Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2346 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to protect the well-being of soldiers and their families, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 18, 2019 Mr. THOMPSON of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to protect the well-being of soldiers and their families, 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 ‘‘Support and Defend 4 Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FACILITATING NATURALIZATION FOR MILITARY 6 PERSONNEL. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who has served honor- 8 ably as a member of the Armed Forces of the United 9 States in support of a contingency operation (as defined 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2346 IH in section 101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code), and 1 who, if separated from the Armed Forces, was separated 2 under honorable conditions, may be naturalized as pro- 3 vided in section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality 4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1440) as though the person had served dur- 5 ing a period designated by the President under such sec- 6 tion. 7 (b) NATURALIZATION THROUGH SERVICE IN THE 8 ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.—Section 328 9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439) 10 is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘six months’’ 12 and inserting ‘‘one year’’; and 13 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘six months’’ 14 and inserting ‘‘one year’’. 15 SEC. 3. TIMELY REUNIFICATION OF MILITARY PERSONNEL 16 AND THEIR NUCLEAR FAMILIES. 17 Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the 19 end the following: 20 ‘‘(F) Aliens who are eligible for an immigrant 21 visa under paragraph (2) of section 203(a) and are 22 the spouse, child, son, or daughter of an alien who 23 is serving in the Armed Forces of the United 24 States.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2346 IH SEC. 4. RELIEF FOR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS OF AC- 1 TIVE DUTY PERSONNEL. 2 Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 3 (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(n) RELIEF FOR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS OF 6 ACTIVE DUTY PERSONNEL.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 8 Security may adjust the status of an alien described 9 in paragraph (2) to that of an alien lawfully admit- 10 ted for permanent residence if— 11 ‘‘(A) the alien makes an application for 12 such adjustment, and is physically present in 13 the United States on the date the application is 14 filed; 15 ‘‘(B) the alien is eligible to receive an im- 16 migrant visa and is admissible under section 17 212(a) (except that paragraphs (4), (6)(A), 18 (7)(A), and (9)(B) of such section shall not 19 apply for purposes of this subsection); 20 ‘‘(C) an immigrant visa is immediately 21 available to the alien at the time the application 22 is filed; and 23 ‘‘(D) the alien pays a fee, as determined by 24 the Secretary, for the processing of such appli- 25 cation. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2346 IH ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ALIENS.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The benefits provided 2 in paragraph (1) shall apply only to an alien 3 who is a parent, spouse, child, son, daughter, or 4 minor sibling of an eligible member of the 5 Armed Forces. 6 ‘‘(B) POSTHUMOUS BENEFITS.—An alien 7 described in subparagraph (A) shall continue to 8 be eligible for adjustment under this subsection 9 for 2 years after the death of an eligible mem- 10 ber of the Armed Forces whose death was the 11 result of injury or disease incurred in or aggra- 12 vated by his or her service in the Armed Forces 13 or, if such death occurred prior to the date of 14 enactment of this paragraph, for 2 years after 15 such date of enactment. 16 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 17 FORCES.—In this subsection, ‘eligible member of the 18 Armed Forces’ means any person who— 19 ‘‘(A) has served honorably in an active 20 duty status in the Armed Forces of the United 21 States; and 22 ‘‘(B) if separated from the service de- 23 scribed in subparagraph (A), was separated 24 under honorable conditions.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2346 IH SEC. 5. FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN INITIATING REMOVAL 1 PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ACTIVE DUTY MILI- 2 TARY PERSONNEL AND VETERANS. 3 Section 239 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 4 (8 U.S.C. 1229) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATIONS FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY 7 PERSONNEL AND VETERANS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A notice to appear shall 9 not be issued against an alien who has served honor- 10 ably at any time in the Armed Forces of the United 11 States, and who, if separated from the Armed 12 Forces, separated under honorable conditions, with- 13 out prior approval from the Secretary of Homeland 14 Security. 15 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—In determining whether to 16 issue a notice to appear against such an alien, the 17 Secretary shall consider the alien’s eligibility for nat- 18 uralization under section 328 or 329, as well as the 19 alien’s record of military service, grounds of deport- 20 ability applicable to the alien, and any hardship to 21 the Armed Forces, the alien, and his or her family 22 if the alien were to be placed in removal proceedings. 23 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—An alien who has served 24 honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States, 25 and who, if separated from the Armed Forces, sepa- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2346 IH rated under honorable conditions, shall not be re- 1 moved from the United States under subparagraph 2 (A)(i) or (B)(iii) of section 235(b)(1), section 238, 3 or section 241(a)(5).’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2346.IH H2346 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS