Venezuelan Adjustment Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4048 To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status of certain aliens who are nationals of Venezuela to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 12, 2023 Mr. SOTO (for himself, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status of certain aliens who are nationals of Ven- ezuela to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, 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 ‘‘Venezuelan Adjust- 4 ment Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. VENEZUELAN REFUGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4048 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi- 1 cally provided, any term used in this Act that is 2 used in the immigration laws shall have the meaning 3 given the term in the immigration laws. 4 (2) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra- 5 tion laws’’ has the meaning given the term in section 6 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 7 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)). 8 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 9 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 10 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 12 graph (3), the Secretary shall adjust the status of 13 an alien described in subsection (c) to that of an 14 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if 15 the alien— 16 (A) applies for adjustment not later than 17 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 18 Act; 19 (B) is otherwise eligible to receive an im- 20 migrant visa; and 21 (C) subject to paragraph (2), is admissible 22 to the United States for permanent residence. 23 (2) APPLICABILITY OF GROUNDS OF INADMIS- 24 SIBILITY.—In determining the admissibility of an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4048 IH alien under paragraph (1)(C), the grounds of inad- 1 missibility specified in paragraphs (4), (5), (6)(A), 2 and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and 3 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not apply. 4 (3) EXCEPTIONS.—An alien shall not be eligible 5 for adjustment of status under this subsection if the 6 Secretary determines that the alien— 7 (A) has been convicted of any aggravated 8 felony; 9 (B) has been convicted of two or more 10 crimes involving moral turpitude (other than a 11 purely political offense); or 12 (C) has ordered, incited, assisted, or other- 13 wise participated in the persecution of any per- 14 son on account of race, religion, nationality, 15 membership in a particular social group, or po- 16 litical opinion. 17 (4) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO CER- 18 TAIN ORDERS.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An alien present in the 20 United States who has been subject to an order 21 of exclusion, deportation, removal, or voluntary 22 departure under any provision of the Immigra- 23 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 24 seq.) may, notwithstanding such order, submit 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4048 IH an application for adjustment of status under 1 this subsection if the alien is otherwise eligible 2 for adjustment of status under paragraph (1). 3 (B) SEPARATE MOTION NOT REQUIRED.— 4 An alien described in subparagraph (A) shall 5 not be required, as a condition of submitting or 6 granting an application under this subsection, 7 to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, 8 or vacate an order described in subparagraph 9 (A). 10 (C) EFFECT OF DECISION BY SEC- 11 RETARY.— 12 (i) GRANT.—If the Secretary adjusts 13 the status of an alien pursuant to an appli- 14 cation under this subsection, the Secretary 15 shall cancel any order described in sub- 16 paragraph (A) to which the alien has been 17 subject. 18 (ii) DENIAL.—If the Secretary makes 19 a final decision to deny such application, 20 any such order shall be effective and en- 21 forceable to the same extent that such 22 order would be effective and enforceable if 23 the application had not been made. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4048 IH (c) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA- 1 TUS.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The benefits provided under 3 subsection (b) shall apply to any alien who— 4 (A)(i) is a national of Venezuela; 5 (ii) entered the United States before or on 6 December 31, 2021; and 7 (iii) has been continuously physically 8 present in the United States for not less than 9 1 year as of the date on which the alien submits 10 an application under such subsection (b); or 11 (B) is the spouse, child, or unmarried son 12 or daughter of an alien described in subpara- 13 graph (A). 14 (2) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PHYS- 15 ICAL PRESENCE.—For purposes of establishing the 16 period of continuous physical presence referred to in 17 paragraph (1)(A)(ii), an alien shall not be consid- 18 ered to have failed to maintain continuous physical 19 presence based on one or more absences from the 20 United States for one or more periods amounting, in 21 the aggregate, to not more than 180 days. 22 (d) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promul- 24 gate regulations establishing procedures by which an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 4048 IH alien who is subject to a final order of deportation, 1 removal, or exclusion, may seek a stay of such order 2 based on the filing of an application under sub- 3 section (b). 4 (2) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 6 subparagraph (B), notwithstanding any provi- 7 sion of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), the Secretary may not 9 order an alien to be removed from the United 10 States if the alien— 11 (i) is in exclusion, deportation, or re- 12 moval proceedings under any provision of 13 such Act; and 14 (ii) has submitted an application for 15 adjustment of status under subsection (b). 16 (B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may 17 order an alien described in subparagraph (A) to 18 be removed from the United States if the Sec- 19 retary has made a final determination to deny 20 the application for adjustment of status under 21 subsection (b) of the alien. 22 (3) WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 4048 IH (i) authorize an alien who has applied 1 for adjustment of status under subsection 2 (b) to engage in employment in the United 3 States during the period in which a deter- 4 mination on such application is pending; 5 and 6 (ii) provide such alien with an ‘‘em- 7 ployment authorized’’ endorsement or 8 other appropriate document signifying au- 9 thorization of employment. 10 (B) PENDING APPLICATIONS.—If an appli- 11 cation for adjustment of status under sub- 12 section (b) is pending for a period exceeding 13 180 days and has not been denied, the Sec- 14 retary shall authorize employment for the appli- 15 cable alien. 16 (e) RECORD OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE.—On the 17 approval of an application for adjustment of status under 18 subsection (b) of an alien, the Secretary shall establish 19 a record of admission for permanent residence for the 20 alien as of the date of the arrival of the alien in the United 21 States. 22 (f) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 23 The Secretary shall provide applicants for adjustment of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 4048 IH status under subsection (b) with the same right to, and 1 procedures for, administrative review as are provided to— 2 (1) applicants for adjustment of status under 3 section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 4 (8 U.S.C. 1255); and 5 (2) aliens subject to removal proceedings under 6 section 240 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 7 (g) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A determination by the Sec- 9 retary with respect to the adjustment of status of 10 any alien under this section is final and shall not be 11 subject to review by any court. 12 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 13 paragraph (1) shall be construed to preclude the re- 14 view of a constitutional claim or a question of law 15 under section 704 of title 5, United States Code, 16 with respect to a denial of adjustment of status 17 under this section. 18 (h) NO OFFSET IN NUMBER OF VISAS AVAILABLE.— 19 The Secretary of State shall not be required to reduce the 20 number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued under 21 any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 22 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) to offset the adjustment of status 23 of an alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent 24 residence pursuant to this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 4048 IH (i) APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATION- 1 ALITY ACT PROVISIONS.— 2 (1) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act 3 may be construed to repeal, amend, alter, modify, ef- 4 fect, or restrict the powers, duties, function, or au- 5 thority of the Secretary in the administration and 6 enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act 7 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) or any other law relating to 8 immigration, nationality, or naturalization. 9 (2) EFFECT OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADJUSTMENT 10 OF STATUS.—The eligibility of an alien to be law- 11 fully admitted for permanent residence under this 12 section shall not preclude the alien from seeking any 13 status under any other provision of law for which 14 the alien may otherwise be eligible. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4048.IH H4048 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB