republic-os/legal/us/code/title-08/chapter-12/section-1259.md

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LegalText	8 U.S.C. § 1259	Record of admission for permanent residence in the case of certain aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972	us	united_states_code	code_section	8	ALIENS AND NATIONALITY	12	IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY	1259	8 U.S.C. § 1259	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc08@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t8/s1259	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-08/usc08.xml	645ad6196cc66990e043cc6cc4c9a18a4a3c519cabb5d7f61fd12f2f88da61e1	18cbd9dd4172ad0473c6dc52e038b813f80124d17167f025c00b9dfa60060a0c	e72235bd3bfc8a90e960d093e19c935108d70a5ddbee9504f58a92d232d07467	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

8 U.S.C. § 1259 - Record of admission for permanent residence in the case of certain aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972

Text

A record of lawful admission for permanent residence may, in the discretion of the Attorney General and under such regulations as he may prescribe, be made in the case of any alien, as of the date of the approval of his application or, if entry occurred prior to July 1, 1924, as of the date of such entry, if no such record is otherwise available and such alien shall satisfy the Attorney General that he is not inadmissible under section 1182(a)(3)(E) of this title or under section 1182(a) of this title insofar as it relates to criminals, procurers and other immoral persons, subversives, violators of the narcotic laws or smugglers of aliens, and he establishes that he—

(a) entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972;

(b) has had his residence in the United States continuously since such entry;

(c) is a person of good moral character; and

(d) is not ineligible to citizenship and is not deportable under section 1227(a)(4)(B) of this title.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 5, § 249, 66 Stat. 219; Pub. L. 85–616, Aug. 8, 1958, 72 Stat. 546; Pub. L. 89–236, § 19, Oct. 3, 1965, 79 Stat. 920; Pub. L. 99–603, title II, § 203(a), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3405; Pub. L. 100–525, § 2(j), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2612; Pub. L. 101–649, title VI, § 603(a)(14), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5083; Pub. L. 104–132, title IV, § 413(e), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1269; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title III, § 308(g)(10)(C), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–625.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1996—Par. (d). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted “section 1227(a)(4)(B)” for “section 1251(a)(4)(B)”. Pub. L. 104–132 inserted “and is not deportable under section 1251(a)(4)(B) of this title” after “ineligible to citizenship”. 1990—Pub. L. 101–649 substituted “1182(a)(3)(E)” for “1182(a)(33)”. 1988—Pub. L. 100–525 amended Pub. L. 99–603. See 1986 Amendment note below. 1986—Pub. L. 99–603, as amended by Pub. L. 100–525, inserted “under section 1182(a)(33) of this title or” in introductory provisions and substituted “January 1, 1972” for “June 30, 1948” in section heading and in par. (a). 1965—Pub. L. 89–236 substituted “June 30, 1948” for “June 28, 1940”. 1958—Pub. L. 85–616 permitted record of lawful admission to be made in the case of aliens who entered the United States prior to June 28, 1940, authorized the record to be made as of the date of the approval of the application for those who entered subsequent to July 1, 1924, and prior to June 28, 1940, and substituted provisions requiring the alien to satisfy the Attorney General that he is not inadmissible under section 1182(a) of this title insofar as it relates to criminals, procurers and other immoral persons, subversives, violators of the narcotic laws or smugglers of aliens for provisions which required the alien to satisfy the Attorney General that he was not subject to deportation.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1996 AmendmentsAmendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective, with certain transitional provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title. Amendment by Pub. L. 104–132 effective Apr. 24, 1996, and applicable to applications filed before, on, or after such date if final action not yet taken on them before such date, see section 413(g) of Pub. L. 104–132, set out as a note under section 1253 of this title.

Effective Date of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–649 applicable to individuals entering United States on or after June 1, 1991, see section 601(e)(1) of Pub. L. 101–649, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–525 effective as if included in enactment of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–603, see section 2(s) of Pub. L. 100–525, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1965 AmendmentFor effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 89–236, see section 20 of Pub. L. 89–236, set out as a note under section 1151 of this title.

Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of Functions For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title.

Applicability of Numerical LimitationsPub. L. 99–603, title II, § 203(c), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3405, provided that: “The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152] shall not apply to aliens provided lawful permanent resident status under section 249 of that Act [8 U.S.C. 1259].”