[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1495-E1496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SUSPENDING IMMIGRATION STATUS PETITION AND INTERVIEW TIME REQUIREMENT 
                      FOR MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 1, 2011

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 398, 
``To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-
duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a 
petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis 
for permanent resident status, and for other purposes.'' As a Senior 
member of the Judiciary Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on 
Immigration Policy and Enforcement, I am proud to support this 
legislation because in many ways the current immigration system is 
flawed, and in need of reform.
  Furthermore, I want to commend my colleague, Rep. Zoe Lofgren for her 
leadership on immigration issues, especially in her former role as 
Chairwoman of the Immigration Subcommittee. The debate surrounding how 
to mend our broken immigration system continues to be polarized, with 
many differing opinions about how to best address the issues of 
unauthorized persons in our country. I would also like to commend Rep. 
Lofgren for introducing this bill, H.R. 398, which addresses one of the 
many loopholes, oversights, and shortcomings in our current immigration 
system. This bill makes a simple change that helps our immigration 
process make more sense--it tolls time period to file a petition and 
appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent 
resident status while a petitioner is serving in active duty with the 
armed forces. It allows those men and women serving our country abroad 
to focus on protecting America, and not worry about their spouse's 
immigration status.
  Under current law, when either a U.S. citizen or lawful U.S. 
Permanent Resident sponsors an alien spouse, the alien spouse is 
granted conditional permanent resident status. After two years, the 
alien spouse and the U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident spouse 
must jointly file a petition with the Department of Homeland Security 
for the removal of the conditional status. If the petition is 
successful, the alien spouse becomes a full permanent resident. The 
petition must be filed during the 90-day period before the second 
anniversary of the spouse's becoming a conditional permanent resident, 
unless the alien establishes to the satisfaction of DHS good cause and 
extenuating circumstances for failure to file on time. Upon the filing 
of the petition, DHS interviews the spouses to ascertain whether there 
was any possible marriage fraud. The interview is conducted within 90 
days of the submission of the petition, unless DHS waives the deadline 
for the interview or the requirement for the interview.
  As you can see, the 90-day joint filing deadline and the interview 
that follows, which requires the participation of the U.S. citizen or 
permanent resident spouse who is serving oversees in active duty status 
with the Armed Forces would, without a doubt, place undue hardship on 
the active duty petitioner. It would clearly be a disruption to the 
U.S. military to have to facilitate a member of the Armed Forces 
deployed overseas filing a petition and traveling for a personal 
interview with DHS. While DHS can choose to delay this process in 
appropriate circumstances, a blanket tolling of the time periods while 
a spouse is serving abroad in the U.S. Armed Forces is appropriate.
  H.R. 398 tolls the time periods of time to file the petition and have 
an interview for removal of condition during any period of time in 
which a spouse is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and 
serving abroad in active-duty status. The spouses do retain the right 
to be able to file a petition within the normal time period and DHS 
retains the right to waive the interview requirement in appropriate 
circumstances.
  Let's help our military service member by giving them the peace of 
mind. The tolling of

[[Page E1496]]

dates would lift the burden on the petitioning military spouse serving 
abroad from (i) having to establish to the satisfaction of DHS, good 
cause and extenuating circumstances for failure to file on time and 
(ii) obtaining a waiver of the deadline for the interview. Lifting the 
burden on the petitioning military spouse will allow those men and 
women serving our country abroad to focus on protecting America, and 
not worry about their spouse's immigration status.
  I urge all members to join me in supporting passage of this landmark 
legislation.