[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8746-S8747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 1353. A bill to establish new special immigrant categories; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1353

       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 
     2003''.

     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 10 
     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

[[Page S8747]]

     (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 10 years or 
     children under the age of 10 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 section, the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of 
     the Senate and the House of Representatives on the progress 
     of the program, including--
       (1) data related to the implementation of this section;
       (2) data regarding the number of placements of females and 
     children at risk 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 appropriate 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.
                                 ______