Federal

American Dream and Promise Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 12,013 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates two pathways for certain immigrants to become permanent residents (green card holders) of the United States. The first pathway, called the Dream Act, helps people who came to the US as children and have lived here continuously. The second pathway, called the American Promise Act, helps people from countries that received temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure as of specific dates. ##

Who It Affects

- Immigrants who entered the US as children and have lived here since January 1, 2021 - Immigrants from countries with temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure - The Department of Homeland Security (the agency that processes applications) - Educational institutions that admit applicants - Nonprofit organizations that may receive grants to help applicants - Courts that may review denied applications ##

Key Provisions

- Immigrants who entered the US before age 19 and have lived here continuously may apply for permanent resident status on a conditional basis if they meet education or military service requirements (Sec. 102) - Conditional permanent resident status lasts for 10 years and can be removed if certain requirements are no longer met (Sec. 103) - The conditional basis can be removed and applicants can become full permanent residents if they complete higher education, serve in the military for 2 years with honorable discharge, or earn income for 3 years (Sec. 104) - Applicants with certain criminal convictions cannot qualify, including those convicted of any felony offense or three or more misdemeanor offenses, with limited exceptions (Sec. 102) - Applicants from designated countries with temporary protected status can adjust to permanent resident status if they have lived in the US continuously for at least 3 years and apply within 3 years of the bill becoming law (Sec. 202) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, eligible immigrants could obtain permanent resident status instead of remaining in temporary legal statuses. Young immigrants who came as children would have access to a formal pathway to citizenship. People from countries with temporary protected status would gain a direct route to permanent residency. States would regain the ability to decide which residents qualify for in-state college tuition rates. Immigrants would receive work permits and employment authorization while their applications are pending. Courts would have the power to review decisions denying applications. ##

Important Definitions

- **DACA**: Deferred action granted to certain people announced by the Department of Homeland Security on June 15, 2012 - **Area career and technical education school**: A school providing career or technical education beyond high school - **High school diploma or equivalent**: A diploma, General Education Development credential, or another diploma recognized by a state - **Institution of higher education**: A college or university in the United States that qualifies under the Higher Education Act of 1965 - **Uniformed Services**: Military branches as defined in federal law - **Felony offense**: A federal or state crime punishable by imprisonment of more than 1 year - **Misdemeanor offense**: A federal or state crime punishable by imprisonment of more than 5 days but not more than 1 year - **Disability**: Has the same meaning as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text. However, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to publish interim final rules within 90 days of enactment to allow eligible individuals to immediately apply for relief (Sec. 308).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 16 To authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain aliens, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. GARCIA of Texas (for herself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CORREA, Ms. CHU, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. DUARTE, and Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain aliens, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘American Dream and Promise Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 16 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—DREAM ACT OF 2023 Sec. 101. Short title. Sec. 102. Permanent resident status on a conditional basis for certain long- term residents who entered the United States as children. Sec. 103. Terms of permanent resident status on a conditional basis. Sec. 104. Removal of conditional basis of permanent resident status. Sec. 105. Restoration of State option to determine residency for purposes of higher education benefits. TITLE II—AMERICAN PROMISE ACT OF 2023 Sec. 201. Short title. Sec. 202. Adjustment of status for certain nationals of certain countries des- ignated for temporary protected status or deferred enforced de- parture. Sec. 203. Clarification. TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Submission of biometric and biographic data; background checks. Sec. 303. Limitation on removal; application and fee exemption; and other con- ditions on eligible individuals. Sec. 304. Determination of continuous presence and residence. Sec. 305. Exemption from numerical limitations. Sec. 306. Availability of administrative and judicial review. Sec. 307. Documentation requirements. Sec. 308. Rulemaking. Sec. 309. Confidentiality of information. Sec. 310. Grant program to assist eligible applicants. Sec. 311. Provisions affecting eligibility for adjustment of status. Sec. 312. Supplementary surcharge for appointed counsel. Sec. 313. Annual report on provisional denial authority. TITLE I—DREAM ACT OF 2023 1 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 2 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Dream Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 102. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS ON A CONDI- 4 TIONAL BASIS FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM 5 RESIDENTS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED 6 STATES AS CHILDREN. 7 (a) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Notwith- 8 standing any other provision of law, and except as pro- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 16 IH vided in section 104(c)(2), an alien shall be considered, 1 at the time of obtaining the status of an alien lawfully 2 admitted for permanent residence under this section, to 3 have obtained such status on a conditional basis subject 4 to the provisions of this title. 5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 7 provision of law, the Secretary or the Attorney Gen- 8 eral shall adjust to the status of an alien lawfully 9 admitted for permanent residence on a conditional 10 basis, or without the conditional basis as provided in 11 section 104(c)(2), an alien who is inadmissible or de- 12 portable from the United States, is subject to a 13 grant of Deferred Enforced Departure, has tem- 14 porary protected status under section 244 of the Im- 15 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), or 16 is the son or daughter of an alien admitted as a non- 17 immigrant under subparagraph (E)(i), (E)(ii), 18 (H)(i)(b), or (L) of section 101(a)(15) of such Act 19 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) if— 20 (A) the alien has been continuously phys- 21 ically present in the United States since Janu- 22 ary 1, 2021; 23 (B) the alien was 18 years of age or 24 younger on the date on which the alien entered 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 16 IH the United States and has continuously resided 1 in the United States since such entry; 2 (C) the alien— 3 (i) subject to paragraph (2), is not in- 4 admissible under paragraph (1), (6)(E), 5 (6)(G), (8), or (10) of section 212(a) of 6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 7 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 8 (ii) has not ordered, incited, assisted, 9 or otherwise participated in the persecution 10 of any person on account of race, religion, 11 nationality, membership in a particular so- 12 cial group, or political opinion; and 13 (iii) is not barred from adjustment of 14 status under this title based on the crimi- 15 nal and national security grounds de- 16 scribed under subsection (c), subject to the 17 provisions of such subsection; and 18 (D) the alien— 19 (i) has been admitted to an institution 20 of higher education; 21 (ii) has been admitted to an area ca- 22 reer and technical education school at the 23 postsecondary level; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 16 IH (iii) in the United States, has ob- 1 tained— 2 (I) a high school diploma or a 3 commensurate alternative award from 4 a public or private high school; 5 (II) a General Education Devel- 6 opment credential, a high school 7 equivalency diploma recognized under 8 State law, or another similar State- 9 authorized credential; 10 (III) a credential or certificate 11 from an area career and technical 12 education school at the secondary 13 level; or 14 (IV) a recognized postsecondary 15 credential; or 16 (iv) is enrolled in secondary school or 17 in an education program assisting students 18 in— 19 (I) obtaining a high school di- 20 ploma or its recognized equivalent 21 under State law; 22 (II) passing the General Edu- 23 cation Development test, a high school 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 16 IH equivalence diploma examination, or 1 other similar State-authorized exam; 2 (III) obtaining a certificate or 3 credential from an area career and 4 technical education school providing 5 education at the secondary level; or 6 (IV) obtaining a recognized post- 7 secondary credential. 8 (2) WAIVER OF GROUNDS OF INADMIS- 9 SIBILITY.—With respect to any benefit under this 10 title, and in addition to the waivers under subsection 11 (c)(2), the Secretary may waive the grounds of inad- 12 missibility under paragraph (1), (6)(E), (6)(G), or 13 (10)(D) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and 14 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) for humanitarian 15 purposes, for family unity, or because the waiver is 16 otherwise in the public interest. 17 (3) APPLICATION FEE.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, 19 subject to an exemption under section 303(c), 20 require an alien applying under this section to 21 pay a reasonable fee that is commensurate with 22 the cost of processing the application but does 23 not exceed $495.00. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 16 IH (B) SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR APPLI- 1 CANTS WITH DACA.—The Secretary shall estab- 2 lish a streamlined procedure for aliens who have 3 been granted DACA and who meet the require- 4 ments for renewal (under the terms of the pro- 5 gram in effect on January 1, 2017) to apply for 6 adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully 7 admitted for permanent residence on a condi- 8 tional basis under this section, or without the 9 conditional basis as provided in section 10 104(c)(2). Such procedure shall not include a 11 requirement that the applicant pay a fee, except 12 that the Secretary may require an applicant 13 who meets the requirements for lawful perma- 14 nent residence without the conditional basis 15 under section 104(c)(2) to pay a fee that is 16 commensurate with the cost of processing the 17 application, subject to the exemption under sec- 18 tion 303(c). 19 (4) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Secretary 20 may not grant an alien permanent resident status on 21 a conditional basis under this section until the re- 22 quirements of section 302 are satisfied. 23 (5) MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE.—An alien 24 applying for permanent resident status on a condi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 16 IH tional basis under this section, or without the condi- 1 tional basis as provided in section 104(c)(2), shall 2 establish that the alien has registered under the 3 Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3801 et 4 seq.), if the alien is subject to registration under 5 such Act. 6 (c) CRIMINAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY BARS.— 7 (1) GROUNDS OF INELIGIBILITY.—Except as 8 provided in paragraph (2), an alien is ineligible for 9 adjustment of status under this title (whether on a 10 conditional basis or without the conditional basis as 11 provided in section 104(c)(2)) if any of the following 12 apply: 13 (A) The alien is inadmissible under para- 14 graph (2) or (3) of section 212(a) of the Immi- 15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)). 16 (B) Excluding any offense under State law 17 for which an essential element is the alien’s im- 18 migration status, and any minor traffic offense, 19 the alien has been convicted of— 20 (i) any felony offense; 21 (ii) three or more misdemeanor of- 22 fenses (excluding simple possession of can- 23 nabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia, 24 any offense involving cannabis or cannabis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 16 IH related paraphernalia which is no longer 1 prosecutable in the State in which the con- 2 viction was entered, and any offense involv- 3 ing civil disobedience without violence) not 4 occurring on the same date, and not aris- 5 ing out of the same act, omission, or 6 scheme of misconduct; or 7 (iii) a misdemeanor offense of domes- 8 tic violence, unless the alien demonstrates 9 that such crime is related to the alien hav- 10 ing been— 11 (I) a victim of domestic violence, 12 sexual assault, stalking, child abuse or 13 neglect, abuse or neglect in later life, 14 or human trafficking; 15 (II) battered or subjected to ex- 16 treme cruelty; or 17 (III) a victim of criminal activity 18 described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii) 19 of the Immigration and Nationality 20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii)). 21 (2) WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS.— 22 For humanitarian purposes, family unity, or if oth- 23 erwise in the public interest, the Secretary may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 16 IH (A) waive the grounds of inadmissibility 1 under subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of sec- 2 tion 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nation- 3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)), unless the con- 4 viction forming the basis for inadmissibility 5 would otherwise render the alien ineligible 6 under paragraph (1)(B) (subject to subpara- 7 graph (B)); and 8 (B) for purposes of clauses (ii) and (iii) of 9 paragraph (1)(B), waive consideration of— 10 (i) one misdemeanor offense if the 11 alien has not been convicted of any offense 12 in the 5-year period preceding the date on 13 which the alien applies for adjustment of 14 status under this title; or 15 (ii) up to two misdemeanor offenses if 16 the alien has not been convicted of any of- 17 fense in the 10-year period preceding the 18 date on which the alien applies for adjust- 19 ment of status under this title. 20 (3) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SECONDARY RE- 21 VIEW.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding an 23 alien’s eligibility for adjustment of status under 24 this title, and subject to the procedures de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 16 IH scribed in this paragraph, the Secretary may, 1 as a matter of non-delegable discretion, provi- 2 sionally deny an application for adjustment of 3 status (whether on a conditional basis or with- 4 out the conditional basis as provided in section 5 104(c)(2)) if the Secretary, based on clear and 6 convincing evidence, which shall include credible 7 law enforcement information, determines that 8 the alien is described in subparagraph (B) or 9 (D). 10 (B) PUBLIC SAFETY.—An alien is de- 11 scribed in this subparagraph if— 12 (i) excluding simple possession of can- 13 nabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia, 14 any offense involving cannabis or cannabis- 15 related paraphernalia which is no longer 16 prosecutable in the State in which the con- 17 viction was entered, any offense under 18 State law for which an essential element is 19 the alien’s immigration status, any offense 20 involving civil disobedience without vio- 21 lence, and any minor traffic offense, the 22 alien— 23 (I) has been convicted of a mis- 24 demeanor offense punishable by a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 16 IH term of imprisonment of more than 1 30 days; or 2 (II) has been adjudicated delin- 3 quent in a State or local juvenile court 4 proceeding that resulted in a disposi- 5 tion ordering placement in a secure 6 facility; and 7 (ii) the alien poses a significant and 8 continuing threat to public safety related 9 to such conviction or adjudication. 10 (C) PUBLIC SAFETY DETERMINATION.— 11 For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), the Sec- 12 retary shall consider the recency of the convic- 13 tion or adjudication; the length of any imposed 14 sentence or placement; the nature and serious- 15 ness of the conviction or adjudication, including 16 whether the elements of the of [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.