bseoima §2319 (2013): EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended—

1.

in paragraph (2)—

A.

in subparagraph (A)—

i.

by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:

ii.

was or is employed in Afghanistan on or after October 7, 2001, 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 Afghanistan that has received United States Government funding through an official and documented contract, award, grant, or cooperative agreement;

ii.

in clause (iii), by striking the United States Government and inserting an entity or organization described in clause (ii); and

iii.

in clause (iv), by striking the United States Government. and inserting such entity or organization.;

B.

by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:

B.

FAMILY MEMBERS.—An alien is described in this subparagraph if the alien is—

i.

the spouse or minor child of a principal alien described in subparagraph (A) who is accompanying or following to join the principal alien in the United States; or

ii.

I. the spouse, child, parent or sibling of a principal alien described in subparagraph (A), whether or not accompanying or following to join; and

II.: has experienced or is experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a consequence of the qualifying employment of a principal alien described in subparagraph (A).

; and

in subparagraph (D)—

i.

by striking A recommendation and inserting the following:

i.: IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under clause (ii), a recommendation

ii.

by striking the United States Government prior and inserting an entity or organization described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) prior; and

iii.

by adding at the end the following:

ii.

REVIEW PROCESS FOR DENIAL BY CHIEF OF MISSION.—

I.: IN GENERAL.—An applicant who has been denied Chief of Mission approval shall—
aa.: receive a written decision; and
bb.: be provided 120 days from the date of receipt of such opinion to request reconsideration 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 Kabul, Afghanistan, a senior coordinator responsible for overseeing the efficiency and integrity of the processing of special immigrant visas under this section, who shall be given—
aa.: sufficiently high security clearance to review Chief of Mission denials in cases that appear to have relied upon insufficient or incorrect information; and
bb.: responsibility for ensuring that an applicant described in subclause (I) receives the information described in subclause (I)(aa).

in paragraph (3)(C), by amending clause (iii) to read as follows:

iii.

FISCAL YEARS 2014 THROUGH 2018.—For each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the total number of principal aliens who may be provided special immigrant status under this section may not exceed the sum of—

I.: 5,000;
II.: the difference between the number of special immigrant visas allocated under this section for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 and the number of such allocated visas that were issued; and
III.: any unused balance of the total number of principal aliens who may be provided special immigrant status in fiscal years 2014 through 2018 that have been carried forward.

in paragraph (4)—

A.

in the heading, by striking PROHIBITION ON FEES.— and inserting APPLICATION PROCESS.—;

B.

by striking The Secretary and inserting the following:

A.: IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the date of 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 paragraph (1) are processed so that all steps incidental to the issuance of such visas, including required screenings and background checks, are completed not later than 6 months after the date on which an eligible alien applies for such visa.
B.: PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Secretary

; and

by adding at the end the following:

12.

REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS.—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 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report, with a classified annex, if necessary, that describes the implementation of improvements to the processing of applications for special immigrant visas under this subsection, 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 section;

C.

the number of aliens who have applied for special immigrant visas under this subsection 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 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.

13.

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 this subsection are processed, including information described in subparagraph (C) through (H) of paragraph (12).

§ 2319 : EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM