The bill, Pallone explained, seeks to fill a void in current immigration policy that has resulted in permanent residents, who have entered the United States legally and are gainfully employed, being separated from their spouses and children, often for periods of several years.
"This bill would simply make it easier for family members to come to the United States on a temporary basis, for events such as holidays and weddings, and for those children who wish to attend school," he said, noting the legislation contains provisions "to penalise those who overstay their visas."
Allaying the fears of Conservative Republicans and anti-immigrant advocates, who argue against enhanced quotas for legal immigration, Pallone said his legislation, "...will not result in an increase in the numbers of immigrants admitted annually."
He said it would not have an impact on the labor market either, nor would it have any adverse effects on any government social programs, since the spouses would not be entitled to these benefits.
"It's a very modest proposal, intended only to bring some relief to families separated by unfortunate administrative delays,' he said.
Pallone noted that his legislation is necessary because current law pre-judges non-immigrant visitors who have petitioned for permanent residency.
He said his legislation would eliminate the contention that the mere existence of a petition for permanent residence somehow suggests that an applicant will not return to his or her home, and would remain in the United States after the expiration of a temporary visa.
"My legislation is an equitable solution that simply grants to immigrant family members the same opportunity to visit the United States as all others desiring to come here as visitors or students," Pallone noted.
He said in anticipation of the possibility that some visitors may overstay the period for which the visa provides, his legislation has inbuilt safeguards that would penalise spouses or children of permanent residents who overstay by allowing the US Secretary of State the ability to delay their permanent visa petitions for one year in case of such violation.
Andrew Souvall, Pallone's press secretary, told India Abroad that the legislation was in response to appeals by his South Asian constituents, particularly Indians, and that this bill was a clone of bills he had introduced in the past but had been unable to get enacted.
"He always hears about these issues from his constituents, and this - where spouses and children of green card holders cannot come to the US till their green card petitions are processed - is a major issue that needs to be addressed," he said.
Souvall noted that "About 60 per cent of the constituent work in his New Brunswick office is on immigration issues, particularly this one, and this legislation addresses some of that."
He acknowledged that Pallone has not had much luck in pushing similar legislation in the past despite a considerable number of co-sponsors. "We will be working to get co-sponsors in the future too, but sometimes these types of legislation takes a while - it takes several Congresses to get legislation like this passed. But we will continue to build support for this, as we have in previous Congresses."
Souval agreed that the immediate priority is to convince the Immigration sub-committee of the House Judiciary Committee to consider the bill and convene hearings on it, before giving it approval and sending it up to the full committee. If the committee votes favourably, that leads to an up or down vote on the floor of the House.
Souvall said Pallone and his key co-sponsors would work on making such efforts when Congress reconvenes in mid-January.
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