,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #adje ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #g1 #bjag,mr4 ,grijalva 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,gutirrez1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,ryan of ,ohio1 ,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,vela1 ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,aguilar1 ,mr4 ,de,saulnier1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 and ,mr4 ,blumenauer7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,armed ,services1 and ,veterans' ,affairs1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to establish a veterans visa program to permit veterans who have been removed from the ,united ,states to return as immigrants1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as ,the ,veterans ,visa and ,protection ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term crime of violence means an offense defined in section #af of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 excluding a purely political offense1 for which the noncitizen has served a term of imprisonment of at least #e years4 7#b7 ,the term deported veteran means a veteran who is a noncitizen and who-- 7,a7 was removed from the ,united ,states2 or 7,b7 is abroad and is inadmissible under section #bab7;a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;a774 7#c7 ,the term noncitizen means an individual who is not a national of the ,united ,states 7as defined in section #aja7;a77#bb7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#bb7774 7#d7 ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security4 7#e7 ,the term service member means an individual who is serving as a member of a regular or reserve component of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states on active duty or as a member of a reserve component of the ,armed ,forces in an active status4 7#f7 ,the term veteran has the meaning given such term under section #aja7b7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 #c4 ,return of noncitizen veterans removed from the ,united ,states2 status for noncitizen veterans in the ,united ,states 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,duties of ,secretary ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 establish a program and application procedure to permit-- 7i7 deported veterans who meet the requirements of subsection 7b7 to enter the ,united ,states as a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence2 and 7ii7 noncitizen veterans in the ,united ,states who meet the requirements of subsection 7b7 to adjust status to that of a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence2 and 7,b7 cancel the removal of noncitizen veterans ordered removed who meet the requirements of subsection 7b7 and allow them to adjust status to that of a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence4 7#b7 ,no numerical limitations ,nothing in this section or in any other law shall be construed to apply a numerical limitation on the number of veterans who may be eligible to receive benefits under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,eligibility 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 including sections #bab and #bcg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4#aahb2 #abbg71 a veteran shall be eligible for the program established under subsection 7a77#a77;,a71 or cancellation of removal under subsection 7a77#a77;,b71 if the ,secretary determines that the veteran-- 7,a7 was not ordered removed1 or removed1 from the ,united ,states due to a criminal conviction for-- 7i7 a crime of violence2 or 7ii7 a crime that endangers the national security of the ,united ,states for which the noncitizen has served a term of imprisonment of at least #e years2 and 7,b7 is not inadmissible to1 or deportable from1 the ,united ,states due to such a conviction4 7#b7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary may waive paragraph 7#a7 for humanitarian purposes1 to assure family unity1 due to exceptional service in the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces1 or if such waiver otherwise is in the public interest4 #d4 ,protecting veterans and service members from removal ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 including section #bcg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abbg71 a noncitizen who is a veteran or service member shall not be removed from the ,united ,states unless the noncitizen has a criminal conviction for a crime of violence4 #e4 ,naturalization through service in the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 a noncitizen who has obtained the status of a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to section #b shall be eligible for naturalization through service in the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states under sections #cbh and #cbi of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #adci2 #addj71 except that-- 7#a7 the ground or grounds on which the noncitizen was ordered removed1 or removed1 from the ,united ,states1 or was rendered inadmissible to1 or deportable from1 the ,united ,states1 shall be disregarded when determining whether the noncitizen is a person of good moral character2 and 7#b7 any period of absence from the ,united ,states due to the noncitizen having been removed1 or being inadmissible1 shall be disregarded when determining if the noncitizen satisfies any requirement relating to continuous residence or physical presence4 #f4 ,access to military benefits ,a noncitizen who has obtained the status of a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence pursuant to section #b shall be eligible for all military and veterans benefits for which the noncitizen would have been eligible if the noncitizen had never been ordered removed1 been removed1 or voluntarily departed1 from the ,united ,states4 #g4 ,implementation 7a7 ,identification ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall identify cases involving service members and veterans at risk of removal from the ,united ,states by-- 7#a7 inquiring of every noncitizen processed prior to initiating removal proceedings whether the noncitizen is serving1 or has served1 as a member of a regular or reserve component of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states on active duty or as a member of a reserve component of the ,armed ,forces in an active status2 7#b7 requiring personnel to seek supervisory approval prior to initiating removal proceedings against a service member or veteran2 and 7#c7 keeping records of service members and veterans who have had removal proceedings against them initiated1 been detained1 or been removed4 7b7 ,record annotation ,when the ,secretary has identified a case under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall annotate all immigration and naturalization records of the ,department of ,homeland ,security relating to the noncitizen involved so as to reflect that identification and afford an opportunity to track the outcomes for the noncitizen4 ,such annotation shall include-- 7#a7 the individual's branch of military service2 7#b7 whether or not the individual is serving1 or has served1 during a period of military hostilities described in section #cbi of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #addj72 7#c7 the individual's immigration status at the time of enlistment2 7#d7 whether the individual is serving honorably or was separated under honorable conditions2 and 7#e7 the basis for which removal was sought2 and1 if the basis for removal was a criminal conviction1 the crime or crimes for which conviction was obtained4 #h4 ,regulations ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement this ,act4