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United States · Bill · S

S. 4631 (116th)

Hong Kong Refugee Protection Act

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

21 September 2020

Last action

21 September 2020 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]

Subjects

Asylum, Immigration, Taxation

Source updated

10 August 2026

Asylum · Immigration · Taxation

Summary

Hong Kong Refugee Protection Act This bill removes statutory authority for the President to allow the admission of more than 50,000 refugees in a fiscal year for humanitarian concerns or national interest considerations and suspends the diversity visa program through FY2025. (The program makes immigrant visas available to aliens from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.) The bill also provides certain Hong Kong residents with priority refugee status or special visas. An individual and certain family members shall have priority refugee status if the individual (1) is a Hong Kong resident who suffered persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution as a result of peaceful political activity; or (2) has been formally charged, detained, or convicted for certain peaceful actions. The general presumption that an alien is seeking immigrant status shall not apply to certain Hong Kong residents (generally, those who participated in pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020) seeking asylum. (Typically, an alien seeking admission as a nonimmigrant must establish that the alien does not intend to immigrate to the United States.) The Department of Homeland Security shall admit up to 30,000 eligible Hong Kong residents as immigrants using a points system each year through FY2025. Points shall be awarded to an individual based on various characteristics including age, educational attainment, commitment to invest certain amounts in the United States, and salary. Every six months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall invite the individuals with the highest point totals to apply for admission.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 21 September 2020

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 21 September 2020

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 21 September 2020

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 21 September 2020

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 21 September 2020

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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