Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2019
This bill implements procedures relating to the legal permanent resident status of noncitizen veterans.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a program that allows (1) eligible veterans outside of the United States to be admitted as aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and (2) eligible veterans in the United States to adjust their status to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. If noncitizen aliens obtain this status, they shall be eligible for naturalization through service in the Armed Forces. Additionally, they are eligible for military and veterans benefits as if they had not been ordered removed or removed from the United States.
The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reopen removal proceedings for noncitizen veterans who are subjects of final orders of removal, make a determination with respect to whether such noncitizen veterans are eligible veterans who may be lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and adjust the status of eligible veterans.
A noncitizen veteran shall be eligible if DHS or DOJ determines the noncitizen veteran was not removed or ordered removed, and is not inadmissible or deportable, based on a conviction for a crime of violence or a crime that endangers national security for which the veteran has served at least five years in prison. DHS may waive eligibility requirements for humanitarian, family unity, public interest, or exceptional military service reasons.
The bill also protects noncitizen veterans or service members from being removed from the country unless the noncitizen has been convicted of a crime of violence.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 4, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 4, 2019: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced it on April 4, 2019, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 4, 2019, 2716 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2716 days ago, on April 4, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers