Hong Kong residents can become permanent U.S. residents.
H.R. 10685 — Hong Konger Promise of Refuge Act · Filed by Jim McGovern (D-MA) · Introduced Oct 1, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill lets Hong Kong residents with temporary protection become permanent residents. They must have lived in the U.S. since January 15, 2025. They cannot have gone back to Hong Kong or China. They can apply within one year, with spouses and children. While they wait, they can work and cannot be sent back.
Who it affects
Hong Kong residents who have temporary protection status. Their spouses and children.
One thing to notice
These applications do not count against yearly immigration limits. Some people with past immigration or criminal issues may qualify.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Oct 1, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 1, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- temporary protection — Status that stops the government from sending someone back to their home country.
- permanent residents — People with the legal right to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely.
- immigration limits — The yearly cap on how many people can become permanent residents.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,432 characters) on Oct 16, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Hong Kong residents can become permanent U.S. residents.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10685/simple Report an error
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