“To render certain military spouses eligible for adjustment of status, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes an adjustment of status process under INA §245 for spouses of U.S. citizen service members on active duty or in reserves (honorably discharged, if applicable) who are immediate relative beneficiaries based on the marriage. For such aliens, the provision (1) deems them inspected and admitted into the United States for purposes of INA §245(a); and (2) in determining admissibility, automatically waives INA §212(a)(6)(A) (misrepresentation), (7)(A) (lack of immigrant visa or documents), and (9)(B) (unlawful reentry after removal order), and authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive INA §212(a)(6)(C) (document fraud), (9)(A) (3- or 10-year unlawful presence bar), and (9)(C) (permanent unlawful presence bar) if the alien poses no public threat and has no federal or state criminal convictions unrelated to immigration status. (Thus, these spouses may adjust to lawful permanent resident status despite entry without inspection or specified grounds of inadmissibility.)
This section establishes exceptions from certain grounds of inadmissibility under INA §212(a) for the immigrant spouse of a U.S. citizen serving or honorably discharged from active duty or reserve service in the U.S. Armed Forces, if the spouse is the beneficiary of an immediate relative petition under INA §204(a)(1)(A) based on that marriage. Specifically, (1) INA §212(a)(9)(B) (i.e., permanent bar for accruing more than one year of unlawful presence after prior removal) does not apply; and (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive INA §212(a)(6)(C) (i.e., fraud or misrepresentation), (9)(A) (i.e., three- and ten-year bars for unlawful presence), and (9)(C) (i.e., permanent bar for unlawful reentry after prior removal or deportation) if the alien demonstrates no threat to public safety and no convictions for federal or state crimes unrelated to immigration status.
This section directs the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State to ensure that eligible aliens previously removed or voluntarily departed before enactment may apply from abroad for immigrant visas pursuant to the amendment made by section 3. The section further establishes a program authorizing such aliens with pending immigrant visa and adjustment-of-status applications to enter the United States as nonimmigrants to reunite with their U.S. citizen spouses pending adjudication, provided they establish no threat to public safety or national security, and authorizes discretionary waivers of inadmissibility under INA §212(a)(6)(C) (i.e., fraud or willful misrepresentation to procure a visa, admission, or other immigration benefit) and (9) (i.e., prior removal, unlawful reentry after removal, or accrual of unlawful presence following a prior immigration violation).