[House Report 105-690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     105-690
_______________________________________________________________________


 
       FOR THE RELIEF OF MERCEDES DEL CARMEN QUIROZ MARTINEZ CRUZ

_______________________________________________________________________


 September 9, 1998.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and 
                         ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1834]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1834) for the relief of Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz 
Martinez Cruz, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.


                           TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary........................................           1
Background and Need for the Legislation....................           2
Hearings...................................................           2
Committee Consideration....................................           2
Committee Oversight Findings...............................           2
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight Findings......           2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures..................           3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate..................           3
Constitutional Authority Statement.........................           3
Agency Views...............................................           4

                          Purpose and Summary

    This bill would make the claimant eligible for adjustment 
of her status to that of a permanent resident.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    In December 1993, Mercedes del Carmen Quiroz Martinez and 
John Francisco Cruz, an American citizen, were married in 
Vejle, Denmark. Mr. Cruz filed an alien relative petition for 
Mrs. Cruz in September 1994, in Frankfurt, Germany. INS here 
has no record of that being processed. However, Mrs. Cruz has a 
copy of the petition as well as a copy of the Frankfurt office 
receipt. The couple had an American citizen child in November 
1994, in Germany. Mr. Cruz, a 20-year Army veteran, consulted 
for the military in Germany.
    On November 1, 1995, John Cruz died of a massive coronary 
in his sleep. Mr. and Mrs. Cruz had been married 1 year, 10 
months, and 28 days. Mrs. Cruz and their son came here on a 
visitor visa for the husband's funeral and Mrs. Cruz filed a 
petition as a widow of a U.S. citizen in January 1996. That 
petition was denied because Mr. and Mrs. Cruz had not been 
married for the two years required by the Marriage Fraud Act 
prior to his death. She then filed an appeal of that denial, 
which was dismissed in January 1997.
    The petition for Mrs. Cruz was filed in September of 1994. 
If the petition filed by Mr. Cruz not been lost by the INS, it 
is likely that it would have been approved prior to his death 
in November of 1995, and Mrs. Cruz would have been eligible to 
receive a waiver, under 8 CFR 216 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, of the two year marriage requirement.

                                Hearings

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held 
no hearings on H.R. 1834.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 23, 1998, the Subcommittee on Immigration and 
Claims met in open session and ordered favorably reported the 
bill H.R.1834 without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being 
present.
    On August 4, 1998, the Committee on the Judiciary met in 
open session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 1834 
without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports 
that the findings and recommendations of the Committee, based 
on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

         Committee on Government Reform and Oversight Findings

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in 
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets 
forth, with respect to the bill, H.R. 1834, the following 
estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 6, 1998.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1834, a bill for 
the relief of Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz Martinez Cruz.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,

                                           June E. O'Neill, Director.  
    Enclosure.

    cc: Hon. John Conyers, Jr..
         Ranking Minority Member.
H.R. 1834--A bill for the relief of Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz Martinez 
        Cruz
    H.R. 1834 would grant the status of immediate relative to 
Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz Martinez Cruz, which would make it 
easier for her to obtain a family-sponsored immigrant visa. CBO 
estimates that enacting this legislation would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 1834 could have 
a very small effect on fees collected by the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, which are classified as direct 
spending, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(1)(4) of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article 1, Section 1, Clause 8 of the 
Constitution.

                              Agency Views

    The comments of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
on H.R. 1834 are as follows:

                        U.S. Department of Justice,
                    Immigration and Naturalization Service,
                                      Washington, DC, July 8, 1998.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This is in reference to your request for 
a report relative to H.R. 1834, for the relief of Mercedes Del 
Carmen Quiroz Martinez Cruz.
    The bill would grant the beneficiary classification as an 
immediate relative within the meaning of section 
201(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) 
for purposes of approval of a relative visa petition filed 
under section 204 of such Act by Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz 
Martinez Cruz and the filing of an application for an immigrant 
visa or for adjustment of status. The bill would also direct 
the proper visa number deduction.
            Sincerely,
                                            Allen Erenbaum,
                                  Director, Congressional Relations
    Enclosure

 MEMORANDUM OF INFORMATION FROM IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE 
                          FILES RE: H.R. 1834

    The beneficiary, Mercedes Del Carmen Quiroz Martinez Cruz, 
A73 671 602, a native and citizen of Panama, was born April 23, 
1969, in Panama City. Panama. Ms. Cruz resides in Hampton, 
Virginia with her son, John Francisco Cruz, Jr., a United 
States citizen by birth. Ms. Cruz is currently unemployed and 
receives about $800 a month from Social Security and about 
$1,000 a month from Veterans Benefits due to the death of her 
husband.
    The beneficiary was admitted to the United States as a 
visitor for pleasure on November 10, 1995, at Atlanta, Georgia, 
with authorization to remain in the United States for a 
temporary period, not to exceed May 9, 1996. Ms. Cruz is in 
removal proceedings from the United States as a person who has 
remained in the United States for a time longer than 
authorized.
    The beneficiary shows no previous entries into the United 
States.
    Ms. Cruz has two sisters residing in the United States. At 
this time, investigative inquiries from the CIA and FBI are 
still pending. If positive information indicated, a copy of the 
response will be forwarded for review.

                                
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