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IB Union Calendar No. 312 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5460 [Report No. 117–404] To establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JULY 12, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 30, 2021] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5460 RH A BILL To establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5460 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Visa 4 Waiver Act of 2022’’. 5 SEC. 2. ADDITION OF VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER TO 6 GUAM AND NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 7 VISA WAIVER. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(l) of the Immigration 9 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)) is amended to read 10 as follows: 11 ‘‘(l) GUAM AND NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS VISA 12 WAIVER PROGRAM; VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER PRO- 13 GRAM.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement of sub- 15 section (a)(7)(B)(i) may be waived by the Secretary 16 of Homeland Security, in the case of an alien apply- 17 ing for admission as a nonimmigrant visitor for busi- 18 ness or pleasure and solely for entry into and stay in 19 Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 20 Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, for 21 a period not to exceed 45 days, if the Secretary of 22 Homeland Security, after consultation with the Sec- 23 retary of the Interior, the Secretary of State, and the 24 Governor of Guam and the Governor of the Common- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5460 RH wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Gov- 1 ernor of the Virgin Islands of the United States, as 2 the case may be, determines that— 3 ‘‘(A) an adequate arrival and departure 4 control system has been developed in Guam and 5 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 6 lands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States; 7 and 8 ‘‘(B) such a waiver does not represent a 9 threat to the welfare, safety, or security of the 10 United States or its territories and common- 11 wealths. 12 ‘‘(2) ALIEN WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—An alien may 13 not be provided a waiver under this subsection unless 14 the alien has waived any right— 15 ‘‘(A) to review or appeal under this Act an 16 immigration officer’s determination as to the ad- 17 missibility of the alien at the port of entry into 18 Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern 19 Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the 20 United States; or 21 ‘‘(B) to contest, other than on the basis of 22 an application for withholding of removal under 23 section 241(b)(3) of this Act or under the Con- 24 vention Against Torture, or an application for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5460 RH asylum if permitted under section 208 of this 1 Act, any action for removal of the alien. 2 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—All necessary regulations 3 to implement this subsection shall be promulgated by 4 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 5 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 6 of State. The promulgation of such regulations shall 7 be considered a foreign affairs function for purposes 8 of section 553(a) of title 5, United States Code. At a 9 minimum, such regulations should include, but not 10 necessarily be limited to— 11 ‘‘(A) a listing of all countries whose nation- 12 als may obtain the waivers provided by this sub- 13 section; and 14 ‘‘(B) any bonding requirements for nation- 15 als of some or all of those countries who may 16 present an increased risk of overstays or other 17 potential problems, if different from such re- 18 quirements otherwise provided by law for non- 19 immigrant visitors. 20 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.—In determining whether to 21 grant or continue providing the waiver under this 22 subsection to nationals of any country, the Secretary 23 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec- 24 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of State, shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5460 RH consider all factors that the Secretary deems relevant, 1 including electronic travel authorizations, procedures 2 for reporting lost and stolen passports, repatriation of 3 aliens, rates of refusal for nonimmigrant visitor visas, 4 overstays, exit systems, and information exchange. 5 ‘‘(5) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary of Homeland 6 Security shall monitor the admission of non- 7 immigrant visitors to Guam and the Commonwealth 8 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Is- 9 lands of the United States, under this subsection. If 10 the Secretary determines that such admissions have 11 resulted in an unacceptable number of visitors from 12 a country remaining unlawfully in Guam or the 13 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 14 the Virgin Islands of the United States, unlawfully 15 obtaining entry to other parts of the United States, 16 or seeking withholding of removal or asylum, or that 17 visitors from a country pose a risk to law enforcement 18 or security interests of Guam or the Commonwealth 19 of the Northern Mariana Islands, or of the Virgin Is- 20 lands of the United States, or of the United States 21 (including the interest in the enforcement of the im- 22 migration laws of the United States), the Secretary 23 shall suspend the admission of nationals of such coun- 24 try under this subsection. The Secretary of Homeland 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5460 RH Security may in the Secretary’s discretion suspend 1 the Guam and Northern Mariana Islands visa waiver 2 program, or the Virgin Islands visa waiver program, 3 at any time, on a country-by-country basis, for other 4 good cause. 5 ‘‘(6) ADDITION OF COUNTRIES.—The Governor of 6 Guam and the Governor of the Commonwealth of the 7 Northern Mariana Islands, or the Governor of the 8 Virgin Islands of the United States, may request the 9 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Home- 10 land Security to add a particular country to the list 11 of countries whose nationals may obtain the waiver 12 provided by this subsection, and the Secretary of 13 Homeland Security may grant such request after con- 14 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the 15 Secretary of State, and may promulgate regulations 16 with respect to the inclusion of that country and any 17 special requirements the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 18 rity, in the Secretary’s sole discretion, may impose 19 prior to allowing nationals of that country to obtain 20 the waiver provided by this subsection.’’. 21 (b) REGULATIONS DEADLINE.—Not later than one 22 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 23 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 24 of the Interior and the Secretary of State, shall promulgate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5460 RH any necessary regulations to implement the waiver provided 1 in the amendment made by subsection (a) for the Virgin 2 Islands of the United States. 3 (c) WAIVER COUNTRIES.—The regulations described in 4 subsection (b) shall include a listing of all member or asso- 5 ciate member countries of the Caribbean Community whose 6 nationals may obtain, on a country-by-country basis, the 7 waiver provided by this section, except that such regulations 8 shall not provide for a listing of any country if the Sec- 9 retary of Homeland Security determines that such country’s 10 inclusion on such list would represent a threat to the wel- 11 fare, safety, or security of the United States or its territories 12 and commonwealths, or would increase fraud or abuse of 13 the nonimmigrant visa system. 14 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 15 (1) DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 16 212(a)(7)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(7)(B)(iii)) is amended to read 18 as follows: 19 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL VISA WAIVER PRO- 20 GRAMS.—For a provision authorizing waiv- 21 er of clause (i) in the case of visitors to 22 Guam or the Commonwealth of the North- 23 ern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands 24 of the United States, see subsection (l).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5460 RH (2) ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 1 214(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1)) is amend- 2 ed by striking ‘‘Guam or the Commonwealth of the 3 Northern Mariana Islands’’ each place such term ap- 4 pears and inserting ‘‘Guam or the Commonwealth of 5 the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands 6 of the United States’’. 7 (e) FEES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 8 establish an administrative processing fee to be charged and 9 collected from individuals seeking to enter the Virgin Is- 10 lands of the United States in accordance with section 212(l) 11 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)), 12 as amended by this Act. Such fee shall be set at a level 13 that will ensure recovery of the full costs of such processing, 14 any additional costs associated with the administration of 15 the fees collected, and any sums necessary to offset reduced 16 collections of the nonimmigrant visa fee or the electronic 17 travel authorization fee that otherwise would have been col- 18 lected from such individuals. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jul 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 312 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5460 [Report No. 117–404] A BILL To establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. JULY 12, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5460.RH H5460 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS