Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 2.djvu/354

 96 STAT. 1716

PUBLIC LAW 97-359—OCT. 22, 1982

Public Law 97- •359 97th Congress

An Act Oct. 22, 1982 [S. 1698] Immigration and Nationality Act, amendment; certain children of U.S. citizens, admission. 8 USC 1151, 1153.

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide preferential treatment in the admission of certain children of United States citizens.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(g)(1) Any alien claiming to be an alien described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection (or any person on behalf of such an alien) may file a petition with the Attorney General for classification under section 201(b), 203(a)(1), or 203(a)(4), as appropriate. After an investigation of the facts of each case the Attorney General shall, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) are met, approve the petition and forward one copy to the Secretary of State. "(2) The Attorney General may approve a petition for an alien under paragraph (1) if— "(A) he has reason to believe that the alien (i) was born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand after 1950 and before the date of the enactment of this subsection, and (ii) was fathered by a United States citizen; "(B) he has received an acceptable guarantee of legal custody and financial responsibility described in paragraph (4); and "(C) in the case of an alien under eighteen years of age, (i) the alien's placement with a sponsor in the United States has been arranged by an appropriate public, private, or State child welfare agency licensed in the United States and actively involved in the intercountry placement of children and (ii) the alien's mother or guardian has in writing irrevocably released the alien for emigration. "(3) In considering petitions filed under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall— "(A) consult with appropriate governmental officials and officials of private voluntary organizations in the country of the alien's birth in order to make the determinations described in subparagraphs (A) and (C)(i) of paragraph 2; and "(B) consider the physical appearance of the alien and any evidence provided by the petitioner, including birth and baptismal certificates, local civil records, photographs of, and letters or proof of financial support from, a putative father who is a citizen of the United States, and the testimony of witnesses, to the extent it is relevant or probative. "(4)(A) A guarantee of legal custody and financial responsibility for an alien described in paragraph (2) must— "(i) be signed in the presence of an immigration officer or consular officer by an individual (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the 'sponsor') who is twenty-one years of age or older, is of good moral character, and is a citizen of the United States or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and

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