establishing categories of aliens for purposes of refugee determinations

establishing categories of aliens for purposes of refugee determinations Sec. 599D. (a) In General.— In the case of an alien who is within a category of aliens established under subsection (b), the alien may establish, for purposes of admission as a refugee under section 207 of 103 STAT. 1262the Immigration and Nationality Act, that the alien has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion by asserting such a fear and asserting a credible basis for concern about the possibility of such persecution. (b) Establishment of Categories.— (1) For purposes of subsection (a), the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Coordinator for Refugee Affairs, shall establish— (A) one or more categories of aliens who are or were nationals and residents of the Soviet Union and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution in the Soviet Union on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and (B) one or more categories of aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution in such respective foreign state on such an account. (2) (A) Aliens who are (or were) nationals and residents of the Soviet Union and who are Jews or Evangelical Christians shall be deemed a category of alien established under paragraph (1)(A). (B) Aliens who are (or were) nationals of the Soviet Union and who are current members of, and demonstrate public, active, and continuous participation (or attempted participation) in the religious activities of, the Ukrainian Catholic Church or the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, shall be deemed a category of alien established under paragraph (1)(A). (C) Aliens who are (or were) nationals and residents of Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia and who are members of categories of individuals determined, by the Attorney General in accordance with “Immigration and Naturalization Service Worldwide Guidelines for Overseas Refugee Processing” (issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in August 1983) shall be deemed a category of alien established under paragraph (1)(B). (D) Within the number of admissions of refugees allocated for fiscal year 1990 for refugees who are nationals of the Soviet Union under section 207(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall allocate one thousand of such admissions for such fiscal year to refugees who are within the category of aliens described in paragraph (2)(B). (c) Written Reasons for Denials of Refugee Status.— Each decision to deny an application for refugee status of an alien who is within a category established under this section shall be in writing and shall state, to the maximum extent feasible, the reason for the denial. (d) Permitting Certain Aliens Within Categories to Reapply for Refugee Status.— Each alien who is within a category established under this section and who (after August 14, 1988, and before the date of the enactment of this Act) was denied refugee status shall be permitted to reapply for such status. Such an application shall be determined taking into account the application of this section. 103 STAT. 1263 (e) Period of Application.— (1) Subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall only apply to applications for refugee status submitted before October 1, 1990. (2) Subsection (c) shall apply to decisions made after the date of the enactment of this Act and before October 1, 1990. (3) Subsection (d) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall only apply to reapplications for refugee status submitted before October 1, 1990. (f) GAO Reports on Soviet Refugee Processing — (1) The Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and of the House of Representatives reports on the implementation of this section in Italy and the Soviet Union. Such reports shall include a review of— (A) the timeliness and length of individual interviews, (B) the adequacy of staffing and funding by the Department of State, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and voluntary agencies, including the adequacy of staffing, computerization, and administration of the processing center in Washington, (C) the sufficiency of the proposed Soviet refugee processing system within the United States, (D) backlogs (if any) by ethnic or religious groups and the reasons any such backlogs exist, (E) the sufficiency of the means of distributing and receiving applications for refugee status in Moscow, (F) to the extent possible, a comparison of the cost of conducting refugee processing only in Moscow and such cost of processing in both Moscow and in Italy, and (G) an evaluation of efforts to phase out Soviet refugee processing in Italy. (2) The Comptroller shall submit a preliminary report under paragraph (1) by December 31, 1989, and a final report by March 31, 1990. The final report shall include any recommendations which the Comptroller General may have regarding the need, if any, to revise or extend the application of this section.