Reuniting Families Act
Latest action · Sep 18, 2008 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 18, 2008
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Reuniting Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to 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.
Establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007.
Revises the 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), except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; (2) permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and (3) include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old.
Increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.
Provides a 60,000 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens.
Increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas.
Expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility.
Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status; (2) parole eligibility; (3) permanent resident status adjustment; and (4) processing of immigrant visas.
Exempts children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Sep 18, 2008.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Sep 18, 2008 |
| D-HI | Neil Abercrombie | Original | Sep 18, 2008 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Sep 18, 2008 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 18, 2008Introduced in House
- Sep 18, 2008Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3514 | Reuniting Families Act | Identical bill | Sep 18, 2008 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 18, 2008Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.