[House Report 106-905]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-905
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FOR THE RELIEF OF SAEED REZAI
_______
September 27, 2000.--Referred to the Private Calendar 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. 5266]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 5266) for the relief of Saeed Rezai, 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.................... 1
Committee Consideration.................................... 2
Committee Oversight Findings............................... 2
Committee on Government Reform Findings.................... 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures.................. 2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.................. 2
Constitutional Authority Statement......................... 3
Agency Views............................................... 3
Purpose and Summary
This bill would make the claimant eligible for adjustment
of his status to that of a permanent resident.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Mr. Rezai first came to the United States from Iran on a
student visa in 1986. In 1987, he married his first wife and
was given conditional permanent residence. That marriage was
dissolved prior to the conditional status of his permanent
residency being lifted. He then filed for a possible waiver of
the conditional status as well as an application for asylum. In
1991, prior to the final ruling of the court denying his
application for asylum, Mr. Rezai married his current wife,
Julie. When she filed an immigrant visa on behalf of her
husband it was denied because under immigration law the fact
his first marriage did not last 2 years constitutes marriage
fraud. The judge hearing Mr. Rezai's case after the divorce
indicated in his decision that there was no proof of false
testimony by Mr. Rezai and granted him voluntary departure
rather than ordering deportation because in his words ``Mr.
Rezai may be eligible for a visa in the future.'' Nevertheless,
I.N.S. refused to consider Mr. Rezai's petition while
acknowledging that his current marriage is valid. In the
meantime, Ms. Rezai has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Her doctor has indicated that she may rapidly deteriorate as a
result of any type of severe stress.
The standard for a private immigration bill being
appropriate is that the case involves an alien who has an
unusual problem that would result in extreme hardship to a
United States citizen spouse, parent or child or to the alien
beneficiaries themselves. Because of Mrs. Rezai's condition,
this case meets that standard.
Committee Consideration
On September 26, 2000, the Committee on the Judiciary met
in open session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R.
5266 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 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 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the committee believes that
the bill would have no significant impact on the Federal
budget. This is based on the Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate on H.R. 5266. That Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 26, 2000.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 5266 and S. 302, which were ordered reported by
the House Committee on the Judiciary on September 26, 2000. CBO
estimates that their enactment would have no significant impact
on the federal budget. H.R. 5266 and S. 302 could have a very
small effect on fees collected by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service and on benefits paid under certain
federal entitlement programs. Because these fees and
expenditures are classified as direct spending, pay-as-you-go
procedures would apply. The two pieces of legislation reviewed
are:
LH.R. 5266, a bill for the relief of Saeed
Rezai; and
LS. 302, an act for the relief of Kerantha
Poole-Christian.
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. This estimate was
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen, Director.
cc:
Honorable John Conyers Jr.
Ranking Democratic Member
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 8, Clause 4 of the
Constitution.
Agency Views
The comments of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
on H.R. 5266 are as follows:
U.S. Department of Justice,
Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Washington, DC, August 4, 1999.
Hon. Orrin Hatch, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
United States Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: In response to your request for a report
relative to S. 451, for the relief of Saeed Rezai, there is
enclosed a memorandum of information concerning the
beneficiary.
The bill would grant the beneficiary permanent residence in
the United States as of the date of its enactment and upon
payment of the required visa fee. It would also direct that a
visa number deduction be made from the beneficiary's native
country.
Sincerely,
FOR THE COMMISSIONER,
Allen Erenbaum, Director,
Congressional Relations.
Enclosure
cc:
Department of State, Visa Office
District Director--Denver, CO
Attn: Private Bill Staff
District Director--Denver, CO
Attn: Salt Lake City Sub-Office
Attn: Investigations--Gary Slaybaugh
MEMORANDUM OF INFORMATION FROM IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
FILES RE: S. 451
The beneficiary, Saeed Rezai, a native and citizen of Iran
, was born on March 21, 1958, in Teheran, Iran. Mr. Rezai
resides with his spouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Rezai is
currently employed by Westminster College in Salt Lake City
Utah as the Director of Patrol and Safety, with an income of
about $32,000 a year. He also serves as a Fire Marshal for the
college. The beneficiary's assets include his home in Salt Lake
City, Utah, estimated equity is about $32,000; a 1991 Nissan
Sentra, estimated value is $4,000; and approximately $2,000 in
a savings account.
The beneficiary entered the United States at Chicago,
Illinois on January 4, 1986, as a student (F-1). On September
2, 1986, Mr. Rezai was refused reinstatement of student status
and given voluntary departure until September 17, 1986. Mr.
Rezai married Elizabeth Shantz, a citizen of the United States,
on September 9, 1987. Mr. Rezai was given condition residence
status based upon his marriage on December 16, 1988. The
conditional residence status was terminated on March 8, 1990,
on the basis that Mr. Rezai did not establish that the marriage
was not entered into for the purposed of obtaining an immigrant
visa. Mr. Rezai was divorced from Elizabeth Shantz on June 1,
1990, and subsequently placed into deportation proceedings.
Mr. Rezai applied for waiver of the requirement to file a
joint petition to remove the conditional status and submitted
an application for asylum. The Immigration Judge ruled in a
decision dated January 16, 1991, that Mr. Rezai was ineligible
for a waiver or asylum. The Board of Immigration Appeals and
the 10th Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals
subsequently affirmed the Immigration Judge's decision.
On June 15, 1991, Mr. Rezai married Julie Marie Wegner, a
United States citizen. A visa petition was submitted on behalf
of this marriage. The petition was denied on July 1, 1994. On
March 3, 1997, a motion to apply for suspension of deportation
was denied.
Responses to national agency checks were negative. The
beneficiary has not performed military service in the United
States.