[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 644 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 644

 To establish new special immigrant categories, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2005

 Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Cantwell, and Mr. Dodd) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish new special immigrant categories, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Widows and Orphans Act of 2005''.

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 18 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 18 years or children under the age of 18 
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 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report 
to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on the progress of the 
implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this Act, 
including--
            (1) data related to the implementation of this Act and the 
        amendments made by this Act;
            (2) data regarding the number of placements of females and 
        children who faces a credible fear 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 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.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALIENS.

    (a) Requirement Prior to Entry Into the Untied States.--
            (1) Database search.--An alien may not be admitted to the 
        United States until the Secretary of Homeland Security has 
        ensured that a search of each database maintained by an agency 
        or department of the United States has been conducted to 
        determine whether such alien is ineligible to be admitted to 
        the Untied States on criminal, security, or related grounds.
            (2) Cooperation and schedule.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security and the head of each appropriate agency or department 
        of the United States shall work cooperatively to ensure that 
        each database search required by paragraph (1) is completed not 
        later than 45 days after the date on which an alien files a 
        petition seeking a special immigration visa under section 
        101(a)(27)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 
        by section 2(a).
    (b) Requirement After Entry Into the United States.--
            (1) Requirement to submit fingerprints.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date that an alien enters the United States, the alien 
                shall be fingerprinted and submit to the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security such fingerprints and any other 
                personal biometric data required by the Secretary.
                    (B) Other requirements.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security may prescribe regulations that permit 
                fingerprints submitted by an alien under section 262 of 
                the Immigration and National Act (8 U.S.C. 1302) or any 
                other provision of law to satisfy the requirement to 
                submit fingerprints of subparagraph (A).
            (2) Database search.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall ensure that a search of each database that contains 
        fingerprints that is maintained by an agency or department of 
        the United States be conducted to determine whether such alien 
        is ineligible for an adjustment of status under any provision 
        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 
        on criminal, security, or related grounds.
            (3) Cooperation and schedule.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security and the head of each appropriate agency or department 
        of the United States shall work cooperatively to ensure that 
        each database search required by paragraph (2) is completed not 
        later than 180 days after the date on which the alien enters 
        the United States.
            (4) Administrative and judicial review.--
                    (A) In general.--There may be no review of a 
                determination by the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
                after a search required by paragraph (2), that an alien 
                is ineligible for an adjustment of status, under any 
                provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
                U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) on criminal, security, or related 
                grounds except as provided in this paragraph.
                    (B) Administrative review.--An alien may appeal a 
                determination described in subparagraph (A) through the 
                Administrative Appeals Office of the Bureau of 
                Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department 
                of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall ensure that a determination on such 
                appeal is made not later than 60 days after the date 
                that the appeal is filed.
                    (C) Judicial review.--There may be no judicial 
                review of a determination described in subparagraph 
                (A).
                                 <all>