[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 146 (Tuesday, October 6, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6815-H6817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADOPTIVE FAMILY RELIEF ACT
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (S. 1300) to amend section 221 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act to provide relief for adoptive families from immigrant
visa fees in certain situations.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1300
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 ``Adoptive Family Relief
Act''.
SEC. 2. WAIVER OF FEES FOR RENEWAL OF IMMIGRANT VISA FOR
ADOPTED CHILD IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS.
Section 221(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1201(c)) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Period of Validity; Renewal or Replacement.--
``(1) Immigrant visas.--An immigrant visa shall be valid
for such period, not exceeding six months, as shall be by
regulations prescribed, except that any visa issued to a
child lawfully adopted by a United States citizen and spouse
while such citizen is serving abroad in the United States
Armed Forces, or is employed abroad by the United
[[Page H6816]]
States Government, or is temporarily abroad on business,
shall be valid until such time, for a period not to exceed
three years, as the adoptive citizen parent returns to the
United States in due course of his service, employment, or
business.
``(2) Nonimmigrant visas.--A nonimmigrant visa shall be
valid for such periods as shall be by regulations prescribed.
In prescribing the period of validity of a nonimmigrant visa
in the case of nationals of any foreign country who are
eligible for such visas, the Secretary of State shall,
insofar as practicable, accord to such nationals the same
treatment upon a reciprocal basis as such foreign country
accords to nationals of the United States who are within a
similar class; except that in the case of aliens who are
nationals of a foreign country and who either are granted
refugee status and firmly resettled in another foreign
country or are granted permanent residence and residing in
another foreign country, the Secretary of State may prescribe
the period of validity of such a visa based upon the
treatment granted by that other foreign country to alien
refugees and permanent residents, respectively, in the United
States.
``(3) Visa replacement.--An immigrant visa may be replaced
under the original number during the fiscal year in which the
original visa was issued for an immigrant who establishes to
the satisfaction of the consular officer that the immigrant--
``(A) was unable to use the original immigrant visa during
the period of its validity because of reasons beyond his
control and for which he was not responsible;
``(B) is found by a consular officer to be eligible for an
immigrant visa; and
``(C) pays again the statutory fees for an application and
an immigrant visa.
``(4) Fee waiver.--If an immigrant visa was issued, on or
after March 27, 2013, for a child who has been lawfully
adopted, or who is coming to the United States to be adopted,
by a United States citizen, any statutory immigrant visa fees
relating to a renewal or replacement of such visa may be
waived or, if already paid, may be refunded upon request,
subject to such criteria as the Secretary of State may
prescribe, if--
``(A) the immigrant child was unable to use the original
immigrant visa during the period of its validity as a direct
result of extraordinary circumstances, including the denial
of an exit permit; and
``(B) if such inability was attributable to factors beyond
the control of the adopting parent or parents and of the
immigrant.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Franks) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 1300 currently
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
When I hold and kiss my little children good-bye to come to this
place every week, the pain that I feel in leaving them for several days
is mitigated by the conviction that I will be seeing them again very
soon.
But I stand here tonight, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of hundreds of
American families who are separated from their children with no sense
of certainty or knowing when they will be allowed to see their children
again or to know when their children will be home for good. That is
because, in September of 2013, now more than 2 years ago, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, or the DRC, ceased issuing exit
visas, including visas for the more than 350 children who had been
fully legally adopted by American families. These families had fully
complied with international adoption laws in both the United States and
the DRC, had already spent months or years going through the tedious
intercountry adoption process, and some of them had already arrived in
the DRC with the belief that they would be bringing their adoptive
children home at last to their forever families in America.
Despite significant, ongoing efforts by both Congress and the State
Department to alleviate any of the DRC Government's concerns and
resolve the exit permit process, Mr. Speaker, it is unknown when that
suspension will be lifted. Meanwhile, American adoptive families are
being faced with the added burden of having to repeatedly renew their
adoptive child's adoption paperwork and visas in order to keep it up to
date.
