Congressional Updates

P.L. 105-54

10/6/97 AILA Doc. No. 97100659. Special Immigrant Juveniles

--S.1198--

S.1198

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven

An Act

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the special immigrant religious worker program, to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to extend the deadline for designation of an effective date for paperwork changes in the employer sanctions program, and to require the Secretary of State to waive or reduce the fee for application and issuance of a nonimmigrant visa for aliens coming to the United States for certain charitable purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. 3-YEAR EXTENSION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT RELIGIOUS WORKER PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 101(a)(27)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking `1997,' each place it appears and inserting `2000,'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF NONIMMIGRANT VISA FEES FOR CERTAIN CHARITABLE PURPOSES.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1351) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `Subject to such criteria as the Secretary of State may prescribe, including the duration of stay of the alien and the financial burden upon the charitable organization, the Secretary of State shall waive or reduce the fee for application and issuance of a nonimmigrant visa for any alien coming to the United States primarily for, or in activities related to, a charitable purpose involving health or nursing care, the provision of food or housing, job training, or any other similar direct service or assistance to poor or otherwise needy individuals in the United States.'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. 6-MONTH EXTENSION OF DEADLINE FOR DESIGNATION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR PAPERWORK CHANGES IN EMPLOYER SANCTIONS PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 412(e)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 3009-668) is amended by striking `12' and inserting `18'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

END