The Reuniting Families Act (S 1085) - Summary

Sen. Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kennedy (D-MA)
Section by Section Bill Summary

Section. 1.  Title Section

Section. 2.  Recapture of Immigrant Visas Lost to Bureaucratic Delay
This section recaptures unused employment-based visas and family-sponsored visas from fiscal years 1992-2007. For future fiscal years, unused visa numbers will “roll over” to the next fiscal year. To reduce current backlogs, this section exempts immediate relatives from the cap on the number of immigrant visas.

Section. 3.  Reclassification of Spouses and Minor Children of Lawful Permanent Residents as Immediate Relatives
This section reclassifies spouses and children of lawful permanent residents as “immediate relatives” to promote the efficient reunification of families. This will allow the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents to immediately qualify for a visa. Spouses and children of immediate relatives who are eligible to “accompany” or “follow to join” the primary applicant may use the same visa petition. The new definition of the term “immediate relative” includes a non-citizen who was the child or parent of a citizen or a child of a lawful permanent resident at the time of the citizen’s or resident’s death. The individual may qualify if 1) the individual files a petition within two years of the death or 2) the child files the petition prior to reaching 21 years of age. The spouse must have been married to the citizen or lawful permanent resident for two years at the time of death or if married less than two years, prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit and the couple was not legally separated at the time of the death.  The spouse must file the petition within two years of the death or prior to remarriage.

Section. 4.  Country Limits
To address the fact that some countries face unreasonably long backlogs, this section revises the per country immigration limits from 7 to 10 percent of total admissions.

Section. 5. Family Unity
This section increases the government’s discretion and flexibility in addressing numerous hardships caused by a provision that bars individuals unlawfully present in the United States from utilizing our legal immigration system. Similar to other waiver provisions in current law, this section allows an already eligible individual to immigrate to the U.S. if he or she demonstrates hardship to a family member or eligibility for a family-based immigrant visa. Current law bars certain individuals from leaving and re-entering on a legal visa for a set period of years, and in some cases, permanently. This section gives the Attorney General new authority to waive the unlawful presence bar in the case of an immigrant who is the spouse or son or daughter or parent of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident if refusal to admit the individual would result in hardship to the citizen or lawful permanent resident parent, son or daughter of the individual. The section provides exceptions to the bars to admission for those individuals who qualify for a pending employment-based visa petition or a petition for family reunification.

Section 6. Relief for Orphans, Widows and Widowers
This section addresses the immigration-related hardships caused by the death of a sponsoring relative. This bill clarifies that the government should continue to process the immigration applications of immigrants who are already waiting to receive an immigrant or other visa under certain conditions. Specifically, the bill (in Section 3) would allow the surviving family members of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents to benefit from family petitions in cases where the citizen or resident relative died before the date of enactment of this Act if the individual files within two years of enactment. This section also states that the Attorney General has the discretion to grant parole to individuals who were removed due to the death of their citizen or resident petitioner. It allows immediate relatives, family-sponsored immigrants, and derivative beneficiaries of employment-based visas to benefit from a filed visa petition after the death of a relative or adjust status on the basis of a petition filed before the death of the sponsoring relative.

Section 7. Exemption from Immigrant Visa Limit for Certain Veterans from the Philippines
This section would exempt the children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on immigrant visas.

Section 8. Fiancé Child Status Protection
This provision allows the DHS Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust the status of an individual immigrating to the United States on a fiancé visa and any accompanying minor children to conditional permanent residence, provided that the marriage occurred within three months of admission and the noncitizen is not inadmissible. A noncitizen who is eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility under current law may still adjust status. An alien who is inadmissible under Section 212(a)(5) having to do with labor certification and 212(a)(7) relating to documentation requirements may still apply.

The age of the noncitizen using a fiancé visa and any minor children will be the date the fiancé petition is filed. The provisions of this section shall be effective as if enacted as part of the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986, Pub. L. 99-639. The provisions will apply to all petitions pending as of the date of enactment as well as past petitions denied that would have been approvable if this section had been in effect in which case a motion to reopen or reconsider shall be permitted.

Section 9. Equal Treatment for All Children
This section equalizes the treatment of step children by allowing step children who are 21 years of age at the time of the parent’s marriage to immigrate. The current age limit is 18 years for stepchildren and 21 years for most other children.