H.R. 628: Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act

Full title:
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that an individual may file an orphan petition for at least 2 years after approval of an advanced processing application.

Summary:
Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that any "covered individual" (an individual whose Application for Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition was approved on or after July 1, 2005) may file a Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative for at least two years after the approval of the individual's application.

Prohibits the Secretary from requiring: (1) a covered individual who files a timely petition to pay any fees or complete any requirements already paid or completed in conjunction with the application or contingent on the amount of time that elapses between the application's approval and the petition's filing; and (2) any person who was a covered individual on this Act's enactment date from paying any fee for the timely filing of a petition unless that fee was required at the time the application was approved.

Text:

HR 628 IH

110th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 628

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that an individual may file an orphan petition for at least 2 years after approval of an advanced processing application.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2007

Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Mr. PRICE of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that an individual may file an orphan petition for at least 2 years after approval of an advanced processing application.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act'.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE ORPHAN PETITION.

(a) In General- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that any covered individual may file an orphan petition for at least 2 years after the approval of the individual's advanced processing application.

(b) Fees and Requirements- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not require a covered individual who timely files an orphan petition to pay any fees or complete any requirements that--

(1) the individual has already paid or completed in conjunction with the advanced processing application; or

(2) are contingent on the amount of time that elapses between the approval of the advanced processing application and the filing of the orphan petition.

(c) Additional Fees- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not require any person who was a covered individual on the date of enactment of this Act to pay any fee for the timely filing of an orphan petition, unless that fee was required at the time the advanced processing application was approved.

(d) Definitions- In this section:

(1) The term `covered individual' means any individual whose advanced processing application was approved on or after July 1, 2005.

(2) The term `orphan petition' means the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative or such form that is a successor to that form.

(3) The term `advanced processing application' means the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition or such form that is a successor to that form.