Speech #850287885

Speaker. under leave to extend my remarks in the REcORD. I wish to submit an interim report on the administration of the act of September 11. 1957Public Law 85316. Subcommittee No. 1 of the Committee on the Judiciary. in charge of legislation relating to immigration and nationality matters. is exercising continuous scrutiny of administrative operations authorized under the act of September 11. 1957Public Law 85316and is pleased to submit for the information of the Members of the House an informal report on the effect of that law. Public Law 85316 is a special immigration statute designed mainly to expedite the admission into the United States of orphaned children adopted by United States citizens as well as to facilitate the entry of highly skilled persons and certain close relatives of United States citizens and aliens lawfully residing in this country. Public Law 85316 also contains a provision under which special nonquota immigrant visas allocated. but not used. under the expired Refugee Relief Act of 1953. as amended. have been reallocated to specifically defined classes of aliens. Certain provisions of Public Law 85316 are designed to remain a part of our permanent immigration statutes. while other provisions of the same law are temporary. Subcommittee No. 1 of the Committee on the Judiciary intends to investigate the advisability of extending some of these temporary provisions. should the continuous study of the administration of the law warrant such extension. Further. Public Law 85316 vested in the Attorney General of the United States certain discretionary powers to waive. under prescribed circumstances. specified grounds for exclusion of aliens. mostly in the case where the enforcement of exclusion would tend to create hardship to close relatives of the excluded alien. such relatives being United States citizens or lawfully residing aliens. For the purpose of efficient and expeditious administration of the statute. the Attorney General of the United States has sought and obtained the concurrence of the Secretary of State in the assignment of officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to certain United States consular offices abroad so that an interrogation of aliens applying for relief under Public Law 85316 and a determination of their eligibility to benefit from the waivers therein provided could be made without the necessity of forwarding of each case to the central office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for action. Subcommittee No. 1 of the Committee on the Judiciary was pleased to note that the Secretary of State has agreed to the assignment of duly authorized immigration officers to the United States consular offices at Frankfort. Germany. Vienna.