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Widows and Orphans Act of 2005

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 16, 2005

Widows and Orphans Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to create a new special immigrant visa category N for certain alien minors and females referred by a U.S. Government agency who have a credible fear of harm due to age or sex and who lack adequate protection.

States that special immigrant status for such individuals shall be adjudicated within 45 days and that, if granted, the alien shall be paroled into the United States and allowed to apply for adjustment of status within one year of arrival.

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees on progress toward implementing the N visa provisions of this Act.

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Bars an alien's admission into the United States until a search of each database maintained by a Federal agency or department has been conducted to determine whether the alien is ineligible for admission on criminal, security, or related grounds. Requires aliens to be fingerprinted and to submit such fingerprints and other required biometric data to the Secretary within 30 days of entry. Requires completion of database searches within 180 days of entry.

Authorizes administrative review of a determination that an alien is ineligible for admission on criminal, security, or related grounds based on a database search. Precludes judicial review of such determinations.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
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Who introduced it

Sen. Brownback, Sam [R-KS] · R–KS

Committees

  • Judiciary Committee
3 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2854)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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