[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1300 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1300
To amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act to
identify and register certain Central Americans residing in the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 17, 2003
Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Berman, Mr. Cannon, Mr.
Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Ms. Solis, Mr. Lincoln
Diaz-Balart of Florida, Ms. Roybal-Allard, and Mr. Moran of Virginia)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act to
identify and register certain Central Americans residing in the United
States.
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 ``Central American Security Act''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NATIONALS FROM EL SALVADOR,
GUATEMALA, AND HONDURAS.
Section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American
Relief Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``nicaraguans and
cubans'' and inserting ``nicaraguans, cubans, salvadorans,
guatemalans, and hondurans'';
(2) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ``April 1, 2000''
and inserting ``two years after the promulgation of a final
rule implementing the Central American Security Act'';
(3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``Nicaragua or Cuba''
and inserting ``Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, or
Honduras''; and
(4) in subsection (d)(1)(E), by striking ``April 1, 2000''
and inserting ``two years after the promulgation of a final
rule implementing the Central American Security Act''.
SEC. 3. APPLICATIONS PENDING UNDER AMENDMENTS MADE BY SECTION 203 OF
THE NICARAGUAN ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RELIEF
ACT.
An application for relief properly filed by a national of Guatemala
or El Salvador under the amendments made by section 203 of the
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act which was filed
on or before the date of the enactment of this Act, and on which a
final administrative determination has not been made, shall, at the
election of the applicant, be considered to be an application for
adjustment of status under the provisions of section 202 of the
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, as amended by
this Act, upon the payment of any fees, and in accordance with
procedures, that the Attorney General shall prescribe by regulation.
The Attorney General may not refund any fees paid in connection with an
application filed by a national of Guatemala or El Salvador under the
amendments made by section 203 of that Act.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE NICARAGUAN ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL
AMERICAN RELIEF ACT.
(a) In General.--Section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and
Central American Relief Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting before the period at the end of
paragraph (1)(B) the following: ``, and the Attorney
General may waive the grounds of inadmissibility
specified in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (6)(C) of section
212(a)(1) of such Act for humanitarian purposes, to
assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the
public interest''; and
(B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(3) Relationship of application to certain orders.--An
alien present in the United States who has been ordered
excluded, deported, or removed, or ordered to depart
voluntarily from the United States under any provision of the
Immigration and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such
order, apply for adjustment of status under paragraph (1). Such
an alien may not be required, as a condition of submitting or
granting such application, to file a separate motion to reopen,
reconsider, or vacate such order. Such an alien may be required
to seek a stay of such an order in accordance with subsection
(c) to prevent the execution of the order pending the
adjudication of the application for adjustment of status. If
the Attorney General denies a stay of a final order of
exclusion, deportation, or removal, or if the Attorney General
renders a final administrative determination to deny the
application for adjustment of status, the order shall be
effective and enforceable to the same extent as if the
application had not been made. If the Attorney General grants
the application for adjustment of status, the Attorney General
shall cancel the order.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end the
following: ``Subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence, unless the alien is
applying for relief under that subsection in deportation or
removal proceedings.'';
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end the
following: ``Nothing in this section requires the Attorney
General to stay the removal of an alien who is ineligible for
adjustment of status under this section.'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) by amending the subsection heading to read as
follows:
``(d) Spouses, Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters.--'';
(B) by amending the heading of paragraph (1) to
read as follows:
``(1) Adjustment of status.--'';
(C) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read as
follows:
``(A) the alien entered the United States on or
before the date of the enactment of the Central
American Security Act;'';
(D) by amending paragraph (1)(B) to read as
follows:
``(B) the alien--
``(i) is the spouse, child, or unmarried
son or daughter of an alien whose status is
adjusted to that of an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence under subsection (a) or
pursuant to the amendments made by section 203,
except that--
``(I) any determination of whether
the alien satisfies the age requirement
in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A) of section 101(b)(1) shall be made
using the age of the alien on the date
on which the principal alien filed for
adjustment under subsection (a) or
pursuant to the amendments made by section 203;
``(II) in the case of such a
spouse, stepchild, or unmarried stepson
or stepdaughter, the spouse, stepchild,
stepson, or stepdaughter shall be
required to establish that the
qualifying marriage was entered into
before the date of the enactment of the
Central American Security Act; and
``(III) in the case of such an
unmarried son or daughter, the son or
daughter shall be required to establish
that the son or daughter has been
physically present in the United States
for a continuous period beginning not
later than December 1, 1995, and ending
not earlier than the date on which the
application for adjustment under this
subsection is filed; or
``(ii) was, at the time at which a
principal alien filed for adjustment under
subsection (a) or pursuant to the amendments
made by section 203, the spouse or child of
such principal alien, the status of such
principal alien is adjusted to that of an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence under
subsection (a) or pursuant to the amendments
made by section 203, and the spouse, child, or
child of the spouse has been battered or
subjected to extreme cruelty by such principal
alien;''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) Eligibility of certain spouses and children for
issuance of immigrant visas.--
``(A) In general.--In accordance with regulations
to be promulgated by the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State, upon approval of an application for
adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence under subsection (a)
or pursuant to the amendments made by section 203, an
alien who is the spouse or child of the alien being
granted such status may be issued a visa for admission
to the United States as an immigrant following to join
the principal applicant, if the spouse or child--
``(i) satisfies the requirements in
paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(D); and
``(ii) applies for such a visa within a
time period to be established by such
regulations.
``(B) Retention of fees for processing
applications.--The Secretary of State may retain fees
to recover the cost of immigrant visa application
processing and issuance for certain spouses and
children of aliens whose applications for adjustment of
status under subsection (a) have been approved. Such
fees--
``(i) shall be deposited as an offsetting
collection to any Department of State
appropriation to recover the cost of such
processing and issuance; and
``(ii) shall be available until expended
for the same purposes of such appropriation to
support consular activities.'';
(5) in subsection (g), by inserting ``, or an immigrant
classification,'' after ``for permanent residence''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(i) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section authorizes
any alien to apply for admission to, be admitted to, be paroled into,
or otherwise lawfully return to the United States, to apply for, or to
pursue an application for adjustment of status under this section
without the express authorization of the Attorney General.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by paragraphs (1)(B), (2),
and (6) shall be effective as if included in the enactment of the
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. The amendments
made by paragraphs (1)(A), (3), (4), and (5) shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. SECURITY AND CRIMINAL BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no applicant for relief
under this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, is eligible to
receive a waiver from any security or criminal background investigation
required to process an application under section 202 of the Nicaraguan
Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 note). All
applicants seeking relief under this Act, or the amendments made by
this Act, shall submit fingerprints to the appropriate government
agency in order to facilitate such processing.
SEC. 6. MOTIONS TO REOPEN.
Notwithstanding any time and number limitations imposed by law on
motions to reopen, a national of Cuba or Nicaragua who, on the date of
the enactment of the Act, has a final administrative denial of an
application for adjustment of status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment
and Central American Relief Act, and who is made eligible for
adjustment of status under that Act by the amendments made by this Act,
may file one motion to reopen an exclusion, deportation, or removal
proceeding to have the application reconsidered. Any such motion shall
be filed within 180 days of the date of the enactment of this Act. The
scope of any proceeding reopened on this basis shall be limited to a
determination of the alien's eligibility for adjustment of status under
the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.
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