[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1353 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1353

             To establish new special immigrant categories.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2003

  Mr. Brownback (for himself and Mr. DeWine) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
             To establish new special immigrant categories.

    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 ``Widows and Orphans Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. NEW SPECIAL IMMIGRANT CATEGORY.

    (a) Certain Children and Women at Risk of Harm.--Section 101(a)(27) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (L), by inserting a semicolon at the 
        end;
            (2) in subparagraph (M), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(N) subject to subsection (j), an immigrant who 
                is not present in the United States--
                            ``(i) who is--
                                    ``(I) referred to a consular, 
                                immigration, or other designated 
                                official by a United States Government 
                                agency, an international organization, 
                                or recognized nongovernmental entity 
                                designated by the Secretary of State 
                                for purposes of such referrals; and
                                    ``(II) determined by such official 
                                to be a minor under 10 years of age (as 
                                determined under subsection (j)(5))--
                                            ``(aa) for whom no parent 
                                        or legal guardian is able to 
                                        provide adequate care;
                                            ``(bb) who faces a credible 
                                        fear of harm related to his or 
                                        her age;
                                            ``(cc) who lacks adequate 
                                        protection from such harm; and
                                            ``(dd) for whom it has been 
                                        determined to be in his or her 
                                        best interests to be admitted 
                                        to the United States; or
                            ``(ii) who is--
                                    ``(I) referred to a consular or 
                                immigration official by a United States 
                                Government agency, an international 
                                organization or recognized 
                                nongovernmental entity designated by 
                                the Secretary of State for purposes of 
                                such referrals; and
                                    ``(II) determined by such official 
                                to be a female who has--
                                            ``(aa) a credible fear of 
                                        harm related to her sex; and
                                            ``(bb) a lack of adequate 
                                        protection from such harm.''.
    (b) Statutory Construction.--Section 101 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(j)(1) No natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any alien 
provided special immigrant status under subsection (a)(27)(N)(i) shall 
thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, 
privilege, or status under this Act.
    ``(2)(A) No alien who qualifies for a special immigrant visa under 
subsection (a)(27)(N)(ii) may apply for derivative status or petition 
for any spouse who is represented by the alien as missing, deceased, or 
the source of harm at the time of the alien's application and 
admission. The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive this 
requirement for an alien who demonstrates that the alien's 
representations regarding the spouse were bona fide.
    ``(B) An alien who qualifies for a special immigrant visa under 
subsection (a)(27)(N) may apply for derivative status or petition for 
any sibling under the age of 10 years or children under the age of 10 
years of any such alien, if accompanying or following to join the 
alien. For purposes of this subparagraph, a determination of age shall 
be made using the age of the alien on the date the petition is filed 
with the Department of Homeland Security.
    ``(3) An alien who qualifies for a special immigrant visa under 
subsection (a)(27)(N) shall be treated in the same manner as a refugee 
solely for purposes of section 412.
    ``(4) The provisions of paragraphs (4), (5), and (7)(A) of section 
212(a) shall not be applicable to any alien seeking admission to the 
United States under subsection (a)(27)(N), and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security may waive any other provision of such section (other 
than paragraph 2(C) or subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (E) of paragraph 
(3) with respect to such an alien for humanitarian purposes, to assure 
family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest. Any such 
waiver by the Secretary of Homeland Security shall be in writing and 
shall be granted only on an individual basis following an 
investigation. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for the 
annual reporting to Congress of the number of waivers granted under 
this paragraph in the previous fiscal year and a summary of the reasons 
for granting such waivers.
    ``(5) For purposes of subsection (a)(27)(N)(i)(II), a determination 
of age shall be made using the age of the alien on the date on which 
the alien was referred to the consular, immigration, or other 
designated official.
    ``(6) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall waive any 
application fee for a special immigrant visa for an alien described in 
section 101(a)(27)(N).''.
    (c) Allocation of Special Immigrant Visas.--Section 203(b)(4) of 
the Immigration Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)) is amended by 
striking ``(A) or (B) thereof'' and inserting ``(A), (B), or (N) 
thereof''.
    (d) Expedited Process.--Not later than 45 days from the date of 
referral to a consular, immigration, or other designated official as 
described in section 101(a)(27)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act, as added by subsection (a), special immigrant status shall be 
adjudicated and, if granted, the alien shall be paroled to the United 
States pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) 
and allowed to apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence 
under section 245 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) within 1 year of the 
alien's arrival in the United States.
    (e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House 
of Representatives on the progress of the program, including--
            (1) data related to the implementation of this section;
            (2) data regarding the number of placements of females and 
        children at risk of harm as referred to in section 
        101(a)(27)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 
        by subsection (a); and
            (3) any other appropriate information that the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security determines to be appropriate.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section 
and the amendments made by this section.
                                 <all>