S.744 Immigration bill - Sec. 3707: REFORM OF PASSPORT, VISA, AND IMMIGRATION FRAUD OFFENSES
Posted Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 4:58 pm
- (a) Trafficking in Passports- Section 1541 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
`Sec. 1541. Trafficking in passports
- `(a) Multiple Passports- Subject to subsection (b), any person who, during any period of 3 years or less, knowingly--
- `(1) and without lawful authority produces, issues, or transfers 3 or more passports;
- `(2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes 3 or more passports;
- `(3) secures, possesses, uses, receives, buys, sells,
or distributes 3 or more passports, knowing the passports to be forged,
counterfeited, altered, falsely made, stolen, procured by fraud, or
produced or issued without lawful authority; or
- `(4) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or
submits 3 or more applications for a United States passport, knowing the
applications to contain any materially false statement or
representation,
- shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
- `(b) Use in a Terrorism Offense- Any person who commits an
offense described in subsection (a) to facilitate an act of
international terrorism (as defined in section 2331) shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both.
- `(c) Passport Materials- Any person who knowingly and
without lawful authority produces, buys, sells, possesses, or uses any
official material (or counterfeit of any official material) used to make
10 or more passports, including any distinctive paper, seal, hologram,
image, text, symbol, stamp, engraving, or plate, shall be fined under
this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.'.
- (b) False Statement in an Application for a Passports-
Section 1542 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
`Sec. 1542. False statement in an application for a passport
- `(a) In General- Any person who knowingly makes any
material false statement or representation in an application for a
United States passport, or mails, prepares, presents, or signs an
application for a United States passport knowing the application to
contain any material false statement or representation, shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned not more than 25 years (if the offense was
committed to facilitate an act of international terrorism (as defined in
section 2331 of this title)), 20 years (if the offense was committed to
facilitate a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 929(a) of
this title)), or 15 years (in the case of any other offense) or both.
- `(b) Venue-
- `(1) IN GENERAL- An offense under subsection (a) may be prosecuted in any district--
- `(A) in which the false statement or representation
was made or the application for a United States passport was prepared
or signed; or
- `(B) in which or to which the application was mailed or presented.
- `(2) OFFENSES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES- An offense
under subsection (a) involving an application prepared and adjudicated
outside the United States may be prosecuted in the district in which the
resultant passport was or would have been produced.
- `(c) Savings Clause- Nothing in this section may be
construed to limit the venue otherwise available under sections 3237 and
3238 of this title.'.
- (c) Misuse of a Passport- Section 1544 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
`Sec. 1544. Misuse of a passport
- `Any person who knowingly--
- `(1) misuses for their own purposes any passport issued or designed for the use of another;
- `(2) uses any passport in violation of the laws, regulations, or rules governing the issuance and use of the passport;
- `(3) secures, possesses, uses, receives, buys, sells,
or distributes any passport knowing the passport to be forged,
counterfeited, altered, falsely made, procured by fraud, or produced or
issued without lawful authority; or
- `(4) substantially violates the terms and conditions of
any safe conduct duly obtained and issued under the authority of the
United States,
- shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 25
years (if the offense was committed to facilitate an act of
international terrorism (as defined in section 2331 of this title)), 20
years (if the offense was committed to facilitate a drug trafficking
crime (as defined in section 929(a) of this title)) or 15 years (in the
case of any other offense), or both.'.
- (d) Schemes to Provide Fraudulent Immigration Services-
Section 1545 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
`Sec. 1545. Schemes to provide fraudulent immigration services
- `(a) In General- Any person who knowingly executes a scheme
or artifice, in connection with any matter that is authorized by or
arises under any Federal immigration law or any matter the offender
claims or represents is authorized by or arises under any Federal
immigration law, to--
- `(1) defraud any person; or
- `(2) obtain or receive money or anything else of value
from any person by means of false or fraudulent pretenses,
representations, or promises,
- shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
- `(b) Misrepresentation- Any person who knowingly and
falsely represents that such person is an attorney or an accredited
representative (as that term is defined in section 1292.1 of title 8,
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation)) in any matter
arising under any Federal immigration law shall be fined under this
title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.'.
- (e) Immigration and Visa Fraud- Section 1546 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
- (1) by amending the section heading to read as follows:
`Sec. 1546. Immigration and visa fraud';
- and
- (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the following:
- `(b) Trafficking- Any person who, during any period of 3 years or less, knowingly--
- `(1) and without lawful authority produces, issues, or transfers 3 or more immigration documents;
- `(2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes 3 or more immigration documents;
- `(3) secures, possesses, uses, buys, sells, or
distributes 3 or more immigration documents, knowing the immigration
documents to be forged, counterfeited, altered, stolen, falsely made,
procured by fraud, or produced or issued without lawful authority; or
- `(4) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or
submits 3 or more immigration documents knowing the documents to contain
any materially false statement or representation,
- shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
- `(c) Immigration Document Materials- Any person who
knowingly and without lawful authority produces, buys, sells, possesses,
or uses any official material (or counterfeit of any official material)
used to make 10 or more immigration documents, including any
distinctive paper, seal, hologram, image, text, symbol, stamp,
engraving, or plate, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not
more than 20 years, or both.'.
- (f) Alternative Imprisonment Maximum for Certain Offenses- Section 1547 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
- (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking `(other than an offense under section 1545)';
- (2) in paragraph (1), by striking `15' and inserting `20'; and
- (3) in paragraph (2), by striking `20' and inserting `25'.
- (g) Authorized Law Enforcement Activities- Chapter 75 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1547
the following:
`Sec. 1548. Authorized law enforcement activities
- `Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit--
- `(1) any lawfully authorized investigative, protective,
or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United
States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or an
intelligence agency of the United States; or
- `(2) any activity authorized under title V of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-452; 84 Stat. 933).'.
- (h) Table of Sections Amendment- The table of sections for
chapter 75 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
- `Sec.
- `1541. Trafficking in passports.
- `1542. False statement in an application for a passport.
- `1543. Forgery or false use of a passport.
- `1544. Misuse of a passport.
- `1545. Schemes to provide fraudulent immigration services.
- `1546. Immigration and visa fraud.
- `1547. Alternative imprisonment maximum for certain offenses.
- `1548. Authorized law enforcement activities.'.
3707
REFORM OF PASSPORT, VISA, AND IMMIGRATION FRAUD OFFENSES