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HR 5888 109th Congress House Immigration Administrative fees Administrative remedies Adoption Department of Homeland Security Economics and Public Finance Families Government Operations and Politics Immigrants Law Orphans

Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act

Introduced: September 14, 2006 See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 109th Congress ended
It never became law before the 109th Congress (2005–2006) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 25, 2006
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jul 25, 2006
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that any "covered individual" (an individual whose Application for Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition was approved on or after January 1, 2005) may file a Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative for at least two years after the approval of the individual's application.

Prohibits the Secretary from requiring: (1) a covered individual who files a timely petition to pay any fees or complete any requirements already paid or completed in conjunction with the application or contingent on the amount of time that elapses between the application's approval and the petition's filing; and (2) any person who was a covered individual on this Act's enactment date from paying any fee for the timely filing of a petition unless that fee was required at the time the application was approved.

What's happening now July 25, 2006

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 14
All 14 Democratic 2 Republican 4 Independent 1
D
Van Hollen, Chris
Maryland · Nov 14, 2006
BAIRD, BRIAN
· Nov 13, 2006
 D
Moore, Gwen
Wisconsin · Nov 13, 2006
Salazar, John
· Nov 13, 2006
 R
Moran, Jerry
Kansas · Sep 29, 2006
SOUDER, MARK
· Sep 14, 2006
 R
McCaul, Michael T.
Texas · Sep 12, 2006
 R
Aderholt, Robert B.
Alabama · Sep 6, 2006
Davis, Lincoln
· Sep 6, 2006
GORDON, BART
· Sep 6, 2006
Marshall, Jim
· Sep 6, 2006
SNYDER, VICTOR
· Sep 6, 2006
 R
Calvert, Ken
California · Jul 28, 2006
 I
Sanders, Bernard
Vermont · Jul 28, 2006
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5888: Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-5888/
MLA
"H.R. 5888: Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-5888/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5888, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-5888/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5888: Helping Families Adopt Orphans Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-5888/)
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