Rachel Browning’s Legal Blog

While Congress has yet to consider any large-scale reforms to our system of immigration, (a.k.a. “comprehensive immigration reform”) representatives in both the House of Representatives and Senate have introduced smaller bills, targeting specific areas of reform, particularly within the last couple of months.  Here is s brief run-down of the bills under consideration:

People Resolved to Obtain an Understanding of Democracy Act, or PROUD Act (H.R. 2681)
Introduced by Rep. Baca (D-CA) on 06/03/09
Summary: Would amend the Immigration and Naturalization Act to provide for the naturalization of certain graduates of U.S. high schools who are under 25 years of age on the date of application for naturalization.

Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2009 (H.R. 2679)
Introduced by Rep. Giffords (D-AZ) on 06/03/09
Summary: Would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Act of 1996 to extend the employment eligibility confirmation pilot programs (which includes the E-Verify basic pilot program) until September 30, 2014..

Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709)
Introduced by Rep. Honda (D-CA) on 06/04/09
Summary: Would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to promote family unity, and for other purposes. Specifically, the bill would establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year’s unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007.  It would also expand the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants to 480,000 plus unused visas from previous years.  Most significantly, it would amend the INA’s definition of “immediate relative” to: (1) mean a child, spouse, or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (and for each family member of a citizen or resident, such individual’s accompanying spouse or child).  In the case of a petition filed on behalf of a parent, the citizen or permanent resident must be at least 21 years old.  The bill would also amend the INA allow for petitions filed by and on behalf of “permanent partners.” 

Criminal Alien Accountability Act (H.R. 2837)
Introduced by Rep. Issa (R-CA) on 06/11/09
Summary: Would amend section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (pertaining to re-entry after removal) to impose mandatory sentencing ranges with respect to aliens who reenter the United States after having been removed, and for other purposes.

Orphans, Widows, and Widowers Protection Act (S. 1247)
Introduced by Rep. Menendez (D-NJ) on 06/11/09
Summary: This would amend the INA to allow widows or widowers of U.S. citizens who had been married less than two years upon the death of the U.S. citizen spouse to petition for permanent resident status upon showing by a preponderance of the evidence, the marriage was entered into in good faith and not for purpose of obtaining immigration benefits.

H.R. 2954 (Sorry, no clever title to this one)
Introduced by Rep. Quigley (D-IL) on 06/18/09
Summary: To amend the INA to extend the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive certain requirements under the visa waiver program for an additional 2 years.

Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2009 (S.1337)
Introduced by Rep. Akaka (D-HI) on 06/24/09
Summary: A bill to exempt children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on immigrant visas.

            While the above-referenced bills all tackle issues which need to be addressed (some more than others), there are numerous other areas – potentially more contentious – which nevertheless require the attention of our elected leaders.  In my estimation, these should include:  an honest reassessment of the employment-based visa numbers available with a goal towards backlog reduction and elimination; further employment-based visa reforms which include an expansion of temporary work visas in the (H-1B, H-2B and H-2C categories) or in the alternative, a revamping of these categories to allow for employment of “essential workers” in industries in which such workers are in highest demand; and finally, a long-term solution to deal with the fate of the 11+ million undocumented individuals in the U.S.   I encourage you to read the text of these bills and write to your elected representatives to voice your opinion.  For a link to these, and other bills go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  And for more information about immigration law and procedures in the U.S. and questions about a specific case, contact the Immigration Attorneys of Garg & Associates in Houston, Westchase, The Woodlands and Spring, Texas and Long Beach, California for a consultation.