Afghan Adjustment Act
Sponsored By: Representative Miller-Meeks
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a pathway to conditional and, in some cases, permanent residence for specified Afghan nationals. It would also expand refugee admissions, set up remote processing and referrals for Afghan allies, and add a new family-based special immigrant visa category.
Show full summary
- Families and eligible Afghans in the United States would be able to seek adjustment to conditional lawful permanent resident status. Conditions may be removed no earlier than four years after the admission or parole date or by July 1, 2027, and initial status and work-authorizing documents cannot carry a fee.
- Afghan allies outside the United States would gain a named referral program and remote refugee processing. The Defense Department and other agencies would use a secure portal for referrals and biometrics, and Afghan allies are designated refugees of special humanitarian concern for at least 10 years.
- Relatives of U.S. service members would be eligible for a new family-based SIV category capped at 2,500 principal visas per year with carryover and a 10,000 overall ceiling. The bill authorizes virtual interviews, quarterly program reporting, and a 10-year nationwide waiver of certain DHS and State fees.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Conditional green cards for Afghans in U.S.
This bill would let certain Afghans in the U.S. apply for conditional permanent residence. You would need to be an Afghan national (or stateless with last residence in Afghanistan), already in the U.S., and not already a permanent resident. You must have been inspected and admitted by enactment, or paroled between July 30, 2021 and enactment, and not have entered between ports on the southwest border. DHS would pause parole expiration while your case is reviewed and could waive some inadmissibility grounds for humanitarian reasons. Conditions could be removed no earlier than four years after your admission or July 1, 2027 (whichever comes first), and DHS would aim to remove them within 180 days after that date.
New visas for troops' Afghan relatives
This bill would create a special immigrant visa for Afghan parents, brothers, and sisters of U.S. service members or veterans. Up to 2,500 principal visas could be given each year. Unused visas would roll over to the next year. No more than 10,000 total principal visas could be issued before the program ends.
Injured Afghan workers count, deadlines extended
If enacted, time spent in qualifying work would still count if you were wounded or seriously injured and had to stop working. The bill would extend program timing and deadlines. Fiscal years would run through 2029, with deadlines moved to December 31, 2029 and January 31, 2030.
Online referrals and remote processing for Afghans
The bill would require a Defense-led way to apply for Afghan ally status and ask for a refugee referral within 180 days, with a secure online portal, one appeal, and one chance to reopen. State and DHS would use video interviews, remote reviews, and remote signatures; kids under 5 would not need to sign. While no U.S. embassy operates in Afghanistan, State would name an office to do embassy-like services and issue travel documents. DHS could accept biometrics prepared by approved groups or agencies, with identity checks. The bill also clarifies who counts as an Afghan ally, generally based on listed roles or support for at least one year between Dec 22, 2001 and Sep 1, 2021.
Refugee-like benefits for covered Afghans
If enacted, Afghans admitted or adjusted under these rules would get the same resettlement help and benefits as refugees, for the same time. The bill would keep benefits from the 2022 Afghanistan law in place while your case is being considered or after adjustment. It would also exempt people adjusted under this Act from the usual five-year wait for some means‑tested public benefits.
Task force to plan Afghan resettlement
The bill would set up an interagency Task Force within 180 days to plan Afghan resettlement and emergency actions. It would include State, DHS, Defense, HHS, Justice, and intelligence officials. Within 180 days of forming, it would report to Congress with counts, eligibility estimates, processing plans, third‑country capacity, needed resources, and cost estimates.
Lower or waived fees for Afghans
This bill would bar fees for Afghan SIV and status filings, for refugee referral requests under the new ally program, and for initial green card or work card documents issued under this section. It would also let DHS and State waive fees for Afghans applying for certain family-based immigrant visas for 10 years. The fee-waiver power is discretionary, so agencies could decide case by case.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Miller-Meeks
IA • R
Cosponsors
Crow
CO • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Ciscomani
AZ • R
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Auchincloss
MA • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Salazar
FL • R
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Houlahan
PA • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Bacon
NE • R
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Lofgren
CA • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Nunn (IA)
IA • R
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Moulton
MA • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Baumgartner
WA • R
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Bera
CA • D
Sponsored 8/5/2025
Vindman
VA • D
Sponsored 9/11/2025
Smucker
PA • R
Sponsored 9/16/2025
Lawler
NY • R
Sponsored 9/16/2025
Crenshaw
TX • R
Sponsored 10/6/2025
Sherrill
NJ • D
Sponsored 10/6/2025
Stanton
AZ • D
Sponsored 10/6/2025
Latimer
NY • D
Sponsored 10/6/2025
Schweikert
AZ • R
Sponsored 10/6/2025
Kamlager-Dove
CA • D
Sponsored 11/12/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govRelated Bills
HR1262 — Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
Speeds and strengthens pediatric cancer drug development. It expands which cancer products companies must study in children, reshapes organ transplant network governance and fees, and adds new FDA international and transparency steps. - Children with cancer and researchers: Requires pediatric studies that produce clinically meaningful data on dosing, safety, and early effectiveness and widens the kinds of drug combinations studied. It also sets aside $25 million for pediatric drug studies in each of fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028. - Transplant patients and transplant network members: Changes Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network governance and financing by allowing quarterly registration fees, requiring those fees fund OPTN operations, improving electronic health record integration, and calling for a GAO review within two years. - FDA partners and drug makers: Creates an Abraham Accords Office to boost regulatory coordination and technical assistance abroad, and forces more transparency during generic (ANDA) reviews about whether generics are qualitatively and quantitatively the same as listed drugs. It also raises the Medicare Improvement Fund amount from $1.4 billion to $2.6 billion. Increases federal outlays by roughly $1.3 billion, driven by a $1.2 billion boost to the Medicare Improvement Fund and $75 million for pediatric studies, adding to federal spending.
HR842 — Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
Would expand Medicare to cover multi-cancer early detection screening tests. It defines eligible tests as certain FDA-cleared or approved genomic blood tests or comparable biological-sample tests and directs the Secretary to use the national coverage determinations process to decide when they are covered.
HR909 — Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
Would make the False Claims Act apply to deposits to the Crime Victims Fund through FY2029. It would also require an Inspector General audit that sets the audit's scope, timing, and recipients, and the measure is titled the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025. - Entities that make deposits to the Crime Victims Fund would be subject to the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729–3731) for deposits from enactment through FY2029. - An Inspector General audit would examine the Crime Victims Fund and the bill would set the audit's scope, timing, and who receives the report.
HR452 — Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act
This law awards Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team as a formal recognition of their Lake Placid victory and its lasting effect on American morale and the sport of hockey. It directs the Treasury to strike the medals and sets rules for duplicates, display, and funding. - Team legacy and public recognition: The Act honors the 1980 team with a symbolic national award that reinforces their historical and cultural significance for fans, players, and communities connected to the game. - Museum displays and research access: One gold medal goes to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, one to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, and one to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs for display and research. - Mint operations and collectibles: The Secretary of the Treasury will strike the medals, may sell bronze duplicates at prices that cover costs, and classifies the medals as national and numismatic items. The U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund pays for production and receives proceeds from duplicate sales.
HR3514 — Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
Standardize prior authorization in Medicare Advantage plans to make approvals faster and more transparent for beneficiaries and providers. The bill would require plans that use prior authorization to adopt a secure electronic PA program, publish plan-level PA data, and follow federal timeframes and enrollee protections.
HR1329 — Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act
Authorize the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum within the Reserve of the National Mall. It would remove an earlier site-designation limit, set a transfer and notification process for federal land, require exhibits to reflect diverse and authentic women's experiences with defined guidance, and mandate regular reports to Congress. - Smithsonian and the Board of Regents — Would be able to place the museum inside the National Mall Reserve and the bill removes a prior limiting phrase that constrained site designation. - Other federal agencies — Must receive notice before a site under their administrative jurisdiction is designated. The agency head must promptly notify specified House and Senate committees and then transfer administrative jurisdiction as soon as practicable. - Museum visitors and Congress — The Council must ensure exhibits and programs accurately represent varied cultures, histories, events, and values of women and seek guidance from a broad array of knowledgeable and respected sources with definitions for those terms. The Secretary must report to Congress 120 days after enactment and every two years on actions taken and planning.
Take It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Create a free account to save research, track policy impacts, and unlock your personalized versions of these pages.
Already have an account? Sign in