[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H510-H512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               NATO SPECIAL IMMIGRANT AMENDMENTS OF 1998

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 429) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
provide for special immigrant status for NATO civilian employees in the 
same manner as for employees of international organizations, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 429

       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 ``NATO Special Immigrant 
     Amendments of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN NATO CIVILIAN 
                   EMPLOYEES.

       (a) In General.--Section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (J),
       (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (K) 
     and inserting ``; or'', and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(L) an immigrant who would be described in clause (i), 
     (ii), (iii), or (iv) of subparagraph (I) if any reference in 
     such a clause--
       ``(i) to an international organization described in 
     paragraph (15)(G)(i) were treated as a reference to the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
       ``(ii) to a nonimmigrant under paragraph (15)(G)(iv) were 
     treated as a reference to a nonimmigrant classifiable under 
     NATO-6 (as a member of a civilian component accompanying a 
     force entering in accordance with the provisions of the NATO 
     Status-of-Forces Agreement, a member of a civilian component 
     attached to or employed by an Allied Headquarters under the 
     `Protocol on the Status of International Military 
     Headquarters' set up pursuant to the North Atlantic Treaty, 
     or as a dependent); and
       ``(iii) to the Immigration Technical Corrections Act of 
     1988 or to the Immigration and Nationality Technical 
     Corrections Act of 1994 were a reference to the NATO Special 
     Immigrant Amendments of 1997.''.
       (b) Conforming Nonimmigrant Status for Certain Parents of 
     Special Immigrant Children.--Section 101(a)(15)(N) of such 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(N)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(or under analogous authority under 
     paragraph (27)(L))'' after ``(27)(I)(i)'', and
       (2) by inserting ``(or under analogous authority under 
     paragraph (27)(L))'' after ``(27)(I)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H.R. 429, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2429, the NATO Special Immigrant Amendments of 
1998, was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Pickett). The bill would allow aliens who are civilian employees of the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization and have worked for many years in 
the United States to retire here with their families as special 
immigrants. The number of special immigrant visas available each year, 
currently about 10,000, would not be increased.
  Currently aliens who have been longtime employees in the United 
States of numerous international organizations are eligible to retire 
here as special immigrants. NATO employees are also deserving, and 
should be granted this same privilege.
  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization kept the peace in Europe for 
four decades, saving untold American lives. We should now bestow this 
small honor on its employees as well.
  According to testimony received at the hearing of the Subcommittee on 
Immigration Claims held on H.R. 429, the total number of people who 
would benefit from this bill is about 130.

[[Page H511]]

  Also at the hearing, Paul Virtue of the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service stated, ``We do not oppose this proposal and do 
not foresee any budgetary or resource impact on the Service if this 
bill should be enacted.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 429.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. It is not a 
controversial bill. H.R. 429 would grant special immigrant status to 
retired civilian NATO employees who served in the headquarters of the 
Protocol on the Status of International Military in Norfolk, Virginia. 
Special immigrants and their families are entitled to permanent 
resident status in the United States now. H.R. 429 would immediately 
impact 60 families and only approximately 132 individuals.
  We certainly have no quarrel with NATO civilian employees who have 
lived in the United States for extended periods of time exercising this 
privilege, or extending this right to them or this privilege to them. 
However, we do believe there should be some degree of reciprocity for 
Americans who are working for NATO abroad who would like to retire with 
their families in Belgium or Germany, for example, if they should elect 
to do that, and that has not been addressed in any way.
  That is not a knock against the bill; the bill is fine. It would have 
been nice if we could have put something in there or if the other 
countries could address that issue to demonstrate some degree of 
reciprocity.
  The final point I would like to make though is that while we believe 
that the NATO personnel and their families who remain in the United 
States after retirement certainly should be extended this prerogative, 
many of the requirements are equally applicable to some other 
circumstances, and I would like to spend a minute or two just laying 
those out for my colleagues, because we need to address some of these 
issues and make sure that our immigration policy continues to be 
consistent and the rationale for our immigration policy continues to be 
consistent.
  Supporters of H.R. 429 have asserted that NATO personnel should be 
allowed to remain permanently in the United States for four reasons.
  Number one, they say their children came to the United States at 
elementary school age and have never experienced a lifestyle in their 
country of origin. That is correct.
  Number two, they say their children possess educational 
qualifications and experiences that are unique to the United States and 
that are unlikely to be fully recognized if they return to their native 
countries. That is also correct.
  Number three, they say that current law requires children of NATO 
employees to return to their native country upon graduating from high 
school or college, thereby breaking up families. That, too, is correct, 
and a good argument in support of this bill.
  Finally, they say that NATO employees should be able to retire into 
the communities that have become their home after years of service to 
NATO in the United States. That, too, is correct.
  All four of those arguments are good arguments in support of this 
bill. But they are also good arguments for addressing the issues that 
relate to Haitians who have been in this country under the same or 
similar circumstances and to which the same arguments would be equally 
applicable.
  So I hope as we pass this piece of legislation, we take time to 
understand the rationale for passing this legislation, and apply that 
same rationale to other people for whom these four arguments would be 
applicable, such as the Haitians, the Hmongs, and some other folks who 
have come to this country at our invitation and with our blessing and 
have exactly the same arguments in favor of extending citizenship to 
them on a permanent basis.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield five minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Pickett), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and thank the committee for their dispatch of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that the Supreme Allied Command 
Atlantic is in my Congressional District, and H.R. 429 was introduced 
so that non-U.S. NATO civilian employees would be treated the same as 
civilian employees of all other international organizations located in 
the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, there are only approximately 60 non-U.S. employees 
employed by NATO in southeastern Virginia, and these civilians are 
divided between the Allied Command Atlantic Communications Logistic 
Depot, ACLANT, in Yorktown, and the headquarters of the Supreme Allied 
Commander Atlantic, SACLANT, in Norfolk.
  The civilians and their dependents, a total of about 132 people, are 
from eight NATO nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the 
Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. They are issued a 
NATO-6 visa, and most are employed on contracts of indefinite duration.
  Under the terms of their visa, they are considered nonresident aliens 
and can only remain in the United States as long as they continue to be 
employed at ACLANT or SACLANT. The dependent children of these 
civilians are not allowed to retain the NATO-6 visa after attaining the 
age of 21. However, those children who are full-time students may 
retain their visa until age 23.
  The dilemma facing a number of these families is that their children 
come to the United States at elementary school age and never experience 
the lifestyle of their country of origin. They acquire educational 
qualifications and experiences that are unique to the United States.

                              {time}  1430

  Under present legislation, when these children graduate from high 
school or college, the family is forced to break apart because the 
children, having attained the age of 21, must leave the United States. 
A similar situation faces a NATO employee upon retirement. The civilian 
and his or her spouse are unable to retire into a community that has 
become their home after their years of service to NATO in the United 
States. I would add here that these people do reside in the community 
in my district, and make very, very fine community citizens.
  Until 1990, the problem confronted employees of all international 
organizations located in the United States. Amendments to the U.S. 
Immigration and Nationality Act passed in 1990 and 1997 resolved this 
situation to a large degree for G-4 visa employees of international 
organizations and their dependents. These amendments provide G-4 visa 
holders with the opportunity to obtain special immigrant status for 
adults if they have lived in the United States for 15 years, and for 
children if they have lived in this country for 7 years, based upon 
certain other conditions.
  The provisions of these amendments apply to non-U.S. civilians 
employed by all international organizations located in the United 
States except for NATO. Presently there is no executive order that 
defines NATO as an international organization in the United States, and 
due to their NATO status, additional legislation is required to enable 
1992 civilians to benefit from the privilege accorded to G-4 visa 
holders. These are employees such as those of the United Nations.
  The SACLANT administration has consulted the Secretary of Defense, 
Foreign Military Rights Affairs, the State Department, and the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service. It has been concluded by them 
that this issue can best be resolved by legislation to further amend 
the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for special immigrant 
status for NATO employee civilians in the same manner as for employees 
of international organizations. H.R. 429 has been introduced for this 
purpose.
  This initiative is fully endorsed by NATO headquarters and is 
urgently needed to redress what is regarded as a very unfair situation 
for employees working for the collective security of all NATO nations. 
I request that you give favorable consideration to the privilege of 
special immigrant status which is enjoyed by those employed by all 
other international organizations in the United States.
  I might add, again, that this is a very small group of people we are 
speaking

[[Page H512]]

of. All of them are highly educated and highly trained. They work in 
very sensitive positions for NATO and their present status is, I 
believe, an oversight that should be corrected.
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate to my colleagues that this is not 
a controversial bill. It serves a very worthy purpose, and the fact 
that I have talked about some things that the bill could cover and 
should cover should not overshadow the good aspects of the bill. I hope 
that the House will have the courage to address some of those issues, 
but that is not a negative about this bill. This bill should be 
supported.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to my friend, the gentleman from 
North Carolina, that I appreciate his effort to expand the four 
criteria that he listed to include other groups like the Haitians and 
the Hmongs that he mentioned. But unfortunately, that is not a valid 
application of those criteria.
  I say this because there are at least two major distinctions. One is 
in the case of the NATO employees, who were specifically admitted to 
work for NATO and indirectly for the United States, and that is not the 
case with these other groups that were mentioned.
  Secondly, the NATO employees have to have been in the United States 
for an aggregate of 15 years. Again, that would distinguish the NATO 
employees from members of the other groups that were mentioned by the 
gentleman from North Carolina.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 429, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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