[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2757 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2757

 To authorize the adjustment of status for immediate family members of 
 persons who served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States 
   during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 9, 2009

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Gillibrand, 
Mr. Inouye, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the adjustment of status for immediate family members of 
 persons who served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States 
   during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, 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 ``Military Families Act''.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS OF 
              ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY SERVICE PERSONNEL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 
General shall adjust the status of an alien described in subsection (b) 
to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the 
alien--
            (1) applies for such adjustment;
            (2) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant, 
        except as provided in subsection (d);
            (3) pays a fee in an amount determined by the Secretary for 
        the processing of such application (unless such fee is waived 
        by the Secretary); and
            (4) is physically present in the United States.
    (b) Aliens Eligible for Adjustment of Status.--The benefits 
provided under subsection (a) shall only apply to an alien who is--
            (1) a parent, spouse, child, son, or daughter (and their 
        spouse, child, son, or daughter, if any) of--
                    (A) a living Armed Forces member described in 
                subsection (c); or
                    (B) a deceased Armed Forces member described in 
                subsection (c) if--
                            (i) the Armed Forces member died as a 
                        result of injury or disease incurred in or 
                        aggravated by the Armed Forces member's 
                        service; and
                            (ii) the alien applies for such 
                        adjustment--
                                    (I) if the death of the Armed 
                                Forces member occurred prior to the 
                                date of the enactment of this Act, not 
                                later than 2 years after the date of 
                                such enactment; or
                                    (II) if the death of the Armed 
                                Forces member occurred after the date 
                                of the enactment of this Act, not later 
                                than 2 years after the death of the 
                                Armed Forces member; or
            (2) a son or daughter described in paragraph (1) or (3) of 
        section 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1153(a)) who has a Filipino parent who was naturalized pursuant 
        to section 405 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (8 U.S.C. 1440 
        note).
    (c) Armed Forces Member Defined.--In this section, the term ``Armed 
Forces member'' means any person who--
            (1) is, or was at the time of the person's death described 
        in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), a United States citizen or lawfully 
        admitted for permanent residence;
            (2) is serving, or has served honorably on or after October 
        7, 2001, as a member of the National Guard or the Selected 
        Reserve of the Ready Reserve, or in an active-duty status in 
        the military, air, or naval forces of the United States; and
            (3) if separated from the service described in paragraph 
        (2), was separated under honorable conditions.
    (d) Waiver of Certain Grounds of Inadmissibility.--
            (1) In general.--The provisions of paragraphs (4), (5), 
        (6)(A), (7)(A), and (9)(B) of section 212(a) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not apply to 
        adjustment of status under this Act.
            (2) Additional waivers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
        or the Attorney General may waive any other provision of 
        section 212(a) of such Act (other than paragraph (2)(C) and 
        subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (E), and (F) of paragraph (3)) 
        with respect to an adjustment of status under this Act--
                    (A) for humanitarian purposes;
                    (B) to assure family unity; or
                    (C) if such waiver is otherwise in the public 
                interest.
    (e) Record of Adjustment.--Upon the approval of an application for 
adjustment of status under this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall create a record of the alien's admission as an alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence.
    (f) No Offset in Number of Visas Available.--
            (1) In general.--If an alien is lawfully admitted for 
        permanent residence under this Act, the Secretary of State 
        shall not reduce the number of immigrant visas authorized to be 
        issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 
        et seq.).
            (2) Exemption from direct numerical limitations.--Section 
        201(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1151(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(F) Aliens who are described in paragraph (1) or (3) of 
        section 203(a) and have a Filipino parent who was naturalized 
        pursuant to section 405 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (8 
        U.S.C. 1440 note).''.
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