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H.R. 5319: Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

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H.R. 5319: Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-09-21 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2021-09-21 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

Plain summary

Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from charging fees for certain immigration applications (or petitions), requires DHS to provide fee waivers to certain applicants, and addresses related issues. DHS may not impose fees for certain applications for or related to (1) asylum or refugee status, (2) special immigrant juvenile status, (3) U or T non-immigrant visas (victims of certain crimes such as human trafficking), (4) the Violence Against Women Act, (5) special immigrant status for Afghan or Iraqi nationals employed by the U.S. government, or (6) immigration-related fee waivers. DHS must also waive immigration-related application fees for an applicant who receives a means-tested benefit or meets certain conditions related to financial hardship. However, DHS is not required to provide fee waivers for applications for certain employment-based immigration benefits. Receipt of a fee waiver may not be used as a factor (1) for determining whether an alien should be considered a public charge, or (2) when considering an affidavit of support filed by a sponsor. The bill also requires all collected immigration-related adjudication fees to be used only to fund the adjudication and administration of immigration benefits and naturalization.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Reduce Financial Barriers to Immigration and Citizenship Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] · 20 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Grace Meng (D-NY), Mark Takano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Judy Chu (D-CA), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] reported raising $922,924 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong117-hr5319 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117