Refugee Act of 1979

Refugee Act of 1979 - Title I: Purpose - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to provide a permanent and systematic procedure for the admission to this country of refugees of special concern to the United States, and to provide comprehensive and uniform provisions for temporary and transitional assistance to those refugees who are admitted.

Title II: Admission of Refugees - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to define "refugee" as any person who is outside his country of nationality (or in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which he last habitually resided), and who is unable or unwilling to return to such country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Defines "consultation" to mean personal contact by Presidential representatives with members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to review the refugee or emergency refugee situations, and to provide such Committees with information about: (1) the nature of the refugee situation; (2) the anticipated social, economic, and demographic impact of refugee admissions in the United States; (3) possible refugee resettlement assistance from other nations; and (4) any impact on United States foreign policy.

Provides for up to 50,000 annual refugee admissions, with allocations to groups of refugees as determined by the President to be of special concern to the United States. Directs the President to report annually to such Committees regarding the forseeable numbers of refugees in need of resettlement during the coming fiscal year, and the anticipated allocation of such refugee admissions.

Authorizes the President to exceed such 50,000 admissions level if the President, at the beginning of a fiscal year and after consultation with such Committees, determines it to be in the national interest or for humanitarian purposes. Provides that allocation for such additional refugees shall be made in the same manner as for the first 50,000.

Authorizes the Attorney General to admit such refugees as permanent residents without first being admitted conditionally. Exempts such admissions from meeting certain other immigrant requirements (labor certification, public charge, immigrant visa, literacy, and foreign physicians).

Provides that up to 5,000 of such 50,000 refugee admission entries may be made available to adjust the status of any alien refugee present in the United States to permanent resident status provided such person: (1) applies for the adjustment; (2) has been physically present in the United States for at least two years prior to such application; and (3) is a refugee not firmly resettled in any other foreign country. Exempts such persons from meeting other immigrant requirements (labor certification, public charge, immigrant visa, literacy, and foreign physicians). Permits spouses and children of refugees so adjusted to also have their status adjusted to that of permanent resident without the two year U.S. residency requirement. Permits such adjusted status refugees, upon a satisfactory showing to the Attorney General, to have the date of their admission as a permanent resident operate retroactively (up to two years) to the date they became refugees in the United States. Permits such procedure for the spouse and children of such refugees.

Authorizes the President, after consultation with the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate, to admit additional refugees in unforeseen emergency situations. States that such additional emergency refugee admissions will be allocated among groups or classes of refugees of special concern to the United States in accordance with a determination made by the President. Provides that such emergency refugees will be admitted conditionally.

Permits the spouse and children of a refugee admitted for permanent residence or admitted conditionally under this Act to qualify for the same admission status as such refugee if not so entitled in their own right. Provides that the spouse or children will be charged against the same refugee admissions limitation as such refugee.

Provides permanent resident status for any conditionally admitted refugee: (1) who has been present in the United States at least two years; (2) who has not acquired permanent resident status; and (3) whose conditional entry has not been terminated by the Attorney General. Provides that such permanent resident status shall be conferred without regard to certain other immigrant requirements (labor certification, public charge, immigrant visa, literacy, and foreign physicians), and shall operate retroactively to the date of such alien's arrival in the United States. Provides for the exclusion of such conditionally admitted refugees who are found to be inadmissible as permanent residents.

Permits any alien eligible for retroactive resident alien status under this Act who has already been granted such status under other provisions of such Act that do not provide for retroactivity, to have his or her admission for permanent resident status recorded as of the date of entry as a refugee into the United States.

Directs the President to report quarterly to the Congress on efforts to secure international cooperation in the resettlement of refugees, and to report bimonthly on the number of refugees admitted to the United States.

Title III: Temporary and Transitional Assistance to Refugees - Amends the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 to authorize appropriations when necessary for: (1) public or private voluntary agencies to aid in the placement, resettlement, and care of refugees; (2) programs to aid adult refugees in securing employment; (3) State and local agencies for projects to provide special educational services to refugee children in elementary and secondary schools; (4) child welfare services for two years after the arrival of a refugee child, or in the case of a child who enters the United States accompanied by a parent or other close relative, until age 18; and (5) income maintenance and medical assistance during the first two years (except for Cuban refugees who entered the United States before October 1, 1978) following a refugee's arrival in the United States, except that if a refugee is eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Medicaid assistance, funds under this Act would only be used for the non-Federal share of such assistance.

Increases the authorized level of the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000.

Title IV: Effective Date - Provides that this Act shall take effect as of October 1, 1979.