Additional Immigration Bills Become Law
Posted Nov 10, 2000

An assortment of immigration legislation has been signed into law, in addition to the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act of 2000 (ACTA), the training fee increase, and others reported in separate articles in recent MurthyBulletins. Some of the new laws signed as of November 7, 2000 are described below.

a) Child Citizenship Act of 2000

This law provides for automatic citizenship for foreign-born children who are permanent residents of the U.S. and who reside with at least one U.S. citizen (biological or adoptive) parent. The law also enables parents to file for the naturalization of children who reside abroad. Under a separate provision of this law, certain permanent residents who voted in the mistaken belief that they were U.S. citizens are no longer disqualified from filing for and obtaining naturalization.

b) International Patients Act of 2000

Up to 300 people each year can potentially qualify for a new pilot program to allow persons to stay for an extended time under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for the purpose of medical treatment. (The Visa Waiver Program enables nationals of certain countries to visit the U.S. without a visa for up to 90 days. See our article entitled Permanent Extension of VWP – Includes some H1B Related Provisions, which was included in the October 27, 2000 issue of the MurthyBulletin.)

c) Religious Workers Act of 2000

The "special immigrant" category includes, among others, EB-4 religious workers. While members of the clergy have been able to qualify as long as this category existed, the special immigrant religious worker program for other types of religious workers expired on September 30, 2000. The new law now extends the program to September 2003.

d) Public Law 106-378 (no title available)

Up to 2,000 Syrian Jews who arrived in the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s and were granted asylum may qualify to adjust their status. Spouses and children of such asylees can also qualify.

e) S. 2812 (no Public Law number assigned, no title available)

Applicants for naturalization who have already qualified for a waiver of the examination requirements due to disability can now also be exempted from the oath ceremony. In the past, many people were granted the waiver of the examination, only to be denied naturalization because their disability kept them from understanding the oath.

Those who desire further details about the specifics of any of these new laws should read the law itself and then consult with an immigration attorney to find out how these new provisions may help them.