,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dchd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ad1 #bjag,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,lee1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida1 and ,mr4 ,correa7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act to provide protected status for certain aliens present in the ,united ,states1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,act to ,sustain the ,protection of ,immigrant ,residents ,earned through ,,tps ,act of #bjag or the ,,aspire-,,tps ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,protected status for certain aliens present in the ,united ,states ,the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #bdd the following3 #bdd;,a4 ,protected status for certain aliens present in the ,united ,states 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 including section #bdd7;h71 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall grant protected status under this section to an alien who meets the eligibility requirements under subsection 7b74 7b7 ,eligibility requirements ,the eligibility requirements are the following3 7#a7 ,on ,january #a1 #bjag1 the alien had been granted or was eligible for ,deferred ,enforced ,departure or for temporary protected status under section #bdd4 7#b7 ,the alien has continuously resided in the ,united ,states for the #e-year period prior to the date of the enactment of this section4 7#c7 ,the alien is admissible as an immigrant1 except as otherwise provided under paragraph 7#b77;,a7 of section #bdd1 and is not ineligible under paragraph 7#b77;,b7 of such section1 except that in making such a determination1 no conviction for a misdemeanor which conviction occurred earlier than #f years prior to the date on which the alien applies for status1 or a renewal of such status1 under this section may be considered4 7#d7 ,to the extent and in a manner which the ,secretary establishes1 the alien registers for the protected status under this section during a registration period of not less than one year4 7c7 ,duration of status ,protected status under this section shall be for a period of #f years1 and may be renewed for additional #f-year periods4 ,an alien seeking to renew protected status under this section shall re-register with the ,secretary4 7d7 ,notice 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the first day of the registration period under subsection 7b77#d71 the ,secretary shall provide each alien who was granted temporary protected status under section #bdd or ,deferred ,enforced ,departure with information concerning protected status under this section4 7#b7 ,removal proceedings 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall promptly notify any alien against whom removal proceedings are initiated who is a national of a country 7or in the case of an alien having no nationality1 the country in which the alien last habitually resided7 that on ,january #a1 #bjag1 was designated under section #bdd or under the ,deferred ,enforced ,departure program1 that status under this section may be available4 7,b7 ,removal proceedings initiated prior to the date of enactment ,the ,secretary shall promptly notify any alien who is in removal proceedings on the date of the enactment of this section and who is a national of a country 7or in the case of an alien having no nationality1 the country in which the alien last habitually resided7 that on ,january #a1 #bjag1 was designated under section #bdd or under the ,deferred ,enforced ,departure program1 that status under this section may be available4 7#c7 ,form ,notices under this paragraph shall be provided in a form and language that the alien can understand4 7e7 ,temporary treatment for eligible aliens 7#a7 ,registration not available ,in the case of an alien who can establish a prima facie case of eligibility for protected status under this section1 but for the fact that the period of registration under subsection 7b77#d7 has not begun1 until the alien has had a reasonable opportunity to register during the first #cj days of such period1 the ,secretary shall provide the alien with work authorization under subsection 7f71 and shall not initiate or proceed with removal proceedings against the alien4 7#b7 ,determination pending ,in the case of an alien who establishes a prima facie case of eligibility for protected status under this section1 until a final determination with respect to the alien's eligibility for such status has been made1 the ,secretary shall provide the alien with work authorization under subsection 7f71 and shall not initiate or proceed with removal proceedings against the alien4 7f7 ,work authorization 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall authorize each alien granted protected status under this section to engage in employment in the ,united ,states and provide the alien with an employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate work permit4 7#b7 ,duration ,work authorization provided under this section shall be effective throughout the period the alien is in protected status4 7g7 ,fees ,the ,secretary may require payment of a reasonable fee1 in an amount not to exceed #ej1 as a condition of registering an alien under this section4 ,the ,secretary may impose a separate1 additional fee for providing an alien with documentation of work authorization4 ,notwithstanding section #ccjb of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 all fees collected under this subparagraph shall be credited to the appropriation to be used in carrying out this section4 7h7 ,withdrawal of protected status ,the ,secretary shall withdraw protected status granted to an alien under this section if-- 7#a7 the ,secretary finds that the alien was not in fact eligible for such status under this section2 or 7#b7 the alien fails1 without good cause1 to register with the ,secretary at the end of each #cf-month period after the granting of such status1 in a form and manner specified by the ,secretary4 7i7 ,treatment of brief1 casual1 and innocent departures and certain other absences 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of