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151 records in US in 2007
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act - Extends U.S. immigration laws, as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act, to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, subject to a transition period through December 31, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Passport and Travel Cost Reimbursement Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of State to refund to a U.S. citizen, upon refund application: (1) passport processing fees for a passport applied for in 2007 if processing took 12 or more weeks for a regular application or three or more weeks for an expedited application; and (2) international air travel costs (economy or comparable, minus any airline refund) for U.S.-departing flights missed as a result of such processing delays. Authorizes the Secretary to provide additional assistance for an extraordinary hardship. Prohibits the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security from implementing a specified plan for a single implementation date for sea and land borders until they have certified to Congress that Department of State passport agencies are able to process passport applications with minimal disruption.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Constitutional Amendment - States that a person born to a mother and father, neither of whom is a citizen of the United States nor a person who owes permanent allegiance to the United States, shall not be a citizen of the United States or of any state solely by reason of U.S. birth.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2007
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2008, for: (1) the Offices of the Secretary, the Under Secretary for Management, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, and the Inspector General; (2) Customs and Border Protection (CBP); (3) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including for the Federal Protective Service; (4) the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including for Federal Air Marshals; (5) the Coast Guard; (6) the Secret Service; (7) the Office of the Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs, the National Protection Planning Office, and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (U.S.-VISIT) project; (8) the Office of Health Affairs; (9) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including for the U.S. Fire Administration; (10) Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS); (11) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; (12) the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology; and (13) the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. Withholds specified funding until expenditure plans are submitted with respect to the Coast Guard's Deepwater acquisition program and the SBInet border technology and infrastructure procurement program. Requires the Secretary to obtain information monthly from every prison, jail, and correctional facility in the United States to identify incarcerated aliens who may be deportable and make every reasonable effort to remove such aliens judged deportable upon their release from custody. Prohibits the use of funds for deployment or implementation, on other than a test basis, of the Secure Flight program or other passenger prescreening program until specified requirements have been met. Directs: (1) the Secretary of DHS to research, develop, and procure new technologies to inspect and screen air cargo carried on passenger aircraft; and (2) TSA to utilize existing checked baggage explosive detection equipment and screeners to screen cargo carried on passenger aircraft to the greatest extent practicable at each airport and to report air cargo inspection statistics quarterly. Amends the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 to: (1) require chemical facility site security plans to be treated as sensitive security information; and (2) not preclude or deny the right of any state or political subdivision to adopt or enforce any chemical facility security regulation that is more stringent than one issued under such Act. Directs the Commissioner of CBP to establish a new classification for the CBP officer position that shall include eligibility for retirement benefits accorded to law enforcement officers. Prohibits funds from being used by CIS to grant an immigration benefit to any individual unless all required criminal history and other background checks have been completed.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 6 June 2007
United States · United States House of Representatives · 6 June 2007
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2007
Borderlands Conservation and Security Act of 2007 - Requires: (1) not later than May 30, 2008, development of a border protection strategy that supports U.S. border security needs in the manner that best protects units of the National Park System, National Forest System land, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) land, and other relevant land under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture; and (2) development of a border protection strategy for tribal lands along the U.S.-Mexico border. Requires provision of: (1) federal land resource training for Customs and Border Protection agents assigned to patrol protected land; and (2) cultural resource training for such agents assigned to patrol tribal lands. Requires: (1) the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security an inventory of costs incurred related to illegal border activity and border enforcement activities, including the cost of identified items; and (2) the development of recommendations for a cost recovery mechanism related to such items. Establishes a program for: (1) providing financial assistance for projects to improve management of ecologically sensitive or listed species, improving wildlife habitat to aid in their management, and mitigating the impacts of border enforcement, human and drug smuggling, and unauthorized immigration on them; and (2) awarding grants to eligible organizations to promote conservation of such species. Establishes the Borderland Conservation Fund to carry out projects under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2007
