HR 5319 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

Introduced Sep 21, 2021 Originated House Sponsor Norma J. Torres D-CA

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Nov 1, 2022 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

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.

  1. IntroducedSep 21, 2021
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from charging fees for certain immigration applications (or petitions), requires DHS to provide fee waivers to certain applicants, and addresses related issues.

DHS may not impose fees for certain applications for or related to (1) asylum or refugee status, (2) special immigrant juvenile status, (3) U or T non-immigrant visas (victims of certain crimes such as human trafficking), (4) the Violence Against Women Act, (5) special immigrant status for Afghan or Iraqi nationals employed by the U.S. government, or (6) immigration-related fee waivers.

DHS must also waive immigration-related application fees for an applicant who receives a means-tested benefit or meets certain conditions related to financial hardship. However, DHS is not required to provide fee waivers for applications for certain employment-based immigration benefits.

Receipt of a fee waiver may not be used as a factor (1) for determining whether an alien should be considered a public charge, or (2) when considering an affidavit of support filed by a sponsor.

The bill also requires all collected immigration-related adjudication fees to be used only to fund the adjudication and administration of immigration benefits and naturalization.

Cosponsors 20

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 21, 2021 to Oct 8, 2021; 16 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-NYAdriano EspaillatOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-NYAlexandria Ocasio-CortezOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-FLDarren SotoOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-NYGrace MengOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-MAJames P. McGovernOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-ILJesús G. "Chuy" GarcíaOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-CAJimmy GomezOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-CAJuan VargasOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-CAJudy ChuOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-CAMark TakanoOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-NYMondaire JonesOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-NYNydia M. VelázquezOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-CATony CárdenasOriginalSep 21, 2021
D-OREarl BlumenauerSep 27, 2021
D-CATed LieuSep 30, 2021
D-NVDina TitusOct 8, 2021
D-NYYvette D. ClarkeOct 8, 2021

Committees 1

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

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseJudiciary Committee
Referred Sep 21, 2021
Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee
Referred Nov 1, 2022

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Nov 1, 2022Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
  2. Sep 21, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Sep 21, 2021Referred 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: According to Artide 1: Section 8: Clause 18: of the United States Constitution, seen below, this bill falls within the Constitutional Authority of the United States Congress. Article 1: Section 8: Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 163, September 21, 2021, page H4864.

Titles 2

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

Official Title as Introduced
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain fee waivers, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

Subjects

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

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Sep 21, 2021Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

$1 $5 $10

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

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.