S 1518 IS
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1518
To improve procedures with respect to the admission to, and departure
from, the United States of aliens.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 9, 2001
Mr. BOND (for himself, Mr. CONRAD, and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To improve procedures with respect to the admission to, and departure
from, the United States of aliens.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2001'.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED TO EXPEDITE IMPLEMENTATION
OF INTEGRATED ENTRY AND EXIT DATA SYSTEM.
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS- In light of the terrorist attacks perpetrated
against the United States on September 11, 2001, it is the sense of the
Congress that--
(1) the Attorney General should fully implement the integrated entry and
exit data system for airports, seaports, and land border ports of entry, as
specified in section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-215), with
all deliberate speed and as expeditiously as practicable; and
(2) the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury, should
immediately begin establishing the Integrated Entry and Exit Data System
Task Force, as described in section 3 of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-215).
SEC. 3. ENTRY-EXIT TRACKING SYSTEM.
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM- In the development of the entry-exit
tracking system, as described in the preceeding section, the Attorney General
shall particularly focus--
(1) on the utilization of biometric technology, including, but not
limited to, electronic fingerprinting, face recognition, and retinal scan
technology; and
(2) on developing a tamper-proof identification, readable at ports of
entry as a part of any nonimmigrant visa issued by the Secretary of
State.
(b) INTEGRATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DATABASES- The entry and exit data
system described in this section shall be able to be integrated with law
enforcement databases for use by State and Federal law enforcement to identify
and detain individuals in the United States after the expiration of their
visa.
SEC. 4. ACCESS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO CERTAIN IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
IN THE CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS OF VISA APPLICANTS AND APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION
TO THE UNITED STATES.
(a) AMENDMENT OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT- Section 105 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1105) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting `; DATA EXCHANGE' after
`SECURITY OFFICERS';
(2) by inserting `(a)' after `SEC. 105.';
(3) in subsection (a), by inserting `and border' after `internal' the
second place it appears; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
`(b) The Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall provide the Department of State access to the criminal
history record information contained in the National Crime Information
Center's Interstate Identification Index (NCIC-III), Wanted Persons File, and
to any other files maintained by the National Crime Information Center that
may be mutually agreed upon by the Attorney General and the Department of
State, for the purpose of determining whether or not a visa applicant or
applicant for admission has a criminal history record indexed in any such
file. The Department of State shall merge the information obtained under this
subsection with the information in the system currently accessed by consular
officers to determine the criminal history records of aliens applying for
visas.'.
(b) REGULAR REPORTING- The Director of Central Intelligence, the Secretary
of Defense, the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, and the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide information to
the Secretary of State on a regular basis as agreed by the Secretary and the
head of each of these agencies that will assist the Secretary in determining
if an applicant for a visa has a criminal background or poses a threat to the
national security of the United States or is affiliated with a group that
poses such a threat.
(c) REPORT ON SCREENING INFORMATION- Not later than 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to
Congress on the information that is needed from any United States agency to
best screen visa applicants to identify those affiliated with terrorist
organizations or those that pose any threat to the safety or security of the
United States, including the type of information currently received by United
States agencies and the regularity with which such information is transmitted
to the Secretary.
SEC. 5. STUDENT TRACKING SYSTEM.
(a) INTEGRATION WITH PORT OF ENTRY INFORMATION- For each alien with
respect to whom information is collected under this section, the Attorney
General shall include information on the date of entry, port of entry, and
nonimmigrant classification.
(b) EXPANSION OF SYSTEM TO INCLUDE OTHER APPROVED EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS- Section 641 of
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8
U.S.C. 1372) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), subsection (c)(4)(A), and subsection (d)(1)
(in the text above subparagraph (A)), by inserting `, other approved
educational institutions,' after `higher education' each place it
appears;
(2) in subsections (c)(1)(C), (c)(1)(D), and (d)(1)(A), by inserting `,
or other approved educational institution,' after `higher education' each
place it appears;
(3) in subsections (d)(2), (e)(1), and (e)(2), by inserting `, other
approved educational institution,' after `higher education' each place it
appears; and
(4) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
`(3) OTHER APPROVED EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION- The term `other approved
educational institution' includes any air flight school, language training
school, vocational school, or other school, approved by the Attorney
General, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, under subparagraph
(F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act.'.
(c) EXPANSION OF SYSTEM TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION- Section 641(b)
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8
U.S.C. 1372(b)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1) as
subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
`(B) the name of any dependant spouse, child, or other family member
accompanying the alien student to the United States;'; and
(3) in paragraph (1)(D) (as so redesignated), by inserting after
`maintaining status as a full-time student' the following: `and, if the
alien is not maintaining such status, the date on which the alien has
concluded the alien's course of study and the reason therefor'; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(5) INFORMATION ON FAILURE TO COMMENCE STUDIES- Each approved
institution of higher education, other approved educational institution, or
designated exchange visitor program shall inform the Attorney General within
30 days if an alien described in subsection (a)(1) who is scheduled to
attend the institution or program fails to do so. The Attorney General shall
ensure that information received under this paragraph is included in the
National Crime Information Center's Interstate Identification Index.'.
SEC. 6. STRENGTHENING VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 217(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1187(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(D) TAMPER PROOF PASSPORT- The country employs a tamper-proof
passport, has established a program to reduce the theft of passports, and
has experienced during the preceding two-year period a low rate of theft
of passports, as determined by the Secretary of State.'.
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENT REGARDING H-1B NONIMMIGRANT ALIENS.
(a) REQUIREMENT- Not later than 14 days after the employment of a
nonimmigrant alien described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act is terminated by an employer, the employer shall so report
to the Attorney General, together with the reasons for the termination.
(b) PENALTY- Any employer who fails to make a report required under
subsection (a) shall be ineligible to employ any nonimmigrant alien described
in that subsection for a period of one year.
END