[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12678-12680]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 398

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

[[Page 12679]]



     SECTION 1. TOLLING PERIODS OF TIME TO FILE PETITION AND HAVE 
                   INTERVIEW FOR REMOVAL OF CONDITION.

       (a) In General.--Section 216 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
       ``(g) Service in Armed Forces.--
       ``(1) Filing petition.--The 90-day period described in 
     subsection (d)(2)(A) shall be tolled during any period of 
     time in which the alien spouse or petitioning spouse is a 
     member of the Armed Forces of the United States and serving 
     abroad in an active-duty status in the Armed Forces, except 
     that, at the option of the petitioners, the petition may be 
     filed during such active-duty service at any time after the 
     commencement of such 90-day period.
       ``(2) Personal interview.--The 90-day period described in 
     the first sentence of subsection (d)(3) shall be tolled 
     during any period of time in which the alien spouse or 
     petitioning spouse is a member of the Armed Forces of the 
     United States and serving abroad in an active-duty status in 
     the Armed Forces, except that nothing in this paragraph shall 
     be construed to prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security 
     from waiving the requirement for an interview under 
     subsection (c)(1)(B) pursuant to the Secretary's authority 
     under the second sentence of subsection (d)(3).''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) In general.--Section 216(a)(1) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a(a)(1)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``(g)(1))'' and inserting ``(h)(1))''; and
       (B) by striking ``(g)(2))'' and inserting ``(h)(2))''.
       (2) References.--Section 216 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ``Attorney 
     General's'' and inserting ``Secretary's'';
       (B) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term 
     appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
       (C) in subsections (c)(1)(B) and (d)(3), by striking 
     ``Service'' and inserting ``Department of Homeland 
     Security''.

     SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE WITH PAYGO.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of 
     Representatives, provided that such statement has been 
     submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             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 and include extraneous materials on H.R. 398, currently 
under consideration.
  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, I support this bill, which provides relief to military 
servicemembers serving overseas who marry foreign spouses.
  Our Nation's military should not have to worry about red tape while 
they are abroad protecting our freedoms. When a U.S. citizen or a 
permanent resident marries a foreign spouse, that spouse becomes a 
conditional permanent resident. After 2 years, the couple files a 
petition with the Department of Homeland Security for the removal of 
the conditional status. If the petition is successful, the immigrant 
becomes a permanent resident.
  The petition generally must be filed before the second anniversary of 
the spouse's becoming a conditional permanent resident.
  Upon the filing of the petition, DHS interviews the couple to 
determine whether there was any marriage fraud. The interview must be 
conducted unless DHS waives the deadline for the interview or the 
requirement for the interview.
  This timetable is reasonable under normal circumstances. However, 
what happens when the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse is 
serving overseas in active duty status in the Armed Forces?
  It would certainly be a disruption to the military to have a member 
of the Armed Forces deployed overseas travel for a personal interview 
with DHS. Our military's focus should be on defending freedom, not 
bureaucracy.
  While it is true that DHS can choose to delay this process in 
appropriate circumstances, this bill's provision should be standard 
policy while the spouse is serving abroad. Of course, the petition and 
interview would still take place when the spouse is no longer on active 
duty.
  This bill is good for our military, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  As the author of H.R. 398, I support this bill. It's a small measure 
to help support members of our Armed Forces who are serving overseas 
and their families here at home.
  Our troops, who take up our country's call to service and volunteer 
to place themselves in harm's way, face uncertainties every day. For 
countless soldiers, the peace of mind that they get from family back 
home helps to keep them focused on the important job at hand. For that 
reason, it is critical that we not add to their burdens and instead 
seize the opportunity to alleviate even a small amount of the anxiety 
they feel.
  As the chairman has indicated, there is a conditionality placed on 
residents gained through marriage. Couples are given a 90-day period 
just before the second anniversary of the grant to file to remove the 
conditions, and then they get only 90 days to appear in person for an 
interview. Now, only after this is done are the conditions removed. And 
if the conditional status is not removed in this way, the residence is 
terminated and the foreign national spouse could be deported. That 
means that either the spouse of one of our soldiers could be deported 
or the soldier himself could be deported.
  Now, it's pretty hard to appear for the interview if you're serving 
in Iraq, and we certainly don't want our soldiers or their spouses to 
be deported. So I support this measure.
  In 2008, as chairwoman of the House Immigration Subcommittee, I 
convened a hearing on the immigration needs of America's fighting men 
and women. At the hearing, we heard from members of the Armed Forces 
about countless challenges that they face because of our rigid and 
unyielding immigration system.

                              {time}  1230

  This bill will help to resolve just one of those challenges. It will 
not excuse military families from the requirements. It will simply 
allow them to put off those requirements if they choose during overseas 
deployments.
  Of course, there are many problems with our country's immigration 
laws that this bill does not address, too many to count. And as we know 
from our 2008 hearing, those problems will continue to unnecessarily 
tear military families apart, distract from our mission abroad, and 
betray the fundamental values that we claim to hold dear.
  But despite this great need, it is only this small bill, a bill that 
should help a few dozen servicemembers a year, that is on the floor for 
action.
  I commend my colleagues Lamar Smith, Elton Gallegly, and John Conyers 
for joining me in introducing this very modest measure.
  Our men and women on the front lines are standing in defense of our 
country, and their loved ones back home stand in defense of them. As 
Members of Congress, it's both a responsibility and an honor to provide 
whatever support we can. And while this bill may be small, it is 
important for the few dozen soldiers it may help each year. Therefore, 
I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  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

[[Page 12680]]

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 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.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 398.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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