Thus, the Adoptive Family Relief Act grants flexibility to the State
Department to waive the immigration visa renewal fees of $325 per child
for adoptive families in America in extraordinary circumstances like
this where the cause of delay is out of the family's control. Mr.
Speaker, waiving the visa renewal fee would alleviate one portion of
the overwhelming burden that these American families are enduring until
their adoptive child or children can travel to the U.S.
While the U.S. Government continues to work toward the Democratic
Republic of the Congo lifting the exit permit suspension, this
legislation is critically important and will offer some practical
relief to the American families held powerless in a very difficult
situation.
It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that the many families waiting to bring
their adopted children home will receive encouragement from the strong
bipartisan effort here in Congress to support them during this time, as
we work collectively to engage the DRC Government and work toward the
suspension being fully lifted. This bill is a reminder to them that the
Congress has not and will not forget their plight, and we will not
cease working on their behalf until their families are finally
permanently united and whole.
Mr. Speaker, I especially want to thank Chairman Goodlatte and
Chairman Royce for their noble and principled leadership in helping to
elevate this issue and bring this legislation to the floor.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1300, the Adoptive Family Relief
Act.
As has been mentioned, 2 years ago, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo suspended issuing exit permits to children who had been adopted
and trying to leave the country to be with their parents. To this day,
that country continues to suspend issuing these permits; and without
permits, the children can't join their mom and dad, the people who have
adopted them, even though the children are in possession of immigrant
visas.
Now, we know to be separated from a child and not to be able to
provide love and care for that child is a stressful and tormenting
episode for any parent. For the families that adopted children in the
DRC, this is exacerbated by the fact that their children are stuck in a
country that has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world.
There are hundreds of families throughout the United States--and
about 350 of them are waiting simply for an exit permit--missing their
children and worried about the health of their children stuck in the
DRC. The only thing that is preventing them from bringing their child
or children home is this exit visa.
Now, our visas are valid only for 6 months, unfortunately, and I
think, as was mentioned, it costs $325 to renew a visa even though,
really, there is no work involved. We have checked with the State
Department, and there is minimal expense. So this is not going to be a
hit on the State Department's budget, but it is a hit on the budget of
families. Some families have spent $1,000 over the past 2 years, and
since we don't know when the DRC is going to start issuing these visas,
we don't know how much money these families are looking at in the
future.
This bipartisan bill doesn't solve the exit problem, but at least it
solves the financial burden that we have put, not intentionally, on
these families. It is the right thing to do. It will show support for
these families during this distressing time.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer).
Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1300, the
Adoptive Family Relief Act.
For many, family is everything, and as any parent knows, not seeing
your child for even one day can be hard. Now, imagine you are separated
from your child by over 6,000 miles for more than 2 years. This is the
reality for too many Americans. Hundreds of adopted children are stuck
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo because their government has
refused to provide the paperwork required for these children to leave.
[[Page H6817]]
For over 2 years, the Meyers, a family in my district, have been
waiting to bring home their son and daughter, Papy and Octavie. We can
do better for Papy and Octavie and all the other children waiting to
come home to their families.
As the Department of State continues to work to bring home these
children, S. 1300 would provide much-needed relief to American families
going through this harrowing experience. I urge my colleagues to vote
for this legislation. It is the right thing to do and worthy of your
support.
Ms. LOFGREN. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S.
1300, the Adoptive Family Relief Act. This bill seeks to remove
obstacles for immigrant visas to be issued to adopted children from
other countries. It eliminates fees for such visas.
Clearly, the challenge of caring for orphans due to crises worldwide
is increasing. Rather than frustrate, however, or undermine the
compassion and the love of American families who seek to adopt, this
legislation modestly seeks to remove some of those barriers and some of
those obstacles.
I would point out to my colleagues that I have held of number of
hearings on adoption in my subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Africa,
Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. At
one of those hearings several months ago, one of our witnesses made a
very keen observation that there are more than 50 million children
orphaned on the continent of Africa; and if you put that number in
perspective, that would make that number of children, if they were in a
single country, the fourth largest country in all of Africa after
Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
One remedy, of course, for this crisis is intercountry adoption,
which sometimes brings children from Africa to our shores to provide
them with loving homes. Of course, this is only a partial remedy. Many
do find a place to live, a home with family members, but many others
are left to fend for themselves.
This legislation recognizes that countries' policies do matter. Look
at the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Currently, there are more than
400 American families who have successfully adopted children from the
DRC. However, due to the DRC Government's suspension of exit permits,
which was implemented beginning in September of 2013, many of these
families have been unable to bring their adopted children home to the
United States. About a dozen of those children have paid with their
lives, dying in the country before they could receive medical
attention. Others are in dire need of medical aid which, again, this
legislation would help, at least, in terms of the families to give them
a bridge for the financial burdens they face.
I would point out that at one of my hearings, one of the witnesses
really, in a very powerful way, said--and her name was Jovana Jones, an
adoptive parent--``As adoptive parents, we spend years preparing, and
it is imperative that our children come home immediately. We have done
our part. Our families have done all we can, and we are at our limit.''
And then she said: ``Our arms are open now, and our homes are ready
to receive them today. We pray that our government mirrors our
dedication and acts now so that our children come home soon.''
This is a very important piece of legislation that hopefully will
facilitate the adoption and, at least, help those parents who are
putting their money on the line; and it allows them to facilitate that
adoption, to just hang in there until they can get their children.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, before coming to the floor, I wanted to
reassure myself that the State Department did not have the authority to
waive these fees just administratively. It is pretty clear that they
need this legislation in order to waive these fees. In fact, they want
to waive the fees; they want to support the families. So there is no
argument here between the House and Senate, between Republicans and
Democrats, between the administration and the legislative branch. This
is something that we can all agree on.
You know, to raise kids is one of the most wonderful experiences you
can ever have, and we have wonderful American families that want to
provide a home for orphans, not only in the DRC, but to orphans all
around the world. So it is really important for those of us in the
government, administration, and Congress to do what we can to support
American families who want to raise these adoptive children.
It is worth noting that the DRC is the problem today, but we have had
other problems in the past in other countries, in Latin America and
Asia. So this change in the law is going to provide the necessary basis
for relieving parents from excessive fees should this occur, God
forbid, with other countries.
We would ask our State Department to redouble its efforts with the
DRC to get these exit permits underway. It is really unfair to the
children and their parents to keep these kids stranded.
{time} 1745
Finally, I would just note that we have not done very much by way of
anything touching on immigration where we could have bipartisan
support. I still wish that we had before us comprehensive immigration
reform. That is not this, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't support
this. I think that it is important that we pass this and show these
American parents that we are on their side and we hope that they can
use the funds that they save to provide for their new sons and
daughters.
Mr. Speaker, unless the gentleman has additional speakers, I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, there are very few things that we do in this body more
important than trying to make sure that parentless little children have
hope in life. Through our State Department, all across the world we do
very laudable things to try to make sure they have this chance in life.
Sometimes it is orphanages; sometimes it is just other types of help
through NGOs.
In this particular case, we are doing everything that we can to
facilitate children being put into a loving family on a permanent
basis. To bring sometimes childless parents together with often
parentless children is, I think, a very beautiful and noble effort on
our part. I hope that this bill allows that in a greater way with the
DRC and, as Ms. Lofgren mentioned, with other states across the world
if it becomes necessary.
I am grateful for all the bipartisan support. I know this is
something that we have come together on. Again, I express appreciation
to Chairman Royce, Chairman Goodlatte, and to the gentlewoman who has
expressed her support for this.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 1300.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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