HR 3297 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

H.E.L.P. Act

Introduced Nov 1, 2011 Originated House Sponsor Yvette D. Clarke D-NY

Latest action · Nov 21, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.

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.

IntroducedNov 1, 2011
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2011 or the H.E.L.P. Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to V-visa nonimmigrants (spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents who come to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) to include certain Haitian nationals whose petition for a family-sponsored immigrant visa was approved on or before January 12, 2010.

Authorizes the Secretary of State to use secondary evidence to verify eligibility for such status or for immediate relative status.

Sunsets the provisions of this Act two years after its enactment.

Cosponsors 24

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 1, 2011 to Nov 14, 2011; 20 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-CA	Barbara Lee	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-CA	Bob Filner	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-NY	Charles B. Rangel	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-FL	Corrine Brown	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-NJ	Donald M. Payne	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-VI	Donna M. Christensen	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-NY	Edolphus Towns	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-CA	Fortney Pete Stark	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-FL	Frederica S. Wilson	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-MA	James P. McGovern	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-CO	Jared Polis	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-IL	Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-GA	John Lewis	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-IL	Luis V. Gutierrez	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-AZ	Raúl M. Grijalva	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-MO	Wm. Lacy Clay	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-CA	Zoe Lofgren	Original	Nov 1, 2011
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler		Nov 4, 2011
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney		Nov 14, 2011
D-VA	James P. Moran		Nov 14, 2011
D-CA	Maxine Waters		Nov 14, 2011

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Nov 1, 2011
	Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee	Referred Nov 21, 2011

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Nov 21, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
Nov 1, 2011Introduced in House
Nov 1, 2011Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: This bill, the Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2011 (The Help Act), is enacted pursuant to the power granted to Congress under Article I of the United States Constitution and its subsequent amendments, and further clarified and interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H7208.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 480	H.E.L.P. Act	Related bill	Mar 3, 2011

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To temporarily expand the (V) nonimmigrant visa category to include Haitians whose petition for a family-sponsored immigrant visa was approved on or before January 12, 2010.
Short Titles as Introduced: H.E.L.P. Act; Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2011

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Nov 1, 2011Introduced in House

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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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.