[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15723-15725]
[From the U.S. 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 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.

[[Page 15724]]

  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.
  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

[[Page 15725]]

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.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and 
appreciate Chairman Goodlatte's work to bring it to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us have had constituents who have adopted 
children internationally. These families go through a long, complex and 
very emotional process as they wait on legal decisions and government 
reviews.
  Along with the emotional stress can come financial stress too. In a 
number of cases, as wait times lengthen and lengthen, an adoptive 
child's American visa will expire before they are able to leave their 
home country. This means the American parents adopting this child have 
to reapply and repay hefty fees.
  But under this legislation, that reapplication fee can be waived if a 
family is faced with extraordinary circumstances outside their control.
  This is common sense.
  Mr. Speaker, passage of this bill--and the President's signature--
means immediate help for hundreds of American families seeking to adopt 
children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foreign Affairs 
Committee has been particularly focused on this tragic and frustrating 
situation.
  These American families have been unable to bring their legally 
adopted children home from the DRC because of a bureaucratic chokehold 
by the Congolese government. In some cases, some children who had a 
loving home ready and waiting in the United States died in Congo's 
orphanages. Yes, died.
  Nearly every congressional district has a family impacted by this 
tragic policy of the Congolese government.
  I have met with a number of families from Southern California, who 
have adopted children from the DRC that they now cannot take home. Some 
of these families have paid over $1,000 in fees to the U.S. 
government--and will continue to pay more--to keep their adoptive 
child's visa active, while they wait in limbo for the Congolese 
government to do the right thing.
  Mr. Speaker, last month marked the two-year anniversary of the DRC 
suspending international adoptions. For two years these families have 
been hurting. The Congolese system is failing these children, for sure. 
But today, the American system will respond to give these families some 
relief during this time of distress. We are doing all we can to see 
that these legally adopted children are allowed into loving American 
homes, but for now, we can all feel good about relieving this financial 
burden.
  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.

                          ____________________