subsection 7b77#b71 an alien shall not be considered to have failed to maintain continuous residence in the ,united ,states by virtue of brief1 casual1 and innocent absences from the ,united ,states without regard to whether such absences were authorized by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,renewal of protected status ,for purposes of subsection 7b77#b71 in the case of an alien seeking to renew protected status under this section1 absence from the ,united ,states for a continuous period1 beginning on the date on which the ,secretary most recently granted or renewed the alien's protected status under this section-- 7,a7 of one year or less1 shall not break the continuity of such residency requirement2 and 7,b7 of longer than one year1 shall break the continuity of such residence1 unless the applicant establishes to the satisfaction of the ,secretary that he did not abandon his residence in the ,united ,states during such period4 7j7 ,confidentiality 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may not disclose or use information provided under this section for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws4 7#b7 ,referrals prohibited ,the ,secretary may not refer any alien granted protected status under this section to ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement or to ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection4 7#c7 ,exception ,notwithstanding paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 the ,secretary may disclose information provided under this section to ,federal security and law enforcement agencies-- 7,a7 for assistance in the consideration of an application for protected status under this section2 7,b7 to identify or prevent fraudulent claims for protected status under this section2 7,c7 for national security purposes2 and 7,d7 in relation to the investigation or prosecution of any felony not related to the alien's immigration status4 7#d7 ,penalty ,whoever knowingly discloses or uses information in violation of this subsection shall be fined not more than #aj1jjj4 7k7 ,treatment during period of protected status ,during a period in which an alien is granted protected status under this section-- 7#a7 the alien shall be considered a qualified alien for purposes of title ,,iv of the ,personal ,responsibility and ,work ,opportunity ,reconciliation ,act of #aiif2 7#b7 the alien may travel abroad without the prior consent of the ,secretary2 and 7#c7 for purposes of adjustment of status under section #bde and change of classification under section #bdh1 the alien shall be considered as having been inspected and admitted into the ,united ,states1 and as being in1 and maintaining lawful status as a nonimmigrant4 7l7 ,clarification ,nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the ,secretary to deny protected status to an alien based on the alien's immigration status or to require any alien1 as a condition of being granted such status1 either to relinquish nonimmigrant or other status the alien may have or to execute any waiver of other rights under this chapter4 ,the granting of protected status under this section shall not be considered to be inconsistent with the granting of nonimmigrant status under this chapter4 7m7 ,adjustment of status in cases of extreme hardship 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 including section #bdd7;h71 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien-- 7,a7 meets the eligibility requirements of paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#c7 of subsection 7b72 7,b7 establishes that removal would result in extreme hardship to the alien or to the alien's ,united ,states citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse1 parent1 or child2 and 7,c7 submits an application to the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,numerical limitations do not apply ,the numerical limitations of sections #bja and #bjb shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent resident status under this section4 7#c7 ,rule of construction ,this subsection does not prevent an alien granted protected status under this section who does not meet the requirement of paragraph 7#a77;,b7 from adjusting status under section #bde4 7n7 ,review ,the ,secretary shall establish a process for an alien denied protected status under this section to seek review of such a determination4 ,such process shall not prevent an alien from asserting eligibility for status under this section in removal proceedings4 4 #c4 ,temporary protected status clarifications 7a7 ,expunged convictions not a bar ,section #bdd7;c77#b7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a7c77#b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 ,conviction ,for purposes of this paragraph1 the term conviction does not include an adjudication or judgment of guilt that has been dismissed1 expunged1 deferred1 annulled1 invalidated1 withheld1 or vacated1 an order of probation without entry of judgment1 or any similar disposition4 4 7b7 ,aliens considered inspected and admitted into the ,united ,states ,section #bdd7;f77#d7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a7f77#d77 is amended by inserting after considered the following3 as having been inspected and admitted into the ,united ,states1 and4 #d4 ,report on protected status ,on the date that is #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #ij days thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall submit to the ,committees on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives and of the ,senate a report that includes1 for the previous #ij-;day period-- 7#a7 the number of aliens who submitted applications to the ,secretary for protected status under section #bdd;,a of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act2 7#b7 the number of such applications that were approved2 7#c7 the number of aliens present in the ,united ,states with protected status1 including information related to the ,states in which such aliens reside1 the ages of such aliens1 and the duration of their residence in the ,united ,states2 and 7#d7 any additional information determined appropriate by the ,secretary4