Syrian Partner Protection Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4873 To provide for special immigrant status for Syrian Kurds and other Syrians who partnered with the United States Government in Syria, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 28, 2019 Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BACON, Mr. BLU- MENAUER and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for special immigrant status for Syrian Kurds and other Syrians who partnered with the United States Government in Syria, 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 ‘‘Syrian Partner Protec- 4 tion Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4873 IH SEC. 2. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN SYRIAN 1 KURDS AND OTHER SYRIANS WHO WORKED 2 FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN 3 SYRIA. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), and 5 notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes 6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 7 et seq.), the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide 8 an alien described in subsection (b) with the status of a 9 special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of such Act 10 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) if— 11 (1) the alien, or an agent acting on behalf of 12 the alien, submits a petition to the Secretary under 13 section 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) for classi- 14 fication under section 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 15 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)); 16 (2) the alien is otherwise eligible to receive an 17 immigrant visa; and 18 (3) the alien is otherwise admissible to the 19 United States for permanent residence (excluding 20 the grounds for inadmissibility specified in section 21 212(a)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4))). 22 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in this 24 subsection— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4873 IH (A)(i) is a citizen or national of Syria or 1 a stateless person who has habitually resided in 2 Syria; 3 (ii) has partnered with, was employed by, 4 or worked for or directly with the United States 5 Government in Syria as an interpreter, trans- 6 lator, intelligence analyst, or in another sen- 7 sitive and trusted capacity, on or after January 8 1, 2014, for an aggregate period of not less 9 than 1 year; and 10 (iii) provided service to the United States 11 efforts against the Islamic State, which has 12 been documented in a positive recommendation 13 or evaluation; or 14 (B)(i) is the spouse or child of a principal 15 alien described in subparagraph (A); and 16 (ii)(I) is following or accompanying to join 17 the principal alien in the United States; or 18 (II) due to the death of the principal alien, 19 a petition to follow or accompany to joint the 20 principal alien in the United States— 21 (aa) was revoked, terminated, or oth- 22 erwise rendered null; and 23 (bb) would have been approved if the 24 principal alien had survived. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4873 IH (2) EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—An appli- 1 cation by a surviving spouse or a child of a principal 2 alien shall be subject to the employment require- 3 ments set forth in paragraph (1)(A)— 4 (A) as of the date on which the principal 5 alien first filed an application for special immi- 6 grant status; or 7 (B) if no such application has been filed, 8 the employment requirements as of the date on 9 which the principal alien died. 10 (c) MEMBERSHIP IN CERTAIN SYRIAN ORGANIZA- 11 TIONS.—An applicant for admission to the United States 12 under this section may not be deemed inadmissible based 13 on membership in, participation in, or support provided 14 to, the Syrian Democratic Forces or other partner organi- 15 zations as determined by the Secretary of Defense. 16 (d) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro- 18 vided under this subsection, the total number of 19 principal aliens who may be provided special immi- 20 grant status under this section may not exceed 21 4,000 in any of the 5 fiscal years beginning after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act. 23 (2) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA- 24 TIONS.—Aliens provided special immigrant status 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4873 IH under this section shall not be counted against any 1 numerical limitation under section 201(d), 202(a), 2 or 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 3 (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 1153(b)(4)). 4 (3) CARRY FORWARD.—If the numerical limita- 5 tion set forth in paragraph (1) is not reached during 6 a fiscal year, the numerical limitation under such 7 paragraph for the following fiscal year shall be in- 8 creased by a number equal to the difference be- 9 tween— 10 (A) the number of visas authorized under 11 paragraph (1) for such fiscal year; and 12 (B) the number of principal aliens provided 13 special immigrant status under this section dur- 14 ing such fiscal year. 15 (e) VISA AND PASSPORT ISSUANCE AND FEES.—An 16 alien described in subsection (b) may not be charged any 17 fee in connection with an application for, or the issuance 18 of, a special immigrant visa under this section. The Sec- 19 retary of State shall ensure that aliens who are issued a 20 special immigrant visa under this section are provided 21 with an appropriate passport necessary for admission to 22 the United States. 23 (f) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—The Secretary of 24 State, in consultation with other relevant Federal agen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4873 IH cies, shall provide an alien described in subsection (b) who 1 is applying for a special immigrant visa with protection 2 or the immediate removal from Syria or other nearby 3 countries if the Secretary determines that such alien is 4 in imminent danger. 5 (g) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 6 (1) REPRESENTATION.—An alien applying for 7 admission to the United States as a special immi- 8 grant under this section may be represented during 9 the application process, including at relevant inter- 10 views and examinations, by an attorney or other ac- 11 credited representative. Such representation shall 12 not be at the expense of the United States Govern- 13 ment. 14 (2) COMPLETION.—The Secretary of State and 15 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 16 with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that ap- 17 plications for special immigrant visas under this sec- 18 tion are processed in such a manner to ensure that 19 all steps under the control of the respective depart- 20 ments incidental to the issuance of such visas, in- 21 cluding required screenings and background checks, 22 are completed not later than 9 months after the date 23 on which an eligible alien submits all required mate- 24 rials to apply for such visa. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4873 IH (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwithstand- 1 ing paragraph (2), any Secretary referred to in 2 paragraph (2) may take longer than 9 months to 3 complete the steps incidental to issuing a visa under 4 this section if the Secretary, or the designee of the 5 Secretary— 6 (A) determines that the satisfaction of na- 7 tional security concerns requires additional 8 time; and 9 (B) notifies the applicant of such deter- 10 mination. 11 (4) APPEAL.—An alien whose petition for sta- 12 tus as a special immigrant is rejected or revoked— 13 (A) shall receive a written decision that 14 provides, to the maximum extent feasible, infor- 15 mation describing the basis for the denial, in- 16 cluding the facts and inferences underlying the 17 individual determination; and 18 (B) shall be provided not more than 1 19 written appeal per rejection or denial, which— 20 (i) shall be submitted not more than 21 120 days after the date on which the appli- 22 cant receives a decision pursuant to sub- 23 paragraph (A); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4873 IH (ii) may request the reopening of such 1 decision; and 2 (iii) shall provide additional informa- 3 tion, clarify existing information, or ex- 4 plain any unfavorable information. 5 (h) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER IMMIGRANT CLASSI- 6 FICATION.—An alien may not be denied the opportunity 7 to apply for admission under this section solely because 8 such alien qualifies as an immediate relative of a national 9 of the United States or is eligible for admission to the 10 United States under any other immigrant classification. 11 (i) RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT.—An alien who is 12 granted special immigrant status under this section shall 13 be eligible for the same resettlement assistance, entitle- 14 ment programs, and other benefits as is available to refu- 15 gees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and 16 Naturalization Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 17 (j) AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT ADMINISTRATIVE 18 MEASURES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security and 19 the Secretary of State shall implement any additional ad- 20 ministrative measures as they consider necessary and ap- 21 propriate— 22 (1) to ensure the prompt processing of applica- 23 tions under this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4873 IH (2) to preserve the integrity of the program es- 1 tablished under this section; and 2 (3) to protect the national security interests of 3 the United States related to such program. 4 (k) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home- 6 land Security shall promulgate regulations to carry out 7 this section, including establishing requirements for back- 8 ground checks. 9 SEC. 3. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS REPORTING RE- 10 QUIREMENT. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De- 12 partment of State shall submit an annual report described 13 in subsection (b), no later than January 30 of each year, 14 with a classified annex if necessary, to— 15 (1) the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee 16 on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Armed 17 Services of the Senate; and 18 (2) the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee 19 on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Armed 20 Services of the House of Representatives. 21 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub- 22 section (a) shall evaluate the implementation of the Syrian 23 special immigrant status program under section 2, includ- 24 ing, for the previous calendar year— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Nov 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4873 IH (1) the number of petitions filed; 1 (2) the number of petitions— 2 (A) pending adjudication; 3 (B) pending visa interview; and 4 (C) pending security checks; 5 (3) the number of petitions that were denied; 6 (4) the number of cases that have exceeded the 7 mandated processing time and relevant case num- 8 bers; and 9 (5) an accounting of any obstacles discovered 10 that would hinder effective implementation of the 11 program. 12 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report under 13 subsection (a), the Inspector General shall consult with— 14 (1) the Department of State, Bureau of Con- 15 sular Affairs, Visa Office; 16 (2) the Department of State, Bureau of Near 17 Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Af- 18 fairs, Executive Office; 19 (3) the United States embassy in Kabul, Af- 20 ghanistan, Consular Section; 21 (4) the United States embassy in Baghdad, 22 Iraq, Consular Section; 23 (5) the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. 24 Citizenship and Immigration Services; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4873 IH (6) the Department of Defense; and 1 (7) nongovernmental organizations providing 2 legal aid in the special immigrant visa application 3 process. 4 (d) PUBLICATION.—The non-classified portion of the 5 report described in this section shall be published on the 6 website of the Department of State. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4873.IH H4873 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS