< back
PRESIDENT SIGNS TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS BILL
In October, President Clinton signed H.R. 783, the "Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994" amending a number of portions of the country's immigration laws. The legislation extended three programs that would have expired on September 30, 1994 - the visa waiver pilot program, the pilot off-campus work program for F-1 non-immigrant students and the special immigrant provisions for religious workers. The legislation also eases naturalization requirements for some and toughens restrictions on criminal aliens. 
The visa waiver pilot program, which allows nationals of 22 countries to enter the U.S. as B non-immigrant visitors without advance consulate clearance, was extended until September 30, 1996. The program has also been amended to allow countries to be added to the waiver program on a "probationary" basis if, based on various tests, the country whose national have a low incidence of exclusion, visa refusals, and violation of the terms of their admissions. 
The off campus work program for students has been extended for two years until September 30, 1996. The program remains largely unchanged, still requiring a cumbersome attestation procedure for employers. 
The sunset provision for special immigrant religious workers has also been extended through September 30, 1997. 
H.R. 783 makes a number of changes to the rules for acquiring and retaining citizenship. The new law expands the waiver of the English language and U.S. government and history requirements for certain elderly and physically and mentally impaired applicants. The new law also allows certain children of U.S. citizen mothers who were born outside the U.S. before May 24, 1934 to claim U.S. citizenship if they were born in America, but lost their citizenship because of failing to meet physical presence rules. The requirement of having an "intent to reside permanently" in the U.S. after being naturalized has been eliminated. In reality, revoking citizenship for those violating this rule has rarely been exercised. 
H.R. 783 expands the exclusion and deportation rules to cover a number of new criminal offenses. Those attempting in addition to those committing crimes of moral turpitude or involving controlled substances are now covered. Those attempting or conspiring to commit acts involving torture are now covered as are those committing firearms offenses, those violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 and those committing visa document fraud. 
Finally, H.R. 783 now provides immigration benefits to the children of the spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen if the spouse was married to the citizen for two years before the citizen died. Previously, just the spouse received the benefit.