[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2897 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2897

To provide for the granting of posthumous citizenship to certain aliens 
 lawfully admitted for permanent residence who died as a result of the 
  hijackings of 4 commercial aircraft, the attacks on the World Trade 
 Center, or the attack on the Pentagon, on September 11, 2001, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2001

 Mr. Serrano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the granting of posthumous citizenship to certain aliens 
 lawfully admitted for permanent residence who died as a result of the 
  hijackings of 4 commercial aircraft, the attacks on the World Trade 
 Center, or the attack on the Pentagon, on September 11, 2001, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. POSTHUMOUS CITIZENSHIP FOR TERRORIST ATTACK VICTIMS.

    (a) Permitting Granting of Posthumous Citizenship.--Notwithstanding 
any provision of title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), the Attorney General shall provide, in accordance 
with this section, for the granting of posthumous citizenship, as of 
September 10, 2001, to a person described in subsection (b), if the 
Attorney General approves an application for such citizenship filed 
under subsection (e).
    (b) Noncitizens Eligible for Posthumous Citizenship.--A person 
referred to in subsection (a) is a person who--
            (1) while an alien or a noncitizen national of the United 
        States, died as a result of an injury incurred in one or more 
        of the events described in subsection (c);
            (2) was not culpable for any of such events; and
            (3) on September 11, 2001--
                    (A) had pending an application for naturalization, 
                or for a certificate of citizenship, filed with the 
                Attorney General by the person; or
                    (B) was the beneficiary of a pending application 
                for naturalization filed with the Attorney General by a 
                parent of the person.
    (c) Events Described.--
            (1) In general.--The events described in this subsection 
        are the following:
                    (A) The hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 on 
                September 11, 2001, the crash of that aircraft into the 
                World Trade Center in New York, New York, and the 
                subsequent destruction that resulted.
                    (B) The hijacking of United Airlines Flight 175 on 
                such date, the crash of that aircraft into the World 
                Trade Center in New York, New York, and the subsequent 
                destruction that resulted.
                    (C) The hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77 on 
                such date, the crash of that aircraft into the Pentagon 
                in Arlington, Virginia, and the subsequent destruction 
                that resulted.
                    (D) The hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 on 
                such date, and the crash of that aircraft in Stony 
                Creek Township, Pennsylvania.
            (2) Response personnel included.--Any person who died as a 
        result of an injury incurred while assisting in the emergency 
        response to an event described in paragraph (1) (such as 
        military personnel, law enforcement officers, firefighters, 
        emergency management personnel, search and rescue personnel, 
        medical personnel, engineers and other personnel providing 
        technical assistance, and volunteers) shall be considered to 
        have died as a result of an injury incurred in such event.
    (d) Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Unless otherwise provided by this section, 
        no person may be granted posthumous citizenship under this 
        section who would not otherwise have been eligible for 
        naturalization on the date of the person's death. Unless 
        otherwise provided by this section, any provision of law that 
        specifically bars or prohibits a person from being naturalized 
        as a citizen of the United States shall be applied to the 
        granting of posthumous citizenship under this section.
            (2) Waiver of english language and government 
        requirements.--Notwithstanding section 312 of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423), or any similar provision 
        of law requiring that a person demonstrate an understanding of 
        the English language or a knowledge and understanding of the 
        fundamentals of the history, and of the principles and form of 
        government, of the United States in order to be naturalized, no 
        such demonstration shall be required for the granting of 
        posthumous citizenship under this section.
            (3) Waiver of oath.--No oath of renunciation or allegiance 
        shall be required for the granting of posthumous citizenship 
        under this section.
            (4) Investigation of applicants; examination of 
        applications.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
        investigation and examination described in section 335 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1446) shall be 
        conducted with respect to an application described in 
        subsection (b)(3) in the same manner as they otherwise would 
        have been conducted if the subject of the application had not 
        died.
    (e) Requests for Posthumous Citizenship.--A request for the 
granting of posthumous citizenship to a person described in subsection 
(b) may be filed on behalf of the person only by the next of kin (as 
defined by the Attorney General) or another representative (as defined 
by the Attorney General), and must be filed not later than 2 years 
after the later of--
            (1) the date of the enactment of this section; or
            (2) the date of the person's death.
    (f) Documentation of Posthumous Citizenship.--If the Attorney 
General approves such a request to grant a person posthumous 
citizenship, the Attorney General shall send to the individual who 
filed the request a suitable document which states that the United 
States considers the person to have been a citizen of the United States 
on and after September 10, 2001.
    (g) No Benefits to Survivors.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as providing for any benefits under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act for any spouse, son, daughter, or other relative of a 
person granted posthumous citizenship under this section.
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