Citizenship for Essential Workers Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 747 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the adjustment of status of essential workers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 15, 2021 Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the adjustment of status of essential workers, 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 ‘‘Citizenship for Essen- 4 tial Workers Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi- 7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 8 amended by inserting after section 245A, the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 747 IS ‘‘SEC. 245B. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR ESSENTIAL 1 WORKERS. 2 ‘‘(a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR ESSENTIAL 3 WORKERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 4 the Secretary of Homeland Security (referred to in this 5 section as the ‘Secretary’) or the Attorney General shall 6 adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for per- 7 manent residence— 8 ‘‘(1) an alien who— 9 ‘‘(A) satisfies the eligibility requirements 10 set forth in subsection (b); and 11 ‘‘(B) submits an application and satisfies 12 the criminal and national security background 13 checks and payment of applicable fees pursuant 14 to the procedures set forth in subsection (d); 15 and 16 ‘‘(2) the parents, spouse, sons, and daughters 17 of such alien. 18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An alien applying for status 19 under subsection (a) shall satisfy the following require- 20 ments: 21 ‘‘(1) ALIENS WORKING IN CERTAIN SECTORS, 22 INDUSTRIES, AND OCCUPATIONS.—Except as pro- 23 vided in paragraph (2), the alien shall have, at any 24 point during the period described in subsection (i), 25 earned income for work in any of the following pri- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 747 IS vate, public, or nonprofit sectors, industries, or occu- 1 pations: 2 ‘‘(A) Health care. 3 ‘‘(B) Emergency response. 4 ‘‘(C) Sanitation. 5 ‘‘(D) Restaurant ownership, food prepara- 6 tion, vending, catering, food packaging, food 7 services, or delivery. 8 ‘‘(E) Hotel or retail. 9 ‘‘(F) Fish, poultry, and meat processing 10 work. 11 ‘‘(G) Agricultural work, including labor 12 that is seasonal in nature. 13 ‘‘(H) Commercial or residential land- 14 scaping. 15 ‘‘(I) Commercial or residential construction 16 or renovation. 17 ‘‘(J) Housing, residential, and commercial 18 construction related activities or public works 19 construction. 20 ‘‘(K) Domestic work in private households, 21 including child care, home care, or house clean- 22 ing. 23 ‘‘(L) Natural disaster recovery, disaster re- 24 construction, and related construction. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 747 IS ‘‘(M) Home and community-based work, 1 including— 2 ‘‘(i) home health care; 3 ‘‘(ii) residential care; 4 ‘‘(iii) assistance with activities of daily 5 living; 6 ‘‘(iv) any service provided by direct 7 care workers (as defined in section 799B 8 of the Public Health Service Act (42 9 U.S.C. 295p)), personal care aides, job 10 coaches, or supported employment pro- 11 viders; and 12 ‘‘(v) any other provision of care to in- 13 dividuals in their homes by direct service 14 providers, personal care attendants, and 15 home health aides. 16 ‘‘(N) Family care, including child care 17 services, in-home child care services such as 18 nanny services, and care services provided by 19 family members to other family members. 20 ‘‘(O) Manufacturing. 21 ‘‘(P) Warehousing. 22 ‘‘(Q) Transportation or logistics. 23 ‘‘(R) Janitorial. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 747 IS ‘‘(S) Laundromat and dry-cleaning opera- 1 tors. 2 ‘‘(T) Any other work in ‘essential critical 3 infrastructure labor or services’, as described in 4 the memorandum of the Department of Home- 5 land Security entitled ‘Advisory Memorandum 6 on Identification of Essential Critical Infra- 7 structure Workers During COVID–19 Re- 8 sponse’ issued on March 28, 2020 (as revised), 9 on any date during the period described in sub- 10 section (i). 11 ‘‘(U) Any other work that a State or local 12 government considers to be essential during the 13 emergency referred to in subsection (i). 14 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN OTHER ELIGIBLE ALIENS.