§ 4411 : PROVIDING CONSULAR OFFICERS WITH ACCESS TO ALL TERRORIST DATABASES AND REQUIRING HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY OF APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION FROM PERSONS LISTED ON TERRORIST DATABASES |
Section 222 (8 U.S.C. 1202) as amended by section 4410 is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
PROVIDING CONSULAR OFFICERS WITH ACCESS TO ALL TERRORIST DATABASES AND REQUIRING HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY OF APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION FROM PERSONS LISTED ON TERRORIST DATABASES.—
ACCESS TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.—
IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of State shall have access to all terrorism records and databases maintained by any agency or department of the United States for the purposes of determining whether an applicant for admission poses a security threat to the United States.
EXCEPTION.—The head of such an agency or department may only withhold access to terrorism records and databases from the Secretary of State if such head is able to articulate that withholding is necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information that clearly identifies, or would reasonably permit ready identification of, intelligence or sensitive law enforcement sources, methods, or activities.
BIOGRAPHIC AND BIOMETRIC SCREENING.—
REQUIREMENT FOR BIOGRAPHIC AND BIOMETRIC SCREENING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary of State shall require every alien applying for admission to the United States to submit to biographic and biometric screening to determine whether the alien’s name or biometric information is listed in any terrorist watch list or database maintained by any agency or department of the United States.
EXCLUSIONS.—No alien applying for a visa to the United States shall be granted such visa by a consular officer if the alien’s name or biometric information is listed in any terrorist watch list or database referred to in subparagraph (A) unless—
screening of the alien’s visa application against interagency counterterrorism screening systems which compare the applicant’s information against data in all counterterrorism watch lists and databases reveals no potentially pertinent links to terrorism;
the consular officer submits the application for further review to the Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant agencies, including the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence; and
the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security , the Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of other relevant agencies, certifies that the alien is admissible to the United States.