There is no set period of time within which the Congress must complete this final step of the legislative process. The amount of time they actually take will depend on the complexity and length of the legislation and, sometimes, on whether the timing is being manipulated to meet political goals. However, they must present the bill to the President before the Congress ends officially -- that extends beyond sine die adjournment, to January 3rd of the following year, when the new Congress convenes.

Preparing a bill for presentation to the President is known as "enrollment." Once a conference report is adopted by both chambers, the Enrolling Clerk of the House or Senate – depending on which chamber originated the bill -- is authorized to incorporate into the text of the bill the changes made by the conferees and approved by the full House and Senate. This can be a very simple or a very difficult process, depending on the number of amendments that were proposed by House and Senate conferees in conference. It depends also on how many completed bills await the attention of the Enrolling Clerk -- a problem especially toward the end of a Congress when the legislative pace picks up. It could take hours, days, or even weeks, to finish enrolling a bill.

In some instances, the enrolling clerks have been instructed by the leadership of their chamber to "slow it down." The delay may be to try to avoid a pocket veto on the part of the President. A pocket veto denies the Congress a chance to vote to override. If the ten day period provided by the Constitution for the President to review a bill were to end during an extended congressional break – like the August recess, or the break between a first and second session of Congress -- then Congress would be giving the President a potential opportunity to pocket veto the bill while they are out of session. The question of precisely when a pocket veto is valid still has not been settled by the Supreme Court. Delaying enrollment until they are back in session would avert the risk of a pocket veto.

Other possible motivations for delaying enrollment might be to time the bill's presentation for maximum publicity, or to put off the starting date for when funds contained in a bill become available for use by the Administration.

Once the text of the bill has been finalized, and its accuracy attested to, [by the Committee on House Administration, if a House bill, and by the Senate Enrolling Clerk, if a Senate bill], the enrolled bill is printed for formal presentation to the President. During the last decade, the thick parchment paper once used has been replaced with a high quality paper stock. The bill, now called "An Act of Congress," has gold lettering, and is trimmed with a navy ribbon and encased in a ceremonial navy blue box to protect it.

All bills must then be signed by the Speaker of the House, and then by the President of the Senate – who is the Vice President of the United States – before leaving the Congress. If the Vice President so designates, the President pro tempore of the Senate may sign the enrolled bill instead. The Vice President, however, has the right of first refusal. At times, this has meant flying the bill to him when he has traveled outside of Washington, D.C.

After being signed by the two presiding officers, if the measure was a House bill, it is then returned to the Committee on House Administration for presentation to the President by one of its clerks. A Senate bill is presented to the President by an employee of the Secretary of the Senate.

In an unusual instance, on August 25, 2000, the House of Representatives deputized a farmer to deliver the "Death [Estate] Tax Elimination Act" to the President, driving a red tractor from the Capitol to the White House. The choice of messenger was meant as a political symbol. In another instance, in order to keep government funding flowing, a House aide was dispatched on commercial flights all the way to Brunei to hand President Clinton, attending a Pacific Rim summit, a continuing resolution. The President signed it into law on November 15, 2000, thus preventing a shut-down of government operations.

The White House receives the bill from the messenger of the Congress and stamps "Received for Presentation to the President," with the day and time of receipt noted. The President's ten-day clock -- for signature, veto, approval without signature, or pocket veto -- begins on the day following receipt. It is the responsibility of the White House to deliver the papers to the President whereever he might be -- in the country or in the world.