Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/827

 123STA T .807PUBLIC LA W 111 – 8 —M A R .11, 200 9TI T LEV I AFGH A N ALLIE SPRO TE C TION ACT OF 20 0 9SEC.601 .S HORT T I T L E. T his A ctmaybe cite d as the ‘ ‘A fg ha n A l lies P ro tection Act of 2009 ’ ’ . SEC. 60 2 . P ROTECTIO NF OR A F G HAN ALLIES. ( a ) A P P RO PR IATE CO M MITTEE S O F CO NG RESS D EFINE D . — In this section , the term ‘‘a p propriate committees of Congress’’ means— ( 1 ) the Committee on Armed Ser v ices, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on the Ju diciary of the Senate and (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. (b) SPE C IA L IMMIGRANT STAT U S FOR CERTAIN AFG H ANS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Sub j ect to paragraph ( 3 ), the Secretary of Homeland Security, or, not w ithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of State in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may provide an alien described in subparagraph (A), ( B ), or (C) of paragraph (2) with the status of a special immigrant under section 101(a)(2 7 ) of the Immigra - tion and Nationality Act ( 8U .S.C. 1101(a)(27)), if the alien— (A) or an agent acting on behalf of the alien, submits a petition for classification under section 203(b)( 4 ) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 11 5 3(b)(4)); (B) is otherwise eligible to receive an immigrant visa; (C) is otherwise admissible to the United States for permanent residence (e x cluding the grounds for inadmis- sibility specified in section 212(a)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)); and (D) clears a bac k ground check and appropriate screening, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. (2) ALIENS DESCRI B ED.— (A) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—An alien is described in this subparagraph if the alien— (i) is a citi z en or national of Afghanistan; (ii) was or is employed by or on behalf of the United States Government in Afghanistan on or after October 7, 2001, for not less than one year; (iii) provided faithful and valuable service to the United States Government, which is documented in a positive recommendation or evaluation, subject to subparagraph (D), from the employee’s senior super- visor or the person currently occupying that position, or a more senior person, if the employee’s senior super- visor has left the employer or has left Afghanistan; and (iv) has experienced or is experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a conse q uence of the alien’s employ- ment by the United States Government. (B) SPOUSE OR CHILD.—An alien is described in this subparagraph if the alien— Afghan A l l iesProt e c tion Act of 20 0 9.8USC1 101 note.