—An 15 alien not described in paragraph (1)— 16 ‘‘(A) shall— 17 ‘‘(i)(I) have earned income in any sec- 18 tor, industry, or occupation described in 19 that paragraph on any date during the pe- 20 riod described in subsection (i) but was un- 21 able to continue that work through no 22 fault of the alien, including because the 23 working conditions posed a high degree of 24 risk to the alien’s health and safety; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 747 IS ‘‘(II) have been seeking to resume 1 work in any such sector, industry, or occu- 2 pation; 3 ‘‘(B) is the surviving parent, spouse, son, 4 or daughter of an alien who— 5 ‘‘(i) performed any service or labor for 6 remuneration in any sector, industry, or 7 occupation described in that paragraph on 8 any date during the period described in 9 subsection (i); and 10 ‘‘(ii) died due to COVID–19; or 11 ‘‘(C) is the parent, spouse, son, or daugh- 12 ter of a member of the Armed Forces, including 13 the National Guard. 14 ‘‘(3) PHYSICAL PRESENCE.— 15 ‘‘(A) DATE OF SUBMITTAL OF APPLICA- 16 TION.—The alien shall be physically present in 17 the United States on the date on which the ap- 18 plication is submitted. 19 ‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE.— 20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 21 vided in clause (ii), the alien shall have 22 been continuously physically present in the 23 United States beginning on January 1, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 747 IS 2021, and ending on the date on which the 1 application is approved. 2 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 3 ‘‘(I) AUTHORIZED ABSENCE.—An 4 alien who departed temporarily from 5 the United States shall not be consid- 6 ered to have failed to maintain contin- 7 uous physical presence in the United 8 States during any period of travel 9 that was authorized by the Secretary. 10 ‘‘(II) BRIEF, CASUAL, AND INNO- 11 CENT ABSENCES.— 12 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—An 13 alien who departed temporarily 14 from the United States shall not 15 be considered to have failed to 16 maintain continuous physical 17 presence in the United States if 18 the alien’s absences from the 19 United States are brief, casual, 20 and innocent, whether or not 21 such absences were authorized by 22 the Secretary. 23 ‘‘(bb) ABSENCES MORE 24 THAN 180 DAYS.—For purposes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 747 IS of this clause, an absence of more 1 than 180 days, in the aggregate, 2 during a calendar year shall not 3 be considered brief, unless the 4 Secretary finds that the length of 5 the absence was due to cir- 6 cumstances beyond the alien’s 7 control, including the serious ill- 8 ness of the alien, death or serious 9 illness of a spouse, parent, 10 grandparent, grandchild, sibling, 11 son, or daughter of the alien, or 12 due to international travel re- 13 strictions. 14 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF NOTICE TO AP- 15 PEAR.—Issuance of a notice to appear 16 under section 239(a) shall not be consid- 17 ered to interrupt the continuity of an 18 alien’s continuous physical presence in the 19 United States. 20 ‘‘(c) GROUNDS FOR INELIGIBILITY.— 21 ‘‘(1) CERTAIN GROUNDS OF INADMIS- 22 SIBILITY.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:31 Apr 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 747 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 1 graph (B), an alien shall be ineligible for status 2 under this section if the alien— 3 ‘‘(i) is inadmissible under paragraph 4 (2), (3), (6)(E), (8), (10)(C), or (10)(E) of 5 section 212(a); 6 ‘‘(ii) has been convicted of a felony of- 7 fense (excluding any offense under State 8 law for which an essential element in the 9 alien’s immigration status); or 10 ‘‘(iii) has been convicted of 3 or more 11 misdemeanor offenses (excluding simple 12 possession of cannabis or cannabis-related 13 paraphernalia, any offense involving can- 14 nabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia 15 that is no longer prosecutable in the State 16 in which the conviction was entered, any 17 offense under State law for which an es- 18 sential element is the alien’s immigration 19 status, any offense involving civil disobe- 20 dience without violence, and any minor 21 traffic offense) not occurring on the same 22 date, and not arising out of the same act, 23 omission, or scheme of misconduct. 24 ‘‘(B) WAIVERS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 747 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 1 subparagraph (A), the Secretary may, for 2 humanitarian purposes, family unity, or if 3 otherwise in the public interest— 4 ‘‘(I) waive inadmissibility 5 under— 6 ‘‘(aa) subparagraphs (A), 7 (C), and (D) of section 8 212(a)(2); and 9 ‘‘(bb) paragraphs (6)(E), 10 (8), (10)(C), and (10)(E) of such 11 section; 12 ‘‘(II) waive ineligibility under 13 subparagraph (A)(ii) (excluding of- 14 fenses described in section 15 101(a)(43)(A)) or inadmissibility 16 under subparagraph (B) of section 17 212(a)(2) if the alien has not been 18 convicted of any offense during the 19 10-year period preceding the date on 20 which the alien applies for status 21 under this section; and 22 ‘‘(III) for purposes of subpara- 23 graph (A)(iii), waive consideration 24 of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 747 IS ‘‘(aa) 1 misdemeanor offense 1 if, during the 5-year period pre- 2 ceding the date on which the 3 alien applies for status under this 4 section the alien has not been 5 convicted of any offense; or 6 ‘‘(bb) 2 misdemeanor of- 7 fenses if, during the 10-year pe- 8 riod preceding such date, the 9 alien has not been convicted of 10 any offense. 11 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a 12 determination under subparagraph (B), 13 the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 14 Attorney General shall consider all miti- 15 gating and aggravating factors, includ- 16 ing— 17 ‘‘(I) the severity of the under- 18 lying circumstances, conduct, or viola- 19 tion; 20 ‘‘(II) the duration of the alien’s 21 residence in the United States; 22 ‘‘(III) evidence of rehabilitation, 23 if applicable; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 747 IS ‘‘(IV) the extent to which the 1 alien’s removal, or the denial of the 2 alien’s application, would adversely af- 3 fect the alien or the alien’s United 4 States citizen or lawful permanent 5 resident family members. 6 ‘‘(2) ALIENS IN CERTAIN IMMIGRATION 7 STATUSES.—An alien shall be ineligible for adjust- 8 ment of status under this section if, on January 1, 9 2021, the alien was any of the following: 10 ‘‘(A) An alien lawfully admitted for perma- 11 nent residence. 12 ‘‘(B) An alien admitted as a refugee under 13 section 207 or granted asylum under section 14 208. 15 ‘‘(C) An alien who, according to the 16 records of the Secretary or the Secretary of 17 State, was in a period of authorized stay in a 18 nonimmigrant status described in section 19 101(a)(15), other than— 20 ‘‘(i) the spouse, son, or daughter of an 21 alien who is eligible for status under this 22 section; 23 ‘‘(ii) an alien who is considered to be 24 in a nonimmigrant status solely by reason 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 747 IS of section 702 of the Consolidated Natural 1 Resources Act of 2008 (Public Law 110– 2 229; 122 Stat. 854) or section 244(f)(4) of 3 this Act; 4 ‘‘(iii) a nonimmigrant described in 5 section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii); and 6 ‘‘(iv) a nonimmigrant who is described 7 in subsection (b). 8 ‘‘(D) An alien paroled into the Common- 9 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or 10 Guam who did not reside in the Commonwealth 11 or Guam on November 28, 2009. 12 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN ALIENS OUTSIDE THE UNITED 13 STATES AND UNLAWFUL REENTRANTS.—An alien 14 shall be ineligible for adjustment of status under 15 this section if the alien— 16 ‘‘(A) departed the United States while sub- 17 ject to an order of exclusion, deportation, re- 18 moval, or voluntary departure; and 19 ‘‘(B)(i) was outside the United States on 20 January 1, 2021; or 21 ‘‘(ii) reentered the United States unlaw- 22 fully after January 1, 2021. 23 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 24 ‘‘(1) FEE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:18 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S747.IS S747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 747 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 1 subject to an exemption under subparagraph 2 (B), require an alien applying for adjustment of 3 status under this section to pay a reasonable 4 fee commensurate with the cost of processing 5 the application. 6 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTIONS.—An applicant may, in 7 the discretion of the Secretary, be exempted 8 from paying an application fee required under 9 this paragraph if the applicant— 10 ‘‘(i) received total income, during the 11 1-year period immediately preceding the 12 date on which the applicant files an appli- 13 cation under this section, that is less than 14 250 percent of the Federal poverty line; 15 ‘‘(ii) is younger than 21 years of age; 16 ‘‘(iii) is in foster care or is a juvenile 17 who lacks any p [Text truncated for display. 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