EXCEPTION TO INELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN BATTERED ALIENS.

SEC. 501. EXCEPTION TO INELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN BATTERED ALIENS. Section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(c) Treatment of Certain Battered Aliens as Qualified Aliens.— For purposes of this title, the term ‘qualified alien’ includes— “(1) an alien who— “(A) has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or a parent, or by a member of the spouse or parent’s family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented to, or acquiesced in, such battery or cruelty, but only if (in the opinion of the Attorney General, which opinion is not subject to review by any court) there is a substantial connection between such battery or cruelty and the need for the benefits to be provided; and “(B) has been approved or has a petition pending which sets forth a prima facie case for— “(i) status as a spouse or a child of a United States citizen pursuant to clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, “(ii) classification pursuant to clause (ii) or (iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of the Act, “(iii) suspension of deportation and adjustment of status pursuant to section 244(a)(3) of such Act, or 110 STAT. 3009–671 “(iv) status as a spouse or child of a United States citizen pursuant to clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of such Act, or classification pursuant to clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of such Act; or “(2) an alien— “(A) whose child has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or a parent of the alien (without the active participation of the alien in the battery or cruelty), or by a member of the spouse or parent’s family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty, and the alien did not actively participate in such battery or cruelty, but only if (in the opinion of the Attorney General, which opinion is not subject to review by any court) there is a substantial connection between such battery or cruelty and the need for the benefits to be provided; and “(B) who meets the requirement of clause (ii) of subparagraph (A). This subsection shall not apply to an alien during any period in which the individual responsible for such battery or cruelty resides in the same household or family eligibility unit as the individual subjected to such battery or cruelty.”.