ILW.COM - Amendment 4184

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Reed, Mr. Graham, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Wellstone, and Mr. Daschle) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by them to the bill, S. 2045, supra; as follows:
At the appropriate place in the bill, insert the following:

TITLE XX--LATINO AND IMMIGRANT FAIRNESS ACT OF 2000

SEC. XX01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the `Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act of 2000'.

Subtitle A--Central American and Haitian Parity

SEC. XX11. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the `Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000'.

SEC. XX12. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NATIONALS FROM EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND HAITI.
Section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act is amended--

(1) in the section heading, by striking `nicaraguans and cubans' and inserting `nicaraguans, cubans, salvadorans, guatemalans, hondurans, and haitians';

(3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking `Nicaragua or Cuba' and inserting `Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Haiti'; and

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking `Nicaragua or Cuba' and inserting `Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras, or Haiti; and

SEC. XX13. APPLICATIONS PENDING UNDER AMENDMENTS MADE BY SECTION 203 OF THE NICARAGUAN ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RELIEF ACT.
An application for relief properly filed by a national of Guatemala or El Salvador under the amendments made by section 203 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act which was filed on or before the date of enactment of this Act, and on which a final administrative determination has not been made, shall, at the election of the applicant, be considered to be an application for adjustment of status under the provisions of section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, as amended by sections XX12 and XX15 of this Act, upon the payment of any fees, and in accordance with procedures, that the Attorney General shall prescribe by regulation. The Attorney General may not refund any fees paid in connection with an application filed by a national of Guatemala or El Salvador under the amendments made by section 203 of that Act.

SEC. XX14. APPLICATIONS PENDING UNDER THE HAITIAN REFUGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 1998.
An application for adjustment of status properly filed by a national of Haiti under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 which was filed on or before the date of enactment of this Act, and on which a final administrative determination has not been made, may be considered by the Attorney General to also constitute an application for adjustment of status under the provisions of section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, as amended by sections XX12 and XX15 of this Act.

SEC. XX15. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE NICARAGUAN ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RELIEF ACT.
(a) In General: Section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act is amended--

(A) by inserting before the period at the end of paragraph (1)(B) the following: `, and the Attorney General may, in the unreviewable discretion of the Attorney General, waive the grounds of inadmissibility specified in section 212(a)(1) (A)(i) and (6)(C) of such Act for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest';

`(2) Inapplicability of certain provisions: In determining the eligibility of an alien described in subsection (b) or (d) for either adjustment of status under this section or other relief necessary to establish eligibility for such adjustment, the provisions of section 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply. In addition, an alien who would otherwise be inadmissible pursuant to section 212(a)(9) (A) or (C) of such Act may apply for the Attorney General's consent to reapply for admission without regard to the requirement that the consent be granted prior to the date of the alien's reembarkation at a place outside the United States or attempt to be admitted from foreign contiguous territory, in order to qualify for the exception to those grounds of inadmissibility set forth in section 212(a)(9) (A)(iii) and (C)(ii) of such Act.'; and

(D) by amending paragraph (3) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)) to read as follows:

`(3) Relationship of application to certain orders: An alien present in the United States who has been ordered excluded, deported, or removed, or ordered to depart voluntarily from the United States under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such order, apply for adjustment of status under paragraph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a condition of submitting or granting such application, to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate such order. Such an alien may be required to seek a stay of such an order in accordance with subsection (c) to prevent the execution of that order pending the adjudication of the application for adjustment of status. If the Attorney General denies a stay of a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal, or if the Attorney General renders a final administrative determination to deny the application for adjustment of status, the order shall be effective and enforceable to the same extent as if the application had not been made. If the Attorney General grants the application for adjustment of status, the Attorney General shall cancel the order.';

(2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end the following: `Subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, unless the alien is applying for relief under that subsection in deportation or removal proceedings.';

(3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end the following: `Nothing in this Act requires the Attorney General to stay the removal of an alien who is ineligible for adjustment of status under this Act.';

