Congress offers green cards to Haitian migrants already in U.S.
H.R. 9494 — Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 2026 · Filed by Frederica Wilson (D-FL) · 14 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 25, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows Haitian nationals who have been continuously present in the U.S. since June 26, 2024, plus their spouses and children, to apply for permanent resident status (green cards) within 3 years of enactment. It waives certain grounds of inadmissibility, allows applicants to work while their cases are pending, and prevents removal proceedings from moving forward while an application is under review—unless it is finally denied. Beneficiaries are Haitian migrants and their immediate family members already in the country.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to create a time-limited adjustment-of-status pathway for a specific national group (Haitians) and their immediate family members. It is a targeted immigration relief measure, not a broader reform or deregulation.
What the text implies
- The 3-year application window creates urgency; applicants who miss the deadline lose eligibility entirely, potentially leaving some Haitian migrants in permanent legal limbo.
- Waiver of grounds of inadmissibility (paragraphs 4, 5, 6(A), 7(A), 9 of INA 212(a)) is broad but excludes aggravated felonies, crimes of moral turpitude, and persecution—meaning criminal history remains a bar to eligibility.
- Work authorization is mandatory after 180 days of pending application, which may create administrative pressure on DHS to adjudicate cases quickly or face large-scale employment authorization issuance.
- The bill does not offset visa numbers, meaning it adds to total immigration admissions without reducing other visa categories—a policy choice that may face fiscal or political scrutiny.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary Haitian migrants and their families gain a concrete legal pathway to permanent residence, work authorization, and protection from removal—transforming precarious undocumented status into lawful permanent residence. The bill imposes no direct cost on other citizens; it is a humanitarian immigration measure that resolves legal uncertainty for a defined population.
Named in the bill
Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney General, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Haiti (national origin), Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(a) (grounds of inadmissibility), Section 240 (removal proceedings), Section 242 (judicial review), Section 244 (temporary protected status), Section 245 (adjustment of status)
Where it stands
14 cosponsors: 14 Democrats.
- Jun 25, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 25, 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.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $333,062 in lobbying spend. A filing names 44 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Frederica Wilson, the sponsor, reported $119,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Cms Energy Corp — $170,000 on 1 filing
- Teco Holdings Inc., Formerly Known As Energy, Inc. — $163,062 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,087 characters) on Oct 17, 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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