[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1330-E1331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHILD STATUS PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 22, 2002

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
1209--The Child Protection Act of 2002. Too many children of U.S. 
citizens and legal permanent residents are penalized under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act. Specifically, children of legal 
permanen't residents whose visa petitions are reclassified when their 
parents become naturalized citizens face prolonged delays due to their 
reclassification. Enacting H.R. 1209 makes sure that these children do 
not face such additional delays. It also ensures that the length of 
time it takes for INS to process petitions does not adversely affect 
children who are being petitioned from overseas to join their parents.
  Under current law, when immigration visa petitions for children of 
permanent residents are moved from the second preference categories to 
first preference categories due to their parent's naturalization, they 
are faced with increased backlog for the new category, resulting in 
additional years of delay.
  Many of my constituents in the second district of Hawaii face these 
tremendous obstacles in being reunited with their family. In one 
instance, the son of a legal permanent resident had waited 7 years to 
have his petition processed by INS under the second preference 
category. However, when his father became a U.S. citizen, he was 
reclassified to the Fl preference category and reassigned a new 
priority date. Under the new date, it could take an additional decade 
for his petition to be processed! I have another case in which the 
children of a U.S. citizen mother have been waiting for over 13 years 
to be reunited with their parents because they were reclassified when 
their mother became a U.S. citizen. Ironically, if their mother had not 
become a citizen, they would already be in the U.S. with their mother!
  Last year, I introduced H.R. 133 which amends the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to ensure that immigrants do not have to wait longer 
for an immigrant visa as a result of reclassification of their 
petition. I am encouraged to see that the version of H.R. 1209 on the 
floor today includes the same protection to assure that when the alien 
children are reclassified due to their parents' naturalization, they 
retain the same priority date assigned to them under the original visa 
category.
  I also want to voice my strong support for provisions of H.R. 1209 
that erase current ``age-out'' provisions in the law penalizing 
immigrant children of U.S. citizens. Under current law, when children 
of U.S. citizens turn 21 years of age, they ``age-out'' of their 
immediate relative status to the status of family-first

[[Page E1331]]

preference: the Fl category. Unlike the immediate relative status that 
has no quota, this category is subject to a limited number of visas per 
year. These children are moved to the bottom of this wait list, which 
results in years of delays or even loss of eligibility to apply. H.R. 
1209 would ensure that an alien child of a U.S. citizen does not age-
out during the petitioning process by using the age on the application 
and not the age on the date the application is processed.
  Finally, H.R. 1209 also expands the age-out protection to children of 
parents applying for refugee or asylum status and to children of legal 
permanent residents who are seeking status as a family-sponsored, 
employment-based, or diversity lottery child immigrant.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 1209 which corrects the delays 
caused by reclassification and helps many children of U.S. citizens, 
refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants who are now denied entry as 
immediate relatives because they are over the age of 21.

                          ____________________