(A) by amending the subsection heading to read as follows: `Spouses, Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters: ';

(B) by amending the heading of paragraph (1) to read as follows: `Adjustment of status: ';

`(A) the alien entered the United States on or before the date of enactment of the Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000;';

(D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking `except that in the case of' and inserting the following: `except that--

`(i) in the case of such a spouse, stepchild, or unmarried stepson or stepdaughter, the qualifying marriage was entered into before the date of enactment of the Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000; and

`(3) Eligibility of certain spouses and children for issuance of immigrant visas:

`(A) In general: In accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, upon approval of an application for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under subsection (a), an alien who is the spouse or child of the alien being granted such status may be issued a visa for admission to the United States as an immigrant following to join the principal applicant, if the spouse or child--

`(ii) applies for such a visa within a time period to be established by such regulations.

`(B) Retention of fees for processing applications: The Secretary of State may retain fees to recover the cost of immigrant visa application processing and issuance for certain spouses and children of aliens whose applications for adjustment of status under subsection (a) have been approved. Such fees--

`(i) shall be deposited as an offsetting collection to any Department of State appropriation to recover the cost of such processing and issuance; and

`(ii) shall be available until expended for the same purposes of such appropriation to support consular activities.';

(5) in subsection (g), by inserting `, or an immigrant classification,' after `for permanent residence'; and

(6) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(i) Statutory Construction: Nothing in this section authorizes any alien to apply for admission to, be admitted to, be paroled into, or otherwise lawfully return to the United States, to apply for, or to pursue an application for adjustment of status under this section without the express authorization of the Attorney General.'.
(b) Effective Date: The amendments made by paragraphs (1)(D), (2), and (6) shall be effective as if included in the enactment of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act. The amendments made by paragraphs (1) (A)-(C), (3), (4), and (5) shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. XX16. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE HAITIAN REFUGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 1998.
(a) In General: Section 902 of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 is amended--

(A) by inserting before the period at the end of paragraph (1)(B) the following: `, and the Attorney General may waive the grounds of inadmissibility specified in section 212(a) (1)(A)(i) and (6)(C) of such Act for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest';

`(2) Inapplicability of certain provisions: In determining the eligibility of an alien described in subsection (b) or (d) for either adjustment of status under this section or other relief necessary to establish eligibility for such adjustment, or for permission to reapply for admission to the United States for the purpose of adjustment of status under this section, the provisions of section 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply. In addition, an alien who would otherwise be inadmissible pursuant to section 212(a)(9) (A) or (C) of such Act may apply for the Attorney General's consent to reapply for admission without regard to the requirement that the consent be granted prior to the date of the alien's reembarkation at a place outside the United States or attempt to be admitted from foreign contiguous territory, in order to qualify for the exception to those grounds of inadmissibility set forth in section 212(a)(9) (A)(iii) and (C)(ii) of such Act.'; and

(D) by amending paragraph (3) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)) to read as follows:

`(3) Relationship of application to certain orders: An alien present in the United States who has been ordered excluded, deported, removed, or ordered to depart voluntarily from the United States under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act may, notwithstanding such order, apply for adjustment of status under paragraph (1). Such an alien may not be required, as a condition of submitting or granting such application, to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate such order. Such an alien may be required to seek a stay of such an order in accordance with subsection (c) to prevent the execution of that order pending the adjudication of the application for adjustment of status. If the Attorney General denies a stay of a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal, or if the Attorney General renders a final administrative determination to deny the application for adjustment of status, the order shall be effective and enforceable to the same extent as if the application had not been made. If the Attorney General grants the application for adjustment of status, the Attorney General shall cancel the order.';

(2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end the following: `Subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, unless the alien is applying for such relief under that subsection in deportation or removal proceedings.';

(3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end the following: `Nothing in this Act shall require the Attorney General to stay the removal of an alien who is ineligible for adjustment of status under this Act.';