Hong Kong residents get permanent U.S. residency after temporary status.
S. 5606 — Hong Konger Promise of Refuge Act · Filed by Jeff Merkley (D-OR) · Introduced Sep 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill lets Hong Kong residents with temporary protected status 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 cannot have serious criminal convictions. They have one year from when the bill passes to apply. While they wait, they can work and stay in the U.S.
Who it affects
Hong Kong residents who got temporary protected status from the president. Their immediate family members can also apply.
One thing to notice
People must apply within one year or lose the chance forever.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Sep 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the 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 protected status — Protection that lets people stay in the U.S. and work while waiting.
- permanent residents — People who can live and work in the U.S. for as long as they want.
- immediate family members — A person's spouse, parents, and unmarried children under age 21.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,435 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 get permanent U.S. residency after temporary status.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5606/simple Report an error
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