Credit Agencies Identity Theft Responsibilities Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a consumer reporting agency which has reason to suspect identity theft to: (1) report such suspicion to the U.S. Secret Service; and (2) inform the Attorney General for criminal prosecution. Requires the Secret Service to forward such information to either the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), respectively, if it has reason to believe that a suspected case of identity theft involves any suspicion of terrorism or immigration violations. Cites factors for suspicion of identity theft. Requires a consumer reporting agency to review, at regular intervals, all information on consumers it maintains or controls in order to determine whether there is any basis for suspicion of identity theft. Sets forth criminal penalties for agency failure to comply with this Act.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 24 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Amends the the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to require federal contractors and subcontractors (as defined by this Act) to participate in the employment eligibility verification pilot program. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that the pilot program is applied to all of the contractor's or subcontractor's employees and not just to those performing the contract or subcontract.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Defend the American Dream Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require employers of H-1B (specialty occupations) nonimmigrants to use one of three specified methods (whichever results in the highest wages) to determine wages for purposes of required wage attestations. Requires such employers who previously employed one or more H-1B nonimmigrants to submit with their labor condition application (LCA) a copy of the W-2 Wage and Tax Statement filed with respect to those nonimmigrants. Extends to 180 days the period during which certain H-1B employers must show nondisplacement of U.S. workers. Requires such employers to actively engage in recruitment efforts. Prohibits such employers from outsourcing or otherwise contracting for the placement of an H-1B nonimmigrant with another employer, regardless of whether the other employer is H-1B dependent employer. Revises H-1B employer requirements with respect to: (1) job advertising on a free Department of Labor website (as required under this Act); (2) information sharing; (3) prohibiting H-1B-exclusive employment advertising; and (4) prohibiting an employer of not less than 50 employees in the United States from having more than 50% H-1B nonimmigrant employees. Eliminates the exemption from H-1B numerical admission limitations for certain aliens with a US master's or higher degree. Revises the H-1B definition of "specialty occupation." Requires the Secretary of Labor to be responsible for investigations of wage complaints and allegations of fraud in the filing of LCAs. Increases monetary penalties for LCA violations. Applies the nondisplacement requirement to all H-1B employers. Provides H-1B alien whistleblower protections.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Deems Greece to be designated as a visa waiver country under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
L-1 Nonimmigrant Reform Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise L-1 (intracompany transfers) nonimmigrant visa provisions. Prohibits entry of an L-1 worker unless the employer has filed a labor condition application with the Secretary of Labor which shall attest that: (1) wage and working condition comparability exists; (2) no strike or lockout exists in the occupational classification at the employment site; (3) the employer has notified the bargaining representative or the employees about the prospective L-1 hiring; (4) the L-1 application contains occupational classification and wage and working condition information; and (5) there has not been nor will there be any lay-off of U.S. workers 180 days before or after the L-1 hiring. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) establish processes for receipt, investigation, and disposition of violation claims; (2) establish a process to permit an L-1 alien who files a complaint to work for another employer; and (3) report annually on the use of L-1 workers. Sets forth employer violation provisions. Makes an employer liable for the return transportation costs of an L-1 worker dismissed from employment prior to the end of the authorized admission. Imposes a fee on an L-1 employer. Establishes in the Treasury the L-1 Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account, which shall be used for data processing, labor enforcement, and training and education of U.S. workers. Establishes an annual 35,000 L-1 visa limit. Eliminates L-1 blanket visa authority. Requires: (1) an L-1 worker to have a bachelor's degree or higher in his or her area of special knowledge; and (2) verification by the Secretary of State. Increases the prior foreign employment requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Border Law Enforcement Enhancement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to sheriff's offices and local and tribal police departments in jurisdictions within 25 miles of the U.S. southern border for: (1) law enforcement operations; (2) detention (including construction and operation of detention facilities) and transfer of illegal aliens to federal authorities; (3) enforcement of substance trafficking laws and other state and federal criminal laws; and (4) hiring, equipping, training, and overtime. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize state or local law enforcement agencies to exercise federal immigration law enforcement authority.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that to deter further illegal immigration and strengthen the U.S. economy the following must be included in any immigration bill considered by the 110th Congress: (1) increased resources for federal and state authorities to strengthen border patrol efforts; (2) vigorous prohibition of the hiring of illegal aliens coupled with the establishment of an instant employment eligibility verification system; (3) a renewed and limited temporary worker program; (4) a prohibition of blanket amnesty for illegal aliens that does not harm the innocent victims of circumstance; and (5) priority for law-abiding, highly-skilled immigrants.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 23 May 2007
United States · United States House of Representatives · 22 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Western Hemisphere Traveler Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to require as part of the certifications required prior to implementation of the western hemisphere travel initiative (Initiative), that: (1) a pilot program of at least one state has been initiated and evaluated to determine if an enhanced driver's license valid only for citizenship verification for U.S. entry from Canada meets documentation requirements; (2) a study has determined the number of passports and passport cards that will be required to be issued; and (3) sufficient passport adjudication personnel have been hired. Authorizes a person under 16 years old who is a U.S. or Canadian citizen to enter the United States with a birth certificate if the person: (1) is accompanied by the individual's legal guardian; and (2) is entering the United States from Canada or Mexico. Authorizes a person under 18 years old to enter the United States with a birth certificate if the person is traveling under adult supervision with a public or private school group, religious group, social or cultural organization, or a youth sports team. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a state driver's license and identity card enrollment program to permit a U.S. citizen with a qualifying driver's license or identity card or a Canadian citizen with a qualifying comparable document to enter the United States from Canada by land or sea without providing other citizenship documentation. Authorizes program expansion to include other countries. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to accept a birth certificate as proof of citizenship for any U.S. citizen who is traveling from one part of a state to a noncontiguous part of that state through Canada if: (1) the citizen cannot travel by land to such part of the state without traveling through Canada; and (2) the travel in Canada is limited to no more than two hours. Directs the Secretary of State, during the two-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Homeland Security publishes a final rule in the Federal Register to carry out the Initiative, to: (1) provide one facility in each of at least six designated cites or ports of entry in which a passport or passport card may be procured without an execution fee; and (2) develop at least six mobile teams along the U.S. northern and southern borders to issue passports or other identity documents without an execution fee. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to do a cost-benefit analysis of the Initiative prior to publishing such final rule. States that Congress' intent in enacting section 546 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 was to prevent the Secretary of Homeland Security from implementing the Initiative before the earlier of June 1, 2009, or the date on which the Secretary certifies to Congress that an alternative travel document (passport card) has been developed and widely distributed to eligible U.S. citizens. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to extend passport processing authorities for civil service and foreign service annuitants.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
H-1B Visa Fraud Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise employer and government requirements with respect to H-1B (specialty occupation) nonimmigrant aliens. Increases labor condition application penalties. Provides H-1B alien whistleblower protections. Requires the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to submit to Congress a fraud risk assessment of the H-1B visa program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Rural America Job Assistance and Creation Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make matching grants to regional consortia meeting specified criteria to improve the job skills necessary for employment in specific industries. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to establish and support entities that provide business incubator services (necessary to initiate and sustain operations of a newly established business, including legal, intellectual property, and technology services and planning) for small- and medium-sized businesses. Directs the Comptroller General to study how rural infrastructure, venture capital, and federal programs can enhance rural areas. Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to require employer notification of federal and state elected officials (as well as local ones) before dislocation of workers. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require submission of H-1B labor condition applications at same time as H-1B nonimmigrant classification petitions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude certain amounts of severance payments from gross income; and (2) expand the work opportunity tax credit to include qualified small business employees.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Border Infrastructure and Technology Modernization Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) increase, during FY2008-FY2012, the number of agents in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the DHS and the number of officers and agricultural specialists in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the DHS; and (2) provide such agents, officers, and agricultural specialists new technology training to a level of proficiency acceptable to protect U.S. borders. Directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to review and update, and submit to Congress, the Port of Entry Infrastructure Assessment Study and the nationwide strategy to prioritize and address the infrastructure needs at the land ports-of-entry. Directs the Secretary to prepare annually, and submit to Congress, a National Land Border Security Plan that includes a vulnerability assessment of each port of entry located on the U.S. northern and southern borders. Authorizes the Secretary to establish one or more port security coordinators at such ports of entry. Directs the Commissioner to: (1) develop a plan to expand the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program or other voluntary government-private sector programs to improve overall international supply chain security, including security along the U.S. northern and southern borders; and (2) establish a demonstration program to develop a cooperative trade security system to improve supply chain security along the southern border. Directs the Secretary to carry out a technology demonstration program to test and evaluate new port of entry technologies that enhance port of entry inspections and the detection of weapons of mass destruction, and to train personnel in its use. Sets forth streamlining procedures and certain local employment requirements for projects and programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Shadow Wolves Apprehension and Tracking Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to establish up to 5 additional units, with up to 15 Customs Patrol Officers in each unit, to operate on Indian reservations located on or near an international border with Canada or Mexico and other federal land by investigating and preventing the entry of terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 - Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to check against all available terrorist watchlists those alien smugglers and smuggled individuals who are interdicted at U.S. land, air, and sea borders. Revises alien smuggling and related criminal offense and penalty provisions. Provides extraterritorial jurisdiction over such offenses. Limits a defense of necessity for knowingly bringing an illegal alien into the United States from the high seas. Exempts from certain of such violations (transporting or harboring in the United States) a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States (or its agents or officers) that encourages, invites, or enables an alien who is present in the United States to serve as a volunteer minister or missionary for such organization in the United States, provided the minister or missionary has been a member of the denomination for at least one year. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend as appropriate sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of alien smuggling offenses and criminal failure to heave to or obstruction of boarding.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - Increases the number of: (1) full-time Border Patrol agents; and (2) immigration-related workplace enforcement personnel. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an employment eligibility verification system. Sets forth program provisions. Authorizes, and subsequently requires, the use of such system for previously hired individuals and for recruiting and referrals. Provides expedited removal for certain illegal aliens from a country that is not contiguous to the United States who are apprehended within 100 miles of a U.S. port or land border. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish: (1) a nonimmigrant seasonal agricultural worker program (W-visa), which shall include annual numerical limitations and monthly limitations based on agricultural employment region; and (2) a trust fund to administer and enforce the program and provide a monetary incentive for such workers to return to their countries upon visa expiration. Prohibits status adjustment for such workers. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide lawful status (which shall not be considered as permanent resident status) for qualifying aliens who have been in continuous unlawful residence in the United States since before January 1, 2002. Sets forth program provisions, including: (1) imposition of a $1,000 fine; and (2) prohibition of derivative lawful status for family members.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Proud to Be an American Citizen Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to make funds available annually to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or to approved public or private nonprofit entities to support public ceremonies for administering oaths of allegiance to naturalizing legal immigrants. States that such ceremonies shall: (1) be held on a date that is on or near Independence Day; and (2) include appropriate outreach, ceremonial, and celebratory activities. Specifies: (1) ceremony fund limits ($5,000); and (2) permitted fund uses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Nutrition and Opportunities for the Underserved and Rural Incentives to Secure the Heartland Act of 2007 or NOURISH Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish a program through FY2013 to provide greater access and opportunities for minority and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to Department of Agriculture programs and services; and (2) establish the USDA Minority Producer Land Preservation Commission (to terminate nine years after enactment of this Act) to review pending Department foreclosure proceedings. Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to extend authorization of appropriations for education grants for Hispanic-serving institutions. Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to revise pesticide recordkeeping provisions. Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for the inclusion of long-term health effects in labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish, within the Department's Office of Civil Rights and Community Outreach of the Risk Management Agency, an office of Farmworker Coordination; (2) establish a conservation initiative for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; (3) provide cost-share payments and incentive payments to individual producers to address air quality concerns associated with agriculture; (4) implement an integrated pest management initiative in priority areas; and (5) establish the rural regional entrepreneurship program. Authorizes the Secretary to make emergency grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Revises the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967. Establishes within the Department the Office of Special Counsel for Competition Matters which shall: (1) investigate and prosecute violations of this Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921; and (2) serve as a liaison between, and act in consultation with, the Department and the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector. Provides for Department and Department of Defense procurement of locally produced agricultural products. Establishes the national organic certification and transition cost share program (in lieu of the current national organic certification cost share program). Extends the: (1) conservation reserve program; (2) grassland reserve program; (3) environmental quality incentives program; (4) conservation innovation grant program; (5) wildlife habitat incentive program; (6) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) farmers' market nutrition program; (7) senior farmers nutrition program; (8) the community food project competitive grant program; (9) fresh fruit and vegetable program; and (10) farmers' market promotion program. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to rename the food stamp program as the secure nutrition access program (program). Revises program provisions with respect to: (1) standard deduction increases; (2) combat pay, retirement account, and education account exclusions; (3) minimum benefit increases; (4) countable resource increases; (5) legal immigrant eligibility; (6) work requirements; (7) program administration; (8) cash payment pilot projects; (9) program reauthorization; (10) block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa; (11) outreach; (12) natural disasters; (13) Puerto Rico; (14) farmers' markets; and (15) the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 18 May 2007
United States · United States House of Representatives · 17 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Violence Against Immigrant Women Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act Act of 2005, with respect to T-visa (victims of severe form of trafficking in persons) and U-visa (victims of certain crimes) nonimmigrant aliens. Revises provisions with respect to: (1) victims of crime; (2) self-petitioning and self-petitioning by fiance(e)s and children; (3) access to health, housing, and other public benefits, including Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and food stamps; (4) removal, deportation, and detention; (5) parole; (6) naturalization; and (7) admissibility. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Homeland Security for related: (1) nonimmigrant status adjustment applications and petitions; (2) employment authorizations; and (3) naturalization applications.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 16 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2007 - Directs the Chief of the Office of Citizenship of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide grants (not to exceed $500) to assist legal U.S. residents who declare an intent to apply for citizenship in the United States to meet naturalization requirements. Provides such grants to an accredited institution of higher education or other qualified educational institution for tuition, fees, books, and other educational resources required by the English language course in which the legal resident is enrolled. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide that a legal U.S. resident who demonstrates English fluency will satisfy the residency requirement upon the completion of four (currently, five years) years of continuous U.S. legal residency. Directs the Secretary of DHS to: (1) establish an American citizenship grant program for qualified entities to provide civics, history, and English classes to promote the patriotic integration of prospective citizens; and (2) implement a strategy to enhance public awareness of naturalization ceremonies. Authorizes the Secretary to establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to support the functions of the Office of Citizenship. Amends INA to set forth a new oath of allegiance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) incorporate a knowledge and understanding of the oath of allegiance into the history and government citizenship test; and (2) notify the embassy of the country of which a new citizen was a citizen or subject that such citizen has renounced allegiance to that foreign country and sworn allegiance to the United States. Establishes a new citizens award program to recognize citizens who: (1) have made an outstanding contribution to the United States; and (2) were naturalized during the 10-year period ending on the date of such recognition.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Skilled Worker Immigration and Fairness Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from the annual H-1B (specialty occupation/fashion models) visa cap an alien who has: (1) earned a master's or higher degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from an institution of higher education outside of the United States; or (2) been awarded a medical specialty certification based on post-doctoral training and experience in the United States. Sets H-1B annual limits at: (1) 115,000 for FY2007; and (2) for each subsequent fiscal year, the greater of 115,000 or a market-based calculation. Exempts from numerical limitations on employment-based immigrants: (1) aliens who have earned advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math and have been working in their fields in the United States under a nonimmigrant visa in the three years prior to filing for adjustment; (2) recipients of national interest waivers; and (3) immediate relatives of employment-based immigrants. Permits an alien (and dependents) to file for adjustment of status whether or not an employment-based immigrant visa is immediately available if: (1) a petition on behalf of the alien has been approved; or (2) adjudication of such petition is pending. Revises H-1B provisions with respect to: (1) application fraud and misrepresentation; (2) employer penalties; (3) Department of Labor investigations; (4) Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information sharing; (5) information provided to an H-1B nonimmigrant upon visa issuance; (6) prohibiting H-1B-exclusive employment advertising; and (7) prohibiting an employer of fewer than 50 employees in the United States from having more than 50% H-1B nonimmigrant employees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to repeal the provision (section 796 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006) exempting from harboring sanctions compensation for alien volunteers for certain religious organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
E-2 Nonimmigrant Investor Adjustment Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make certain nonimmigrant investors (E-2 visa) who have resided in the United States for at least five years immediately eligible to adjust to permanent resident status.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 10 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
H-1B Visa Program Modernization Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the annual H-1B nonimmigrant visa (specialty occupation) cap, with a 20% increase for the following year if the previous year's quota is reached. Revises H-1B provisions with respect to: (1) application fraud and misrepresentation; (2) employer penalties; (3) Department of Labor investigations; (4) Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information sharing; (5) information provided to an H-1B nonimmigrant upon visa issuance; (6) employment advertising; and (7) prohibiting an employer of fewer than 50 employees in the United States from having more than 50% H-1B nonimmigrant employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include immigrants with advanced degrees in the diversity immigrant category. Establishes the annual worldwide limit for such immigrants at 18,333 for diversity immigrants and 36,667 for advanced degree immigrants. Provides that immigrants with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math shall have a separate limitation equal to that for advanced degree immigrants, which shall include economic and workforce considerations. Directs the Secretary of State to maintain age, education, and occupation information on diversity and advanced degree immigrants. Provides for the carryover of advanced degree and diversity visas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide special immigrant status to an Iraqi national (and spouse or child of such alien) who: (1) worked directly with the U.S. government, the United Nations, certified government or U.N. contractor or subcontractor, or U.S.-based nongovernmental organization for at least one year; and (2) has a not manifestly unfounded fear of persecution, violence, or harm to the alien or the alien's family because of such work. Sets forth annual entry limits through FY2011 for such aliens. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) provide such aliens who are in imminent danger with protection, including temporary housing on U.S. military bases or at provincial reconstruction team offices or immediate removal from Iraq; and (2) establish at least five alien processing facilities in Iraq. Establishes in the Department of State a Special Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, to be based at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. States that the Special Coordinator shall be responsible for the development and implementation of policies and programs for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, and shall establish a related inter-agency task force. Directs the Secretary of State to seek to negotiate a bilateral refugee resettlement agreement with each country containing a significant population of displaced Iraqis, including Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon. Increases FY2007-FY2008 refugee admissions for persons who are not not firmly settled in a foreign country and who are of humanitarian concern to the United States in order to admit Iraqi refugees. Sets forth priority groups. Revises the authority of the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine that security and related grounds for inadmissibility shall not apply to an individual or a group. Waives the FY2008-FY2009 funding cap for the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund. Authorizes appropriations to specified entities and agencies for Iraqi refugee-related assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Unlawful Employers Accountability and Illegal Alien State Reimbursement Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise (based upon the number of employees) and increase civil money penalties for employers who knowingly hire, recruit, refer, or continue to employ illegal aliens in the United States. Makes employers liable for federal, state, and local costs associated with such aliens' removal. Considers each subdivision as a separate employer in the case of an employer composed of distinct, physically separate subdivisions each of which provides separately for hiring, recruiting, or referring and which is not under the control of another subdivision. Denies specified agricultural assistance for up to five years for an agricultural employer, association, or farm labor contractor in violation of such employment provisions. Eliminates good faith defense provisions. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to maintain a website of employers determined to have been in violation of such provisions within the preceding five years. Makes repeat employer violators or employers subject to criminal penalties for such violations ineligible for federal contracts for five years. Directs the Secretary to establish in the Treasury the Illegal Alien State Reimbursement Fund to reimburse eligible states (including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands) for payments to local educational agencies, public health care providers, and law enforcement agencies for costs associated with serving aliens unlawfully present in the United States.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 9 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2007
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) personnel and asset increases and enhancements; (2) a National Strategy for Border Security; (3) border security initiatives, including biometric data enhancements and a biometric entry-exit system, document integrity, and mandatory detention of aliens apprehended at or between ports of entry; (4) Central American gangs; (5) cooperation with Mexico; (6) National Guard support on the southern border; and (7) extension of the Western Hemisphere travel initiative. Border Law Enforcement Relief Act of 2007 - Authorizes a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a county: (1) no more than 100 miles from a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico; or (2) more than 100 miles from any such border but which is a high impact area. Sets forth interior enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) alien terrorists; (2) alien street gang members; (3) illegal entry and reentry; (4) passport and immigration fraud; (5) criminal aliens; (6) voluntary departure; (7) detention and alternatives; (8) criminal penalties; (9) alien smuggling; (10) tribal lands security; (11) state and local enforcement of immigration laws; (12) expedited removal; (13) alien protection from sex offenders; and (14) the justice prisoner and alien transfer system. Makes it unlawful to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized alien. Establishes in the Treasury the Employer Compliance Fund. Provides for additional worksite and fraud detection personnel. Provides for a report examining the impacts of the current and proposed annual grants of legal status, including immigrant and nonimmigrant status, along with the current level of illegal immigration, on U.S. infrastructure and quality of life. Establishes a temporary guest worker program (H-2C visa). Provides: (1) that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall determine H-2C eligibility; (2) for a three-year admission with one additional three-year extension; (3) issuance of H-4 nonimmigrant visas for accompanying or following spouse and children; (4) for U.S. worker protection; (5) for implementation of an alien employment management system; and (6) establishment of a Temporary Worker Task Force. Expands the S-visa (witness/informant) classification. Limits the L-visa (intracompany transfer) classification. Expands the visas waiver program to include on a probationary basis a European Union (EU) country that is assisting the United States in Afghanistan or Iraq and whose participation does not compromise U.S. law enforcement interests. Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act of 2007 - Sets forth provisions respecting remedies for immigration legislation. Sets forth backlog reduction provisions respecting: (1) family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels; (2) country limits; (3) immigrant visa allocations; (4) minor children; (5) shortage occupations; (6) student and advanced degree visas; (7) children of Filipino World War II veterans; (8) powerline workers; (9) aliens of extraordinary artistic ability; and (10) Haitian children. Securing Knowledge, Innovation, and Leadership Act of 2007 or the SKIL Act of 2007 - Exempts from the annual H-1B (specialty occupation) visa cap an alien who has: (1) earned a master's or higher degree from an accredited U.S. university; or (2) been awarded a medical specialty certification based on post-doctoral training and experience in the United States. Revises certain: (1) student visa provisions; and (2) labor certification provisions. Prohibits immigration application approval until background and security checks have been completed and any fraud allegations have been resolved. Hurricane Katrina Victims Immigration Benefits Preservation Act - Authorizes special immigration status, and related benefits, for qualifying aliens who died, were disabled, or lost employment as a direct result of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, and for certain of their family members. Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007 - Provides permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying illegal alien (and the spouse and children of such alien) who has been in the United States for five years and employed (with exceptions) for specified periods of time. Authorizes mandatory departure and immigrant or nonimmigrant reentry for a qualifying illegal alien who has been present and employed in the United States since January 7, 2004. Establishes a three-year mandatory departure status, and sets forth immigration prohibitions and penalties for failure to depart or delayed departure. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a state impact assistance grant program to provide health and education services to noncitizens. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007, or AgJOBS Act of 2007 - Establishes a pilot program (Blue Card program) for adjustment to permanent resident status of qualifying agricultural workers who have worked in the United States during the two-year period ending December 31, 2005, and have been employed for specified periods of time subsequent to enactment of this Act. Revises the H-2A (temporary agricultural worker) program. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007 or the DREAM Act of 2007 - Eliminates denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Authorizes cancellation of removal and adjustment to conditional permanent resident status of certain alien students who are long-term U.S. residents. Sets forth the conditions for a six-year conditional permanent resident status. Authorizes the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, to award grants to qualified nonprofit community organizations to educate and support nonprofit agencies, immigrant communities, and other interested entities regarding the provisions of this Act. Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2007 - Directs: (1) the Chief of the Office of Citizenship of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide grants to assist legal U.S. residents who declare an intent to apply for citizenship in the United States to meet naturalization requirements; and (2) the Secretary to establish an American citizenship grant program for qualified entities to provide civics, history, and English classes to promote the patriotic integration of prospective citizens. Authorizes the Secretary of State to award a grant to a U.S. land grant university to establish a university-based Mexican rural poverty mitigation program. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) additional DHS and Department of Justice immigration personnel; and (2) the Board of Immigration Appeals. Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act - Provides that fingerprints provided by a qualifying individual at the time of military enlistment shall satisfy naturalization fingerprint requirements. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free naturalization assistance telephone number for Armed Forces members and their families. State Court Interpreter Grant Program Act - Provides state courts grants to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to access and understand court proceedings, and allocates funds for a related court interpreter technical assistance program. Border Infrastructure and Technology Modernization Act - Provides for: (1) a port of entry infrastructure assessment study; (2) a national land border security plan; (3) a port of entry technology demonstration program; and (4) expansion the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs along the northern and southern borders. September 11 Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act - Provides permanent resident status adjustment or cancellation of removal and permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying alien who was on September 10, 2001, the wife, child, or dependent son or daughter of a lawful nonimmigrant alien who died as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) noncitizen Armed Forces membership; (2) surveillance programs, including aerial and unmanned aerial surveillance; (3) a Northern Border Prosecution Initiative; (4) reimbursement of Southern Border State and county prosecutors for prosecuting federally initiated drug cases; (5) screening of municipal waste; (6) border security on federal land; and (7) parole and status adjustment relief for qualifying widows and orphans. Initial Entry, Adjustment, and Citizenship Assistance Grant Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to award initial entry, status adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants to qualifying community-based organizations. Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to extend the travel document plan deadline. States that English is the national language of the United States. Requires the government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language of the United States. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Office of Internal Corruption Investigation. Directs the Secretary to adjust to permanent resident status specified asylee applicants who are members of a persecuted religious minority. Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2007 or the ICARE Act - Establishes an Office of Intercountry Adoptions within the Department of State to be headed by the Ambassador at Large for Intercountry Adoptions. Sets forth Office functions, including: (1) approval of family to adopt (divided into U.S. regions); (2) child adjudication; (3) family services; (4) international policy development; and (5) administration and enforcement. Revises provisions for automatic citizenship for children born outside the United States, including adopted children. Establishes a nonimmigrant W-visa for an adoptable child coming to the United States for adoption by a U.S. citizen and spouse jointly or by an unmarried U.S. citizen at least 25 years of age who has been approved by the Office of International Adoption of the Department of State. Sets forth adoption-related enforcement and penalty provisions.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 8 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Uniting American Families Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include permanent partners (as defined by this Act) within the scope of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
S.I. Hayakawa Official English Language Act of 2007 - Makes English the official language of the U.S. government. Requires the government to: (1) conduct its official activities in English, including preparing publications, income tax forms, and informational materials in English; and (2) preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the United States. Provides that no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the government act, communicate, perform, or provide services or materials in any other language, unless expressly provided for in an applicable provision of law. Provides that this Act may not: (1) apply to the use of a language other than English for religious purposes, for training in foreign languages for international communication, or in school programs designed to encourage students to learn foreign languages; or (2) be considered to prevent the U.S. government from providing interpreters for persons over age 62. Repeals provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 regarding bilingual election requirements and regarding congressional findings of voting discrimination against language minorities, prohibition of English-only elections, and other remedial measures. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that all public ceremonies in which the oath of allegiance is administered pursuant to such Act be conducted solely in English. Specifies that this Act may not be construed to preempt any state law.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Agricultural Disaster Assistance and Western States Emergency Unfinished Business Appropriations Act, 2007 - Appropriates FY2007 amounts for emergency financial assistance to producers on a farm that incurred qualifying quantity or quality losses for the 2005 or 2006 crop, or that part of the 2007 crop year before February 28, 2007, due to damaging weather or any related condition (including crop diseases, insects, and delayed planting). Requires that an eligible crop must have been planted before February 28, 2007, or in the case of prevented planting or other total loss, would have been planted before such date. Requires a producer who suffered qualifying losses to elect assistance for only one of such years. Appropriates amounts for payments through the livestock compensation program for livestock assistance for disaster-caused losses between January 1, 2005 and February 28, 2007, including losses from blizzards that began in 2006 and continued into January 2007. States that a producer: (1) shall elect to receive payments in only one of such years, and that such losses must have been incurred in a disaster-designated county; and (2) may elect to receive compensation for wildfire-caused losses in the 2007 grazing season. Appropriates amounts for livestock indemnity payments to producers on farms in disaster-designated counties that have incurred livestock losses between January 1, 2005 and February 28, 2007, including losses from blizzards that started in 2006 and continued into January 2007. Requires a producer who suffered qualifying losses to elect assistance for only one of such years. Appropriates amounts for agricultural and farm production land cleanup and restoration under the emergency conservation program. Reduces specified producer payments by amounts received for the same or similar loss under: (1) the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006; (2) an agricultural disaster assistance provision contained in the announcement of the Secretary on January 26, 2006, or August 29, 2006; or (3) the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006. Sets forth administrative provisions. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to revise national dairy market loss payment amount provisions. Appropriates amounts for dairy production losses in disaster counties. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in states with a shortage of claims adjusters, to permit the use of one certified claims adjuster with respect to animal forage crops (under the noninsured crop disaster assistance program). Appropriates amounts for emergency grants for low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Appropriates amounts for Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses. Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Commerce, to remain available through FY2008, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for operations, research, and facilities. Directs the National Marine Fisheries Service to distribute such amounts among eligible recipients of assistance for the commercial fishery failure declared by the Secretary of Commerce on August 10, 2006. Appropriates additional funds to the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management) and to the Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) for wildland fire management/suppression, to be made available only if previously provided funds are insufficient. Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Agriculture for FY2007 for payments to be made, to the maximum extent practicable, in the same amounts and in the same manner as were paid to states and counties in 2006 under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Uniting American Families Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include permanent partners (as defined by this Act) within the scope of such Act.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 3 May 2007
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2007
Engaging the Nation to Fight for Our Right to Control Entry Act or ENFORCE Act - Directs the Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to establish: (1) a National Border Neighborhood Watch Program (Program) to permit retired law enforcement officers and civilian volunteers to assist in carrying out such Program; and (2) a Border Regiment Assisting in Valuable Enforcement Force (BRAVE Force), which shall consist of retired law enforcement officers, employed to carry out the Program. Directs USCBP to provide for civilian participation. Imposes criminal penalties for federal document forgery, counterfeiting, or alteration. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide additional penalties for an alien who is illegally in the United States. Increases criminal penalties for first-time illegal entry. Provides for a field office of the Office of Investigations of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Authorizes assistance to Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma, for a demonstration project to assess the feasibility of establishing a nationwide e-learning training course to be used by state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers to enhance the ability of such officers to assist federal immigration officers in the enforcement of immigration laws of the United States. Citizenship Reform Act of 2007 - Provides citizenship at birth for a person born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States only if such child was born in the United States to parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. national; or (2) a lawful permanent resident alien residing in the United States. Prohibits any federal agency from establishing an individual's identity, and prohibits providing any public benefits funded in whole or in part by federal funds, without specified documents. Requires independent verification of birth records provided in support of a social security application. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) work with states to establish a common data protocol for electronic birth and death registration systems; and (2) coordinate implementation of electronic verification of a person's life and death. Provides for: (1) temporary social security cards for nonimmigrants; and (2) mandatory employer and subsequent employee notification of social security number mismatches and multiple uses. States that state and local law enforcement personnel have the inherent authority to arrest, detain, or transfer to federal custody, aliens in the United States (including detention transportation across state lines) in the enforcement of the immigration laws. Provides for individual taxpayer identification number (TIN) sharing between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Provides for fencing and security improvements along the southern U.S. border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, including creation and control of a specified border zone. Requires a study and report on the use of technology to prevent unlawful immigration. Makes it unlawful to operate a day laborer center if the operator knows, or should know, that the center is being used to secure employment for illegal aliens. Makes it unlawful under INA to hire or refer an alien for employment knowing, or having reason to know, that the alien is unauthorized for employment. Limits higher education benefits for illegal aliens. Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act of 2007 - Revises specified immigration litigation provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2007
Empowering Our Local Communities Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a minimum mandatory prison term of five years and a maximum term of 40 years on any illegal alien who commits manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose criminal penalties on individuals present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. Requires the Department of Homeland Security to continue to operate and implement the Institutional Removal Program for the identification and removal from the United States of criminal aliens. Requires such program to be extended to all states. Authorizes states to detain criminal aliens after the completion of their prison sentences to effectuate their transfer to federal custody. Authorizes appropriations for the training of state and local government officers or employees to perform certain functions of a federal immigration officer.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for enhancing the integrity of the United States against the threat of terrorism. Requires such funds to be used by the Secretary of Homeland Security to reimburse a state or political subdivision for expenses incurred when law enforcement officers or employees of such state or subdivision receive training to perform border security and immigration enforcement functions.