Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act

This bill, the Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act, helps people from China’s Xinjiang region who face severe abuse find safety in the United States. It gives them Priority 2 refugee status, a faster track used for urgent cases. It covers residents and former residents of Xinjiang, people who fled to other parts of China or third countries, and close family members. Processing can happen in China or another country. Applicants can’t be turned away just because they also qualify for another visa, and protest-related arrests or detentions can’t be used to deny them. People admitted under this bill don’t count against annual immigration caps .

It also eases other rules. For this group, the usual rule that visitors are presumed to plan to immigrate does not apply if they meet set conditions (such as having lived in Xinjiang, fled after 2009, and seeking to enter to apply for asylum due to repression). Seeking refugee or asylum status can’t be used as proof they intend to stay permanently. If China revokes someone’s residency or nationality because they sought U.S. protection, that is treated as persecution and a changed circumstance for asylum decisions. The U.S. will press allies to offer similar help. The law lasts 10 years and requires regular public reports on backlogs, wait times, and denials .

Key points

• Who is affected: Uyghurs and other minorities from Xinjiang, including those who fled and their close family members.
• What changes: Priority 2 refugee access; not counted against yearly caps; protest-related arrests can’t be used to deny; special visa presumption is waived for this group; revocation of residency counts as persecution; regular public reporting; U.S. encourages allies to do the same .
• When: Reports start 180 days after enactment and continue every 90 days; the act ends 10 years after it takes effect .