Protect Patriot Spouses Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 163 To render certain military spouses eligible for adjustment of status, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 4, 2021 Mr. SOTO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To render certain military spouses eligible for adjustment of status, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Patriot 4 Spouses Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN MILITARY 6 SPOUSES. 7 Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 8 (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:50 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H163.IH H163 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 163 IH ‘‘(n)(1) In applying this section to an alien described 1 in paragraph (2)— 2 ‘‘(A) such alien shall be deemed, for purposes 3 of subsection (a), to have been inspected and admit- 4 ted into the United States; and 5 ‘‘(B) in determining the alien’s admissibility as 6 an immigrant— 7 ‘‘(i) paragraphs (6)(A), (7)(A), and (9)(B) 8 of section 212(a) shall not apply; and 9 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Security, 10 in the discretion of the Secretary, may waive 11 the application of paragraphs (6)(C), (9)(A), 12 and (9)(C) of section 212(a) if the alien estab- 13 lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 14 the alien does not pose a threat to the public 15 and has not committed any criminal offenses in 16 violation of Federal or State law unrelated to 17 the alien’s status. 18 ‘‘(2) An alien is described in this paragraph if the 19 alien— 20 ‘‘(A) is or was the spouse of a United States 21 citizen who— 22 ‘‘(i) is or was serving on active duty in the 23 United States Armed Forces or in a reserve 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:50 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H163.IH H163 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 163 IH component of the United States Armed Forces; 1 and 2 ‘‘(ii) if discharged or released from service 3 in the Armed Forces, was discharged or re- 4 leased under honorable conditions; and 5 ‘‘(B) is the beneficiary of a petition for classi- 6 fication under section 204(a)(1)(A) as an immediate 7 relative (as defined in section 201(b)) by reason of 8 the marriage to such citizen.’’. 9 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMIS- 10 SIBILITY FOR CERTAIN MILITARY SPOUSES. 11 Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 12 (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended by inserting after subsection 13 (b) the following: 14 ‘‘(c)(1) In determining the admissibility as an immi- 15 grant of an alien described in paragraph (2)— 16 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(9)(B) shall not apply; and 17 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 18 the discretion of the Secretary, may waive the appli- 19 cation of paragraphs (6)(C), (9)(A), and (9)(C) of 20 subsection (a) if the alien establishes to the satisfac- 21 tion of the Secretary that the alien does not pose a 22 threat to the public and has not committed any 23 criminal offenses in violation of Federal or State law 24 unrelated to the alien’s status. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:50 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H163.IH H163 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 163 IH ‘‘(2) An alien is described in this paragraph if the 1 alien— 2 ‘‘(A) is or was the spouse of a United States 3 citizen who— 4 ‘‘(i) is or was serving on active duty in the 5 United States Armed Forces or in a reserve 6 component of the United States Armed Forces; 7 and 8 ‘‘(ii) if discharged or released from service 9 in the Armed Forces, was discharged or re- 10 leased under honorable conditions; and 11 ‘‘(B) is the beneficiary of a petition for classi- 12 fication under section 204(a)(1)(A) as an immediate 13 relative (as defined in section 201(b)) by reason of 14 the marriage to such citizen.’’. 15 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF REMOVED OR VOLUNTARILY DE- 16 PARTED ALIENS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 18 rity and the Secretary of State shall take such steps as 19 may be necessary to ensure that eligible aliens who were 20 removed or permitted to depart voluntarily from the 21 United States before the date of the enactment of this Act 22 may apply from abroad for an immigrant visa pursuant 23 to the amendment made by section 3. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:50 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H163.IH H163 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 163 IH (b) NONIMMIGRANT ADMISSION PENDING ADJUDICA- 1 TION.—The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec- 2 retary of State shall establish a program under which an 3 eligible alien with a pending application made under sub- 4 section (a) may be authorized to enter the United States 5 as a nonimmigrant to reunite with their United States cit- 6 izen spouse during the period in which such application, 7 and an associated application for adjustment of status, re- 8 main pending. In determining whether an alien is eligible 9 to be admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant 10 under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland Security 11 and the Secretary of State shall require the alien to estab- 12 lish to the satisfaction of each Secretary that the alien 13 does not pose a threat to the public or to national security. 14 In determining the admissibility as a nonimmigrant of an 15 alien described in this subsection, the Secretary of Home- 16 land Security, in the discretion of the Secretary, may 17 waive the application of paragraphs (6)(C) and (9) of sec- 18 tion 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 19 U.S.C. 1182(a)). 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:50 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H163.IH H163 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS