Uniting Families Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1640 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the admission of certain sons and daughters of citizens of the United States, which citizens served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States abroad, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2019 Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the admission of certain sons and daughters of citi- zens of the United States, which citizens served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States abroad, 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 ‘‘Uniting Families Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1640.IH H1640 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1640 IH SEC. 2. ADMISSION OF CERTAIN SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF 1 CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES WHO 2 SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES. 3 (a) CLASSIFICATION AS A NONIMMIGRANT.—Section 4 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 5 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended— 6 (1) in subparagraph (U), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 7 the end; 8 (2) in subparagraph (V), by striking the period 9 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 10 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (V) the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(W) subject to section 214(s), an alien 13 who— 14 ‘‘(i) is 18 years of age or older and is 15 the genetic son or daughter of a citizen of 16 the United States, which citizen served on 17 active duty in the Armed Forces of the 18 United States abroad; or 19 ‘‘(ii) is the spouse or child of an alien 20 described in clause (i) and is accom- 21 panying, or following to join, the alien.’’. 22 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION.—Section 214 23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) 24 is amended by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1640.IH H1640 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1640 IH ‘‘(s)(1) A visa shall not be issued under section 1 101(a)(15)(W) until a petition has been filed in the United 2 States by the citizen parent of the visa applicant and ap- 3 proved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 4 ‘‘(2) The petition shall be in such form and contain 5 such information as the Secretary of Homeland Security 6 shall prescribe, and shall include the following informa- 7 tion: 8 ‘‘(A) DNA evidence that establishes that the 9 beneficiary is the genetic child of the petitioner. 10 ‘‘(B) An agreement in writing that the parent 11 will provide financial support for the beneficiary 12 until the beneficiary’s status is adjusted to the sta- 13 tus of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi- 14 dence. 15 ‘‘(C) Information that establishes that the peti- 16 tioner— 17 ‘‘(i) is a citizen of the United States; and 18 ‘‘(ii) served on active duty in the Armed 19 Forces of the United States abroad. 20 ‘‘(3) The period of authorized admission for an alien 21 admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant under 22 section 101(a)(15)(W) shall be 5 years, which may be ex- 23 tended for one additional 2-year period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1640.IH H1640 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1640 IH ‘‘(4) The total number of principal aliens who may 1 be admitted under section 101(a)(15)(W) during any fis- 2 cal year may not exceed 5,000.’’. 3 (c) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 245 of the 4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(n)(1) The Secretary of Homeland Security may ad- 7 just the status of an alien admitted to the United States 8 as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W) to that 9 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if 10 the alien— 11 ‘‘(A) is admissible to the United States as an 12 immigrant; and 13 ‘‘(B) satisfies the requirements under section 14 312, unless the alien is a child described in section 15 101(a)(15)(W)(ii) who is under the age of 18. 16 ‘‘(2) The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 17 202 shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful 18 permanent resident status under this subsection.’’. 19 (d) NATURALIZATION.—Section 312(b) of the Immi- 20 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423(b)) is amend- 21 ed by inserting at the end the following: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1640.IH H1640 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1640 IH ‘‘(4) The requirements of subsection (a) shall 1 not apply to any person who has satisfied such re- 2 quirements under section 245(n)(1)(B).’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1640.IH H1640 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS