The
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA
PATRIOT)" Act of 2001
SECTION-by-SECTION SUMMARY
IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS
TITLE IV-PROTECTING THE BORDER
SUBTITLE A-Protecting the Northern Border
Section 401: Ensuring Adequate Personnel on the
Northern Border
ˇ Waives FTE cap on personnel
Section 402: Northern Border Personnel
ˇ Authorizes funds to triple Border Patrol on Northern
Border
Section 403: Access by DOS and INS to FBI Criminal
History Records
ˇ Provides access to FBI National Crime Information
Center's Interstate Identification Index (NCIC III) files
ˇ Mandates development and certification within 2 years
of a technology standard that can be used to verify the
identity of persons applying for a visa or seeking to
enter the United States.
Section 404: Limited Authority to Pay Overtime
ˇ Authorizes overtime pay for INS employees
Section 405: Report on Automated Fingerprint System
ˇ Mandates report on feasibility of enhancing the FBI's
Automated Fingerprint Identification system (IAFIS)
SUBTITLE B-Enhanced Immigration Provisions
Section 411: Definitions Relating to Terrorism
ˇ Adds new grounds of inadmissibility for
representatives of foreign terrorist organizations or any
group that publicly endorses acts of terrorist activity,
and spouses and children of aliens who are inadmissible
on any of the terrorism-related grounds;
ˇ Provides new unreviewable authority to Secretary of
State to designate any group, foreign or domestic, as a
terrorist organization, upon publication in the Federal
Register;
ˇ Makes any fundraising, solicitation for membership, or
material support (even for humanitarian projects)
of groups that are designated terrorist organizations by
the Secretary of State a deportable offense (without
regard to whether such activities were in furtherance of
actual terrorist activity);
ˇ Makes solicitation of funds or other material support
for groups NOT officially designated as "terrorist
organizations" a deportable offense unless the
person can prove that he "did not know, and should
not reasonably have known, that the solicitation would
further the organizations' terrorist activity; ..."
ˇ Certain limits on retroactivity are provided in cases
where a person previously provided materials support to
the humanitarian projects of a terrorist organization
before it was designated as such by the Secretary of
State;
Section 412. Mandatory Detention of Suspected
Terrorists; Habeas Corpus; Judicial Review
ˇ Provides that the Attorney General or the Deputy
Attorney General (with no power of delegation) may
certify an alien as a terrorist if they have reasonable
grounds to believe that the alien is a terrorist or has
committed a terrorist activity;
ˇ Requires mandatory detention of a person so certified.
Certified persons shall remain in custody irrespective of
any relief from removal that they may eligible for or
granted. If the person is finally determined not to be
removable, they may no longer be detained under this
section;
ˇ Allows the INS to detain a suspected terrorist alien
for seven days before bringing immigration or criminal
charges. Aliens not charged within seven days shall be
released;
ˇ Provides habeas review of the detention and the basis
for the certification;
ˇ Provides judicial review by habeas in any district
court otherwise having jurisdiction to entertain it.
Decisions in any district will be based on the rule of
law in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia, and all appeals will be made to the Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia;
ˇ For any person with a final order for removal who is
detained under this section beyond the removal period,
Attorney General must review such detention every 6
months. Continued detention is allowed only upon a
showing that "the release of the alien will
endanger the national security of the United States or
the safety of the community or any person;"
ˇ The Attorney General shall review the certification of
any person every 6 months. If, in the Attorney General's
discretion, it is determined that the certification
should be revoked the person may be released. Any
certified person may request a reconsideration of their
certification every six months and submit documents or
evidence to support that request;
ˇ Requires that the Attorney General must submit a
report to Congress on the use of this section every six
months.
Section 413. Multilateral Cooperation Against
Terrorists
ˇ This section provides that State Department records
can be provided to a foreign government on a case-by-case
basis for the purpose of preventing, investigating, or
punishing acts of terrorism. Under current law, the
records of the State Department pertaining to the
issuance of or refusal to issue visas to enter the U.S.
are confidential and can be used only in the formulation
and enforcement of U.S. law.
Section 414: Visa Integrity and Security
ˇ Expresses the sense of Congress that the integrated
entry and exit data system (Section 110 of the INA)
should be fully implemented at all ports of entry "with
all deliberate speed and as expeditiously as practicable",
and that the establishment of the Integrated Entry and
Exit Data System Task Force should begin immediately. It
also authorizes the appropriation funds to accomplish
this goal.
ˇ The development of the system will focus on the use of
biometric technology and tamper resistant documents. The
system must also interface with law enforcement databases
to identify and detain individuals who pose a threat to
the national security of the United States.
ˇ Within 12 months, the Office of Homeland Security is
required to report to Congress on the information that is
needed from various government agencies to effectively
screen visa applicants and applicants for admission.
Section 415: Participation of Office of Homeland
Security on Entry-Exit Task Force
ˇ Authorizes the Office of Homeland Security to be
included in the Integrated Entry and Exit Data System
Task Force established in Section 3 of the Immigration
and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement
Act of 2000.
Section 416: Foreign Student Monitoring Program.
ˇ Requires the full implementation of the Foreign
Student Visa Monitoring Program established by Section
641(a) of IIRAIRA. The program is expanded to
include all education institutions that are approved to
receive foreign students.
Section 417: Machine Readable Passports.
ˇ Requires all countries designated to participate in
the Visa Waiver Program to satisfy the requirement of
issuing machine-readable passports by October 1, 2003,
instead of 2007. The Secretary of State is required to
perform annual audits of the designation of countries
participating in the visa waiver program.
Section 418: Prevention of Consulate Shopping.
ˇ The Secretary of State shall review how consular
officers issue visas to determine if consular shopping is
a problem.
Subtitle C- Preservation of Immigration Benefits for
Victims of Terrorism
Section 421. Special Immigrant Status
ˇ Provides special immigrant status to any alien whose
family or employment based immigrant petition, fiancé
visa, or application for labor certification was revoked
or terminated (or otherwise rendered null) due to the
death, disability or loss of employment (due to the
physical damage or destruction of the business) of
the petitioner, applicant, or beneficiary as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks.
ˇ The relief is also available to the spouses and
children who were either accompanying the principle
applicant, or who are following to join the principle
applicant up to two years later (September 11, 2003).
ˇ The grandparents of any child whose parents died in
the attacks may also qualify for this status if either of
the parents were U.S. citizens or legal permanent
residents.
ˇ In determining eligibility for an immigrant visa, the
public charge grounds of inadmissibility shall not apply
to these special immigrants.
Section 422. Extension of Filing or Reentry Deadlines
ˇ Provides that an alien who was legally in a
nonimmigrant status and was disabled as a direct result
of the terrorist attacks (and his or her spouse and
children) may remain lawfully in the U.S. (and receive
work authorization) until the later of the date that his
or her status normally terminates or one year after the
death or onset of disability.
ˇ Such status is also provided to the nonimmigrant
spouse and children of an alien who died as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks.
ˇ An alien who was lawfully present as a nonimmigrant at
the time of the terrorist attacks will be granted 60
additional days to file an application for extension or
change of status if the alien was prevented from so
filing as a direct result of the terrorist attacks.
ˇ An alien who was lawfully present as a nonimmigrant at
the time of the attacks but was then unable to timely
depart the U.S. as a direct result of the attacks will be
considered to have departed timely if the departure
occurs before November 11, and will not be considered to
have accrued unlawful presence during that period.
ˇ An alien (and his or her spouse and children)
who was in a lawful nonimmigrant status at the time of
the attacks but not in the U.S. at that time, and was
prevented from returning to the U.S. in order to file a
timely application for an extension of status as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks will be given 60
additional days to file an application and will have his
or her status extended 60 days beyond the original due
date of the application.
ˇ Under current law, winners of the fiscal year 2001
diversity visa lottery must enter the U.S. or adjust
status by September 30, 2001. This Act provides that such
an alien may enter the U.S. or adjust status until April
1, 2002, if the alien can establish that he or she was
prevented from doing so by September 30 as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks. If the visa quota for
the 2001 diversity visa program has already been
exceeded, the alien shall be counted under the 2002
program.
ˇ If a winner of the 2001 lottery died as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks, the spouse and children
of the alien shall still be eligible for permanent
residence under the program until June 30, 2002. The
ceiling placed on the number of diversity immigrants
shall not be exceeded in any case.
ˇ Any immigrant visa that expires before December 31,
2001 shall be extended until that date, if an alien was
unable to timely enter the U.S. on the visa as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks.
ˇ In the case of an alien who was granted parole that
expired on or after September 11, if the alien was unable
to enter the U.S. prior to the expiration date as a
direct result of the terrorist attacks, the parole is
extended an additional 90 days.
ˇ In the case of an alien granted voluntary departure
that expired between September 11 and October 11, 2001,
voluntary departure is extended an additional 30 days.
Section 423. Humanitarian Relief for Certain Surviving
Spouses and Children
ˇ Current law provides that an alien who was the spouse
of a U.S. citizen for at least two years before the
citizen died shall remain eligible for immigrant status
as an immediate relative. This also applies to the
children of the alien. This section provides that if the
citizen dies as a direct result of the terrorist attacks,
the two-year requirement is waived.
ˇ If an alien spouse, child, or unmarried adult son or
daughter had been the beneficiary of an immigrant visa
petition filed by a permanent resident who died as a
direct result of the terrorist attacks, the alien will
still be eligible for permanent residence. In addition,
if an alien spouse, child, or unmarried adult son or
daughter of a permanent resident who died as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks was present in the U.S.
on September 11 but had not yet been petitioned for, the
alien can self-petition for permanent residence. These
family members may be eligible for deferred action and
work authorization.
ˇ This section further provides that an alien spouse or
child of an alien who 1) died as a direct result of the
terrorist attacks and 2) was a permanent resident (petitioned-for
by an employer) or an applicant for adjustment of
status for an employment-based immigrant visa, may have
his or her application for adjustment adjudicated despite
the death (if the application was filed prior to the
death).
ˇ The grounds of inadmissibility related to public
charge shall not apply to an applicant for permanent
residency under this section.
Section 424. "Age-Out"
Protection for Children
ˇ Provides that an alien whose 21st birthday occurs this
September and who is a beneficiary for a petition or
application filed on or before September 11 shall be
considered to remain a child for 90 days after the
alien's 21st birthday. For an alien whose 21st birthday
occurs after this September, the alien shall be
considered to remain a child for 45 days after the
alien's 21st birthday.
Section 425. Temporary Administrative Relief
ˇ Provides that temporary administrative relief may be
provided, for humanitarian purposes or to ensure family
unity, to an alien who was lawfully present on September
10, and who was on that date the spouse, parent or child
of someone who died or was disabled as a direct result of
the terrorist attacks, and is not otherwise entitled to
relief under any other provision of Subtitle B.
Section 426. Evidence of Death, Disability, or Loss of
Employment
ˇ The Attorney General shall establish appropriate
standards for evidence demonstrating that a death,
disability, or loss of employment due to physical damage
to, or destruction of, a business, occurred as a direct
result of the terrorist attacks on September 11. The
Attorney General is not required to promulgate
regulations prior to implementing Subtitle B.
Section 427. No Benefit to Terrorists or Family
Members of Terrorists
ˇ No benefit under Subtitle B shall be provided to
anyone culpable for the terrorist attacks on September 11
or to any family member of such an individual.
Section 428. Definitions
ˇ The term "specified terrorist activity"
means any terrorist activity conducted against the
Government or the people of the U.S. on September 11,
2001.
TITLE X--MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 1006: Inadmissibility of Aliens Engaged in
Money Laundering.
ˇ Makes inadmissible any person who a consular officer
or the Attorney General knows, or has reason to believe,
has engaged, is engaging, or will engage in an offense
relating to money laundering.
ˇ Requires the Secretary of State to establish, within
90 days, a watch list that identifies individuals
worldwide who are known or suspected of money laundering,
which is readily accessible to, and shall be checked by,
a consular or other Federal official prior to the
issuance of a visa or admission to the United States
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