Mr. President. today I have introduced legislation which would permit spouses and children of permanent residents to receive visitors and student visas. This bill is designed to correct a serious inequity in immigration law which prevents these aliens from coming to the United States to see their immediate family members. Currently. there is a 2- to 4year backlog in the processing of permanent resident visa petitions for spouses and children of individuals who are now permanent residents. This has caused the long period of separation for many families. The families are not only separated because of the delay in the application process. Because spouse:- and children have indicated a desire to immigrate to the United States through their permanent resident petitions. U.S. consulates abroad imply that they intend to move permanently to America and deny visitor and student visas to them. Therefore. the spouses and children of permanent residents cannot even visit their families. The bill I am introducing today would correct this serious inequity by eliminating the implication that a petition for permanent residence suggests that an alien intends to abandon his or her foreign residence. Nevertheless. this legislation envisions the possibility that some may violate the terms of their visas by overstaying the period which the visa provides. It penalizes spouses or children of permanent residents who overstay their visas by allowing the Secretary of State to delay their permanent visa petitions for 1 year if visa durations are violated. Once again. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation.
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immigrate immigration visas visa