S.744 Immigration bill - Sec. 2317: EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE IRAQI SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

Posted Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 4:56 pm

    The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (8 U.S.C. 1157 note) is amended--

      (1) in section 1242, by amended subsection (c) to read as follows:

    `(c) Improved Application Process- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall improve the efficiency by which applications for special immigrant visas under section 1244(a) are processed so that all steps incidental to the issuance of such visas, including required screenings and background checks, are completed not later than 9 months after the date on which an eligible alien applies for such visa.'; and

      (2) in section 1244--

        (A) subsection (b)--

          (i) in paragraph (1)--

            (I) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:

        `(B) was or is employed in Iraq on or after March 20, 2003, for not less than 1 year, by, or on behalf of--

          `(i) the United States Government;

          `(ii) a media or nongovernmental organization headquartered in the United States; or

          `(iii) an organization or entity closely associated with the United States mission in Iraq that has received United States Government funding through an official and documented contract, award, grant, or cooperative agreement;';

            (II) in subparagraph (C), by striking `United States Government' and inserting `an entity or organization described in subparagraph (B)'; and

            (III) in subparagraph (D), by striking by striking `United States Government.' and inserting `such entity or organization.';

          (ii) in paragraph (4)--

            (I) by striking `A recommendation' and inserting the following:

        `(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided under subparagraph (B), a recommendation';

            (II) by striking `United States Government prior' and inserting `an entity or organization described in paragraph (1)(B) prior'; and

            (III) by adding at the end the following:

        `(B) REVIEW PROCESS FOR DENIAL BY CHIEF OF MISSION-

          `(i) IN GENERAL- An applicant who has been denied Chief of Mission approval required by subparagraph (A) shall--

            `(I) receive a written decision; and

            `(II) be provided 120 days from the date of the decision to request reopening of the decision to provide additional information, clarify existing information, or explain any unfavorable information.

          `(ii) SENIOR COORDINATOR- The Secretary of State shall designate, in the Embassy of the United States in Baghdad, Iraq, a senior coordinator responsible for overseeing the efficiency and integrity of the processing of special immigrant visas under this section, who shall be given--

            `(I) sufficiently high security clearance to review Chief of Mission denials in cases that appear to have relied upon insufficient or incorrect information; and

            `(II) responsibility for ensuring that an applicant described in clause (i) receives the information described in clause (i)(I).'; and

        (B) in subsection (c)(3), by adding at the end the following:

        `(C) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS- Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), and consistent with subsection (b), any unused balance of the total number of principal aliens who may be provided special immigrant status under this section in fiscal years 2008 through 2012 may be carried forward and provided through the end of fiscal year 2018.'; and

      (3) in section 1248, by adding at the end the following:

    `(f) Report on Improvements-

      `(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit a report, with a classified annex, if necessary, to--

        `(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;

        `(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

        `(C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and

        `(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

      `(2) CONTENTS- The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall describe the implementation of improvements to the processing of applications for special immigrant visas under section 1244(a), including information relating to--

        `(A) enhancing existing systems for conducting background and security checks of persons applying for special immigrant status, which shall--

          `(i) support immigration security; and

          `(ii) provide for the orderly processing of such applications without delay;

        `(B) the financial, security, and personnel considerations and resources necessary to carry out this subtitle;

        `(C) the number of aliens who have applied for special immigrant visas under section 1244 during each month of the preceding fiscal year;

        `(D) the reasons for the failure to expeditiously process any applications that have been pending for longer than 9 months;

        `(E) the total number of applications that are pending due to the failure--

          `(i) to receive approval from the Chief of Mission;

          `(ii) for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to complete the adjudication of the Form I-360;

          `(iii) to conduct a visa interview; or

          `(iv) to issue the visa to an eligible alien;

        `(F) the average wait times for an applicant at each of the stages described in subparagraph (E);

        `(G) the number of denials or rejections at each of the stages described in subparagraph (E); and

        `(H) a breakdown of reasons for denials at by the Chief of Mission based on the categories already made available to denied special immigrant visa applicants in the denial letter sent to them by the Chief of Mission.

    `(g) Public Quarterly Reports - Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, and every 3 months thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall publish a report on the website of the Department of State that describes the efficiency improvements made in the process by which applications for special immigrant visas under section 1244(a) are processed, including information described in subparagraphs (C) through (H) of subsection (f)(2).'.

2317
EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE IRAQI SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM