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Lawyers serving individuals throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area, including:

Private Bills and Immigration

By Minneapolis Immigration Law Firm Cundy and Martin, LLC

www.cundyandmartin.com

What is a Private Bill for Immigration?  Can I get a Green Card?

Sometimes the law against an immigrant or illegal alien is so clear that there is essentially no defense to deportation available.  When the law clearly makes an immigrant alien removable or deportable and it is evident that DHS or ICE intends to begin removal or deportation proceedings, the only possible avenue of relief open to the alien may be a private bill. 

A private bill is proposed legislation (law) in Congress which only benefits one person or a small number of persons (usually a family).  A private bill may be introduced by either a U.S. Senator or a member of the House of Representatives.  If the private bill becomes law, it may result in permanent resident status or a green card.

Are Private Immigration Bills Difficult?

While private bills can provide a means of stopping deportation, it should be emphasized that private bills are rarely ever passed into law.  The last known private bill enacted into law was at the end of the 108th Congress (December of 2004).  However, even if the private bill is never enacted into law, it may still benefit the alien enormously by suspending removal proceedings during its consideration.  “A stay will generally be authorized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when it receives a request for a report on information concerning a beneficiary’s case from either the Senate or House Subcommittee Chairman.”  Private Immigration Legislation, Congressional Research Service, 2007, at page 3.

Who can Authorize or Write a Private Bill for Immigration?

It is also important to attempt to determine which members of Congress are willing to even consider requests for private bills and which are not.  Some members of Congress are only willing to consider requests for private bills from their own constituents (persons living within their districts).  Others are not willing to consider any private legislation at all, whether the request is from a constituent or not.  At times, a representative and a senator introduce private bills in their own bodies nearly simultaneously on behalf of the same immigrant.  In one case, the representative and the senator were from different states, showing that members of Congress sometimes introduce private bills on behalf of non-constituents.

Most of the time the biggest hurdle can be trying to get someone in Congress to author your bill.  After that, there is still the work of drafting the bill.  It takes an experienced immigration lawyer to tackle such matters.

Finally, it must be remembered that all members of Congress are politicians and thus it may be difficult to convince a politician to introduce private legislation if such an action could be used against them by their opponents in an upcoming election campaign.  Thus, the alien will face an uphill battle in getting private legislation introduced if the reason for the alien’s removal is a criminal conviction, even if the criminal conviction occurred many years ago.  

www.cundyandmartin.com