United States upon his own application 
who cannot demonstrate an understanding of the English language, 
including an ability to speak words in ordinary usage in the English 
language, except that the requirements of this subsection shall be met 
if the applicant can speak simple words and phrases to the end that the 
applicant can perform daily functions and that no extraordinary or 
unreasonable condition shall be imposed upon the applicant.
    (b) Covered Aliens.--An alien described in this subsection is an 
alien--
            (1) who--
                    (A) was admitted into the United States as a 
                refugee from Laos pursuant to section 207 of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); and
                    (B) served with a special guerrilla unit, or 
                irregular forces, operating from a base in Laos in 
                support of the United States military at any time 
                during the period beginning February 28, 1961, and 
                ending September 18, 1978; or
            (2) who--
                    (A) satisfies the requirement of paragraph (1)(A); 
                and
                    (B) was the spouse of a person described in 
                paragraph (1) on the day on which such described person 
                applied for admission into the United States as a 
                refugee.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION CONCERNING CIVICS REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN 
              ALIENS WHO SERVED WITH SPECIAL GUERRILLA UNITS OR 
              IRREGULAR FORCES IN LAOS.

    The Attorney General shall provide for special consideration, as 
determined by the Attorney General, concerning the requirement of 
paragraph (2) of section 312(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1423(a)(2)) with respect to the naturalization of any person 
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 4. DOCUMENTATION OF QUALIFYING SERVICE.

    A person seeking an exemption under section 2 or special 
consideration under section 3, or an individual filing on behalf of 
that person, shall submit to the Attorney General documentation of the 
service by the person or the person's spouse with a special guerrilla 
unit, or irregular forces, described in section 2(1)(B), in the form 
of--
            (1) original documents;
            (2) an affidavit of the serving person's superior officer;
            (3) two affidavits from other individuals who also were 
        serving with such a special guerrilla unit, or irregular 
        forces, and who personally knew of the person's service; or
            (4) other appropriate proof.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR EXEMPTION AND SPECIAL 
              CONSIDERATION.

    In determining a person's eligibility for an exemption under 
section 2 or special consideration under section 3, the Attorney 
General--
            (1) shall review the refugee processing documentation for 
        the person, or, in an appropriate case, for the person and the 
        person's spouse, to verify that the requirements of section 2 
        relating to refugee applications and admissions have been 
        satisfied;
            (2) shall consider the documentation submitted by the 
        person, or by the individual filing on behalf of a person, 
        under section 4; and
            (3) shall request an advisory opinion from the Secretary of 
        Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence regarding the 
        person's or their spouse's service in a special guerrilla unit, 
        or irregular forces, described in section 2(1)(B) and shall 
        take into account that opinion.

SEC. 6. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF FEES.

    This Act shall apply to a person only if the person's application 
for naturalization is filed, as provided in section 334 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445), with appropriate fees 
not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the total number 
of aliens who may be granted an exemption under section 2 or special 
consideration under section 3, or both, may not exceed 45,000.
                                 <all>