Sponsor
Juan Vargas
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
The bill secures lawful permanent residence and rescinds removal grounds for a named individual while preserving visa caps, at the cost of a one-slot reduction for other nationals, a denial of certain family reunification benefits, and a narrow waiver that raises fairness concerns.
Maria Cordova can apply for and obtain an immigrant visa or adjust to lawful permanent resident status if she files within two years, allowing her to lawfully remain in the U.S. and access rights tied to LPR status.
Existing removal or inadmissibility orders against Maria Cordova based on the waived grounds must be rescinded, preventing her deportation on those bases.
The Secretary of State will adjust the immigrant visa allocation by one for her country so that overall numerical limits for other applicants are preserved.
Maria Cordova's parents, brothers, and sisters are explicitly denied immigration benefits under this act, blocking family-based preference claims and limiting family reunification options for them.
The bill waives certain grounds of inadmissibility/removal as of enactment for this case, creating a narrow carve-out that bypasses ordinary adjudication processes and may raise fairness and precedent concerns for other applicants.
Granting a visa to Maria Cordova reduces the available immigrant visa numbers for nationals of her country by one in the current or next fiscal year, which could delay immigration for one other applicant.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Makes Maria Cordova eligible for an immigrant visa or adjustment to lawful permanent resident status, waives recorded inadmissibility/removal grounds, and deducts one visa from her birth country's allocation.
Grants Maria Cordova eligibility for an immigrant visa or adjustment to lawful permanent resident status regardless of numerical limits, so long as she files the required application and fees within two years of enactment. If she is already in the United States when she files, the law treats her as having entered and remained lawfully and allows adjustment of status as of enactment. Waives recorded grounds of removal or inadmissibility reflected in DHS or State Department records as of enactment, requires DHS to rescind any related removal orders or findings, and reduces the applicable immigrant visa numerical allocation for natives of her birth country by one in the current or next fiscal year. Her close relatives receive no immigration preference or benefit from this grant.
Official title: For the relief of Maria Cordova.
Introduced August 24, 2026 by Juan Vargas · Last progress August 24, 2026