Interoffice memo re Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 as it applies to petitioning.
Date: July 28, 2006
SUBJECT: Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
This memorandum provides guidance for the initial implementation of the recently enacted Immigration Law Reforms to Prevent Sex Offenders from Abusing Children (Title IV of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006).
On July 27, 2006, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4772, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (“Adam Walsh Act”), an Act to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime, to prevent child abuse and child pornography, to promote Internet safety, and to honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other child crime victims.
Section 402 of the Adam Walsh Act amends section 204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to prohibit U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident aliens who have been convicted of any “specified offense against a minor” from filing a family-based immigrant petition (including the Form I-130 and the Petition to Classify Orphan, Form I-600A or I-600) on behalf of any beneficiary, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security determines in his sole and unreviewable discretion that the petitioner poses no risk to the beneficiary. Section 402 of the Adam Walsh Act also amends section 101(a)(15) of the INA to remove spouses or fiancés of U.S. citizens convicted of these offenses from eligibility for “K” nonimmigrant status (Form I-129F).
The operative definition of “specified offense against a minor” is contained in section 111(7) of the Adam Walsh Act
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InterOffice Memorandum
To: Regional Directors
District Directors, including Overseas District Directors
Service Center Directors
National Benefits Center Director
Associate Director, National Security and Records Verification
From: Michael Aytes /s/
Associate Director, Domestic Operations
Date: February 8, 2007
Re: Guidance for Adjudication of Family-Based Petitions and I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
1. Purpose
On July 27, 2006, the President signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, (Adam Walsh Act), Pub. L. 109-248. Title IV of the Adam Walsh Act, “Immigration Law Reforms to Prevent Sex Offenders from Abusing Children” contains two provisions that amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act). This memorandum provides guidance to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices regarding the amendments made by the Adam Walsh Act to sections 204(a)(1)(A)(i), 204(a)(1)(B)(i), 101(a)(15)(K), and 237(a)(2)(A) of the Act.
2. Background
Section 402(a) of the Adam Walsh Act amends sections 204(a)(1)(A)(i) and 204(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act to prohibit U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been convicted of any “specified offense against a minor” from filing a family-based immigrant petition on behalf of any beneficiary, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) determines, in his sole and unreviewable discretion, that the petitioner poses no risk to the beneficiary. Section 402(b) of the Adam Walsh Act amends section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Act to bar U.S. citizens convicted of these offenses from filing nonimmigrant visa petitions to classify their fiancé(e)s, spouses, or minor children as eligible for “K” nonimmigrant status, unless the Secretary determines, in his sole and unreviewable discretion, that the petitioner poses no risk to the beneficiary.
A petitioner who has been convicted of a specified offense against a minor is not simply prohibited from filing on behalf of a minor child. The petitioner is prohibited from filing on behalf of “any” family-based beneficiary under sections 204(a)(1)(A)(i) and 204(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act or in accordance with section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Act. “Any beneficiary” includes a spouse, a fiancé(e), a parent, an unmarried child, an unmarried son or daughter over 21 years of age, an orphan, a married son or daughter, a brother or sister, and any derivative beneficiary permitted to apply for an immigrant visa on the basis of his or her relationship to the principal beneficiary of a family-based petition.
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Pub. L. 109-248 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
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