Preserving Integrity in Immigration Benefits Act
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The bill would direct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to review all approved immigration benefit requests granted since January 20, 2021, to nationals of dozens of countries named in a 2025 presidential proclamation restricting entry, to confirm they were properly adjudicated.
It would require the agency to brief congressional Judiciary committees and publish a public report on its findings by September 15, 2026, adding a layer of retrospective scrutiny to benefits already granted rather than changing who qualifies going forward.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to conduct a comprehensive review of all approved immigration benefit requests connected to Presidential Proclamation 10998, which restricts and limits entry of foreign nationals from a specified list of countries. The review would cover benefit requests approved between January 20, 2021, and the bill's enactment date, checking that each was properly adjudicated and that applicable legal standards were correctly applied.
The bill would not itself revoke any benefit, change eligibility standards, or alter immigration law. It only requires USCIS to look back at past approvals, brief the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in person, and publish a public report on what it finds — both due no later than September 15, 2026.
Key provisions
- 1Would require USCIS to comprehensively review immigration benefit requests tied to Presidential Proclamation 10998 approved between January 20, 2021, and enactment
- 2Would require an in-person briefing to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on the review's results by September 15, 2026
- 3Would require USCIS to publish a public report online detailing the review's results by September 15, 2026
Who would be affected
Immigrants and applicants from the roughly 38 countries and territories named in Presidential Proclamation 10998, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, whose previously approved immigration benefits would be reviewed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the House and Senate Judiciary Committees would also be directly involved.
Why it matters
Individuals whose benefits are reviewed could face renewed scrutiny of approvals they believed final, and any findings of improper adjudication could prompt further agency or congressional action. Congress and the public would gain a public accounting of how benefits were processed for nationals of the listed countries during the review period.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for USCIS briefing to Judiciary Committees on review results
- Deadline for USCIS to publish public report on review results
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6978 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026–2036 period, with a negligible effect on direct spending and no effect on revenues or the deficit.
CBO estimates that H.R. 6978 would have a negligible budgetary effect — less than $500,000 in total costs over the 2026–2036 period — primarily to produce a congressionally required report on the review of immigration benefit approvals. Because USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) already announced it would conduct the same review on January 1, 2026, most of the bill's administrative work would occur regardless of enactment. USCIS funds most of its operations through fees collected from applicants, which are counted as reductions in mandatory (direct) spending, so any costs from the bill would be offset and the net effect on direct spending, revenues, and the deficit would be negligible. The bill contains a private-sector mandate (potential fee increases on applicants), but CBO estimates its incremental cost would fall well below UMRA's $214 million annual threshold; it contains no intergovernmental mandates.
How implementation would work
USCIS would first identify all approved immigration benefit requests, from January 20, 2021 through enactment, connected to individuals from the countries named in Presidential Proclamation 10998, then re-examine each for proper adjudication and correct application of legal standards. By September 15, 2026, the Director would brief the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in person and separately publish an online report summarizing the review's findings, creating a public and congressional record without altering any individual's existing immigration status.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 398.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review certain approved immigration benefit requests for proper approval. The review must include requests approved during the period starting on January 20, 2021, and ending on the date of enactment of this bill.
Immigration benefit requests covered by this bill include those conferred during this period to individuals from the following countries: Angola, Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, the Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This also includes individuals traveling using documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.
The bill requires USCIS to report on any findings by September 15, 2026.
Legislative subjects
Fraud offenses and financial crimes; Immigrant health and welfare; Immigration; Immigration status and procedures
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-465