,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dcai  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ab1      
#bjai,mr4 ,panetta 7for himself1 ,ms4   
,jayapal1 ,ms4 ,bonamici1 ,mr4          
,carbajal1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1  
,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,correa1 ,mr4       
,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1 ,mr4          
,espaillat1 ,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas1 ,mr4
 ,grijalva1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,mr4 ,johnson
 of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,ms4        
,lofgren1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of
 ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4      
,meng1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mrs4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4
 ,napolitano1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,omar1 
,ms4 ,pressley1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1   
,mr4 ,rush1 ,ms4 ,snchez1 ,ms4          
,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,sires1 ,mr4 ,smith of
 ,washington1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1 
,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california1 ,mr4     
,vargas1 and ,ms4 ,velzquez7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to amend the ,immigration and  
,nationality ,act to eliminate the      

annual numerical limitation on ,u visas1
 to require the ,secretary of ,homeland 
,security to grant work authorization to
 aliens with a pending application for  
nonimmigrant status under subparagraph  
7,u7 or 7,t7 of section #aja7;a77#ae7 of
 such ,act1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,immigrant ,witness and ,victim    
,protection ,act of #bjai4  #b4         
,purpose2 ,findings2 ,sense of ,congress
  7a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act
 is to remove barriers for alien        
survivors of domestic violence1 sexual  
assault1 human trafficking1 and other   
crimes who may be eligible for          
protections under the ,violence ,against
 ,women ,act of #aiid 7,,vawa71 the     
,trafficking ,victims ,protection ,act  
of #bjjj 7,,tvpa74  7b7 ,findings       
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,threats of deportation are one of the  
most potent tools abusers and           
perpetrators of crime use to maintain   
control over and silence alien victims  

and to avoid criminal prosecution4      
,abusers and perpetrators leverage the  
immigration system in the abuse and     
exploitation of aliens they victimize4  
7#b7 ,a bipartisan majority in ,congress
 created critical immigration           
protections in ,,vawa1 ,,tvpa and their 
subsequent reauthorizations in          
recognition that alien survivors of     
domestic violence1 sexual assault1 human
 trafficking1 and other eligible crimes 
often fear that reaching out for help   
may lead to their deportation4  7#c7    
,detention and removal of those with    
victim-based cases undermines the intent
 of ,,vawa and re-traumatizes victims   
and their children4 ,deporting survivors
 while they await decisions on their    
cases discourages victims from accessing
 justice1 undermines the usefulness of  
these forms of relief as tools for law  
enforcement that seek to keep all       
communities safe1 separates them from   
their children and support networks1 and
 eliminates the ability of local law    

enforcement to continue protecting and  
working with such crime survivors4  7#d7
 ,lack of timely access to employment   
authorization makes victims more        
vulnerable and likely to need to endure 
or return to abusive relationships or   
exploitative conditions4 ,crime         
survivors should have access to work    
authorization to escape abusive         
situations1 and gain self-sufficiency   
following victimization so they can     
support themselves and their children4  
7c7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that the ,secretary of    
,homeland ,security should not deport   
crime victims before their applications 
for humanitarian relief are fully       
adjudicated1 as it undermines critical  
bi-partisan protections created in      
,,vawa and the ,,tvpa4  #c4 ,elimination
 of annual numerical limitation on ,u   
visas ,section #bad7p7 of the           
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aahd7p77 is amended by       
striking paragraph 7#b74  #d4 ,work     

authorization while applications for ,u 
and ,t visas are pending  7a7 ,u visas  
,section #bad7p7 of the ,immigration and
 ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4        
#aahd7p77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph
 7#f71 by striking the last sentence2   
and  7#b7 by adding at the end the      
following3  7#h7 ,work authorization    
,notwithstanding any provision of this  
,act granting eligibility for employment
 in the ,united ,states1 the ,secretary 
of ,homeland ,security shall grant      
employment authorization to an alien who
 has filed an application for           
nonimmigrant status under section       
#aja7;a77#ae77,u7 on the date that is   
the earlier of--  7,a7 the date on which
 the alien's application for such status
 is approved2 or  7,b7 a date determined
 by the ,secretary that is not later    
than #ahj days after the date on which  
the alien filed the application4  4  7b7
 ,t visas ,section #bad7o7 of the       
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aahd7o77 is amended by adding

 at the end the following3  7#h7        
,notwithstanding any provision of this  
,act granting eligibility for employment
 in the ,united ,states1 the ,secretary 
of ,homeland ,security shall grant      
employment authorization to an alien who
 has filed an application for           
nonimmigrant status under section       
#aja7;a77#ae77,t7 on the date that is   
the earlier of--  7,a7 the date on which
 the alien's application for such status
 is approved2 or  7,b7 a date determined
 by the ,secretary that is not later    
than #ahj days after the date on which  
the alien filed the application4  4  7c7
 ,,vawa ,self-,petitioners ,section     
#bjd7;a77#a77,k7 of the ,immigration and
 ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4        
#aaed7;a77#a77,k77 is amended-- 7#a7 in 
the matter preceding clause 7i71 by     
striking 1 the alien2  7#b7 in clause   
7i71 by inserting the alien before is   
eligible2 and  7#c7 by amending clause  
7ii7 to read as follows3  7ii7          
notwithstanding any provision of this   

,act restricting eligibility for        
employment in the ,united ,states1 the  
,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall 
grant employment authorization to such  
an alien on the date that is the earlier
 of--  7,i7 the date on which the       
alien's application for lawful permanent
 resident status is approved2 or  7,,ii7
 a date determined by the ,secretary    
that is not later than #ahj days after  
the date that is the earlier of the date
 on which the alien filed the           
application or the alien's petition as a
 ,,vawa self-petitioner is approved4  4 
7d7 ,cancellation of removal ,section   
#bdj;,a7b77#b7 of the ,immigration and  
,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4         
#abbi;b7b77#b77 is amended by adding at 
the end the following3  7,e7 ,work      
authorization ,notwithstanding any      
provision of this ,act granting         
eligibility for employment in the       
,united ,states1 the ,secretary of      
,homeland ,security shall grant         
employment authorization to an alien who

 has filed an application for           
cancellation of removal under this      
paragraph on a date that is not later   
than #ahj days after the date on which  
the alien filed the application4  4  #e4
 ,stay of removal  7a7 ,in general ,an  
alien described in subsection 7b7 shall 
not be removed from the ,united ,states 
under section #bdj of the ,immigration  
and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4     
#abbi;a7 or any other provision of law  
until there is a final denial of the    
alien's application for status after the
 exhaustion of administrative and       
judicial review4  7b7 ,aliens described 
,an alien is described in this          
subsection if the alien-- 7#a7 has a    
pending application under section       
#aja7;a77#ae77,t71 #aja7;a77#ae77,u71   
#ajf1 #bdj;,a7b77#b71 or #bdd7;a77#c7   
7as in effect on ,march #ca1 #aiig7 of  
the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act  
7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja1 #abbi;a1 #abed;a72 
or  7#b7 is a ,,vawa self-petitioner1 as
 defined in section #aja7;a77#ea7 of the

 ,immigration and ,nationality ,act1    
with a pending application for relief   
under a provision referred to in one of 
subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,g7 of such 
section4  #f4 ,prohibition on detention 
of certain victims with pending         
petitions and applications ,section #bcf
 of the ,immigration and ,nationality   
,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abbf7 is amended by 
adding at the end the following3  7a7   
,prohibition on detention of certain    
victims with pending petitions and      
applications  7#a7 ,in general          
,notwithstanding any other provision of 
this ,act1 there shall be a presumption 
that the alien described in paragraph   
7#b7 should be released from detention4 
,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security  
shall have the duty of rebutting this   
presumption1 which may only be shown    
based on clear and convincing evidence1 
including credible and individualized   
information1 that the use of            
alternatives to detention will not      
reasonably ensure the appearance of the 

alien at removal proceedings1 or that   
the alien is a threat to another person 
or the community4 ,the fact that an     
alien has a criminal charge pending     
against the alien may not be the sole   
factor to justify the continued         
detention of the alien4  7#b7 ,alien    
described ,an alien is described in this
 paragraph if the alien-- 7,a7 has a    
pending application under section       
#aja7;a77#ae77,t71 #aja7;a77#ae77,u71   
#ajf1 #bdj;,a7b77#b71 or #bdd7;a77#c7   
7as in effect on ,march #ca1 #aiig72 or 
7,b7 is a ,,vawa self-petitioner1 as    
defined in section #aja7;a77#ea71 with a
 pending application for relief under a 
provision referred to in one of         
subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,g7 of such 
section4  4