1.
This Act may be cited as the
Widows and Orphans Act of
2005
.
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)
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)
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)
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.
3.
(a)
Requirement prior to entry into the Untied States
(1)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
There may be no judicial
review of a determination described in subparagraph (A).