Public Description:
H.R. 4885, the Comprehensive Immigration Fairness Act, would create an amnesty for illegal aliens who have been physically present in the U.S. for five years and have never been convicted of a criminal offense. In addition to this general amnesty, it would include special amnesties for Haitians and Liberians. The bill would also increase annual admissions of refugee and aslyees by allowing refugee/asylee status for certain adult unmarried children of refugees and asylees and would establish gender based persecution as grounds for refugee status. Finally, the bill would increase the cap on lottery visas from 55,000 to 110,000 annually.