HR 1405 - Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2017

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a Veterans visa program to permit veterans who have been removed from the United States to return as immigrants and for other purposes.

• Crime of violence is defined as an offence for which a noncitizen has served a term of at least five years in prison.
• A program should be established by the Secretary of Homeland Security, no later than the first 180 days after this Act is enacted, that allows
  • deported vets who meet the requirements to enter the U.S. as lawfully admitted permanent residents
  • non-citizen veterans to adjust status to that of a legal permanent resident
  • stop the removal of non-citizen veterans
• There will be no limitation on the number of veterans who can receive benefits
• A veteran will remain eligible for such program if they were not deported for committing a crime of violence or one that does not endanger U.S. national security
• A veteran will be protected from deportation unless they have a criminal conviction for a crime of violence
• A non-citizen with status of a lawfully admitted permanent resident is eligible for naturalization
  • Any grounds for previous orders for deportation will be disregarded in determining if the noncitizen is a person of good moral character
  • Previous absence from the US due to deportation will be disregarded when determining if a non-citizen meets requirements relating to continuous residence or physical presence.
• A non-citizen who has changed status to that of a lawfully admitted permanent resident will be eligible for military and veterans’ benefits.
• The Secretary of Homeland Security will identify cases involving veterans at risk of deportation by
  • asking every non-citizen who has been processed whether they are serving or have served
  • seeking approval from a supervisor before beginning deportation proceedings against a service member or veteran
  • keeping a record of veterans and service members who had deportation proceedings initiated against them
• When the Secretary identifies a case, they will annotate all immigration and naturalization records of the Department of Homeland Security relating to the non-citizen. This information will include
  • the branch of military service the individual served in
  • whether they served during a period of military hostilities
  • the immigration status at time of enlistment
  • whether the individual served honorably or was honorably discharged
  • the grounds for deportation and whether they were criminal
• The Secretary of Homeland Security has 90 days after the enactment of the Act to broadcast the rules to implement the Act