Speech #1100051906

The Senator from New Jersey speaks eloquently about this issue on a very personal level. I am proud to be the author of an amendment with him and others to try to improve this legislation. This amendment would unite parents with their families In the United States by increasing the cap on green cards issued to them. extending the duration of the newly created parent visa. and ensuring that penalties imposed on people overstaying this visa are not unfairly applied to others. as they would be in this legislation. Under current law. parents of U.S. citizens are defined as immediate relatives. along with spouses and minor children. and are exempt from green card caps. Under the proposed legislation. S. 1348. parents would be removed from this category and subject to an annual cap of 40.000 green cards. This amendlment increases the cap on green cards in this bill to 90.000. That is about the average annual number of green cards issued to parents of U.S. citizens. Second. we are trying to extend the duration of the newly created parent visitor visa to 180 days. Under this bill. the amount of time a parent could stay here under a parent visitor visa is limited to 30 days per year. On the other hand. a tourist visa is valid for 180 days per year. The idea that your parent can only come here for 30 days is something that is offensive to a lot of Americans who believe in the value and importance of children and parents being together. This amendment would also ensure that penalties imposed on overstays are not unfairly applied to others. as they would be in this legislation. If the number of overstays exceeds 7 percent. individuals from disproportionately highrisk countries could be barred from coming to the United States on this visa program or the entire program could be terminated. I hardly think it necessary to make the case about the value of parents and children being united for a period of time and what it means. if you are parents yourselves. to be able to have grandparents spend some time with their grandchildren. We take great pride in that.