Sec. 4101 Short title
This title may be cited as the “Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act”.
Division D — Other Matters
D Other Matters
I Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act
Sec. 4102 Expansion of premium processing
In general— Section 286(u) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)) is amended to read as follows:
“(u) Premium fee for certain immigration benefit types
“(1) In general—The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized to establish and collect a premium fee for the immigration benefit types described in paragraph (2). Such fee shall be paid in addition to any other fees authorized by law, deposited as offsetting receipts in the Immigration Examinations Fee Account established under subsection (m), and used for the purposes described in paragraph (4).
“(2) Immigration benefit types—Subject to reasonable conditions or limitations, the Secretary shall establish a premium fee under paragraph (1) in connection with—
“(A) employment-based nonimmigrant petitions and associated applications for dependents of the beneficiaries of such petitions;
“(B) employment-based immigrant petitions filed by or on behalf of aliens described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 203(b);
“(C) applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status;
“(D) applications for employment authorization; and
“(E) any other immigration benefit type that the Secretary deems appropriate for premium processing.
“(3) Amount of fee
“(A) In general—Subject to subparagraph (C), with respect to an immigration benefit type designated for premium processing by the Secretary on or before August 1, 2020, the premium fee shall be $2,500, except that the premium fee for a petition for classification of a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (H)(ii)(b) or (R) of section 101(a)(15) shall be $1,500.
“(B) Other immigration benefit types—With respect to an immigration benefit type designated for premium processing but not described in subparagraph (A), the initial premium fee shall be established by regulation, which shall include a detailed methodology supporting the proposed premium fee amount.
“(C) Biennial adjustment—The Secretary may adjust a premium fee under subparagraph (A) or (B) on a biennial basis by the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the month of June preceding the date on which such adjustment takes effect exceeds the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the same month of the second preceding calendar year. The provisions of section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to an adjustment authorized under this subparagraph.
“(4) Use of fee—Fees collected under this subsection may only be used by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to—
“(A) provide the services described in paragraph (5) to premium processing requestors;
“(B) make infrastructure improvements in adjudications processes and the provision of information and services to immigration and naturalization benefit requestors;
“(C) respond to adjudication demands, including by reducing the number of pending immigration and naturalization benefit requests; and
“(D) otherwise offset the cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services.
“(5) Premium processing services—The Secretary—
“(A) may suspend the availability of premium processing for designated immigration benefit requests only if circumstances prevent the completion of processing of a significant number of such requests within the required period; and
“(B) shall ensure that premium processing requestors have direct and reliable access to current case status information as well as the ability to communicate with the premium processing units at each service center or office that provides premium processing services.”
Expansion to new benefit requests—
In general— Notwithstanding the requirement to set a fee by regulation under section 286(u)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)(3)(B)), as amended by subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security may set a fee under that section without regard to the provisions of section 553 of title 5, United States Code, if such fee is consistent with the following:
For a petition for classification under section 203(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(1)(C)), or a petition for classification under section 203(b)(2) involving a waiver under section 203(b)(2)(B) of such Act, the fee is set at an amount not greater than $2,500 and the required processing timeframe is not greater than 45 days.
For an application under section 248 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1258) to change status to a classification described in subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), the fee is set at an amount not greater than $1,750 and the required processing timeframe is not greater than 30 days.
For an application under section 248 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1258) to change status to be classified as a dependent of a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (E), (H), (L), (O), (P), or (R) of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), or to extend such classification, the fee is set at an amount not greater than $1,750 and the required processing timeframe is not greater than 30 days.
For an application for employment authorization, the fee is set at an amount not greater than $1,500 and the required processing timeframe is not greater than 30 days.
Clarification— The required processing timeframe for each of the applications and petitions described in paragraph (1) shall not commence until the date that all prerequisites for adjudication are received by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Other benefit requests— In implementing the amendments made by subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop and implement processes to ensure that the availability of premium processing, or its expansion to additional immigration benefit requests, does not result in an increase in processing times for immigration benefit requests not designated for premium processing or an increase in regular processing of immigration benefit requests so designated.
Sec. 4103 Reporting requirements
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the appropriate Committees a 5-year plan, including projected cost estimates, procurement strategies, and a project schedule with milestones, to accomplish each of the following:
Establish electronic filing procedures for all applications and petitions for immigration benefits.
Accept electronic payment of fees at all filing locations.
Issue correspondence, including decisions, requests for evidence, and notices of intent to deny, to immigration benefit requestors electronically.
Improve processing times for all immigration and naturalization benefit requests.
Semi-Annual briefings— Not later than 180 days after submission of the plan described in subsection (a), and on a semi-annual basis thereafter, the Secretary shall advise the appropriate Committees on the implementation status of such plan.
Appropriate Committees defined— In this section, the term appropriate Committees means—
the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
II United States Parole Commission Extension
Sec. 4201 Short title
This title may be cited as the “United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2020”.
Sec. 4202 Amendment of Sentencing Reform Act of 1984
For purposes of section 235(b) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (18 U.S.C. 3551 note; Public Law 98–473; 98 Stat. 2032), as such section relates to chapter 311 of title 18, United States Code, and the United States Parole Commission, each reference in such section to “33 years” or “33-year period” shall be deemed a reference to “35 years” or “35-year period”, respectively.
Sec. 4203 Parole Commission Report
Section 3 of the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–274) is amended—
in subsection (b), by striking “2021” and inserting “2022”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(d) District of Columbia report for succeeding fiscal years—For each of fiscal years 2021 through 2022, not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, the United States Parole Commission shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives the items in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c), for the fiscal year.”
III Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Permanent Extension Act
Sec. 4301 Short title
This title may be cited as the “Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Permanent Extension Act”.
Sec. 4302 Findings; purpose
Findings— Congress finds the following:
Conspiracies among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets are categorically and irredeemably anticompetitive and contravene the competition policy of the United States.
Cooperation incentives are important to the efforts of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to prosecute and deter the offenses described in paragraph (1).
Purpose— The purpose of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, is to strengthen public and private antitrust enforcement by providing incentives for antitrust violators to cooperate fully with government prosecutors and private litigants through the repeal of the sunset provision of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 1 note).
Sec. 4303 Repeal of sunset provision
Repeal— Section 211 of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 1 note) is repealed.
Technical and conforming amendments—
Revival and restoration—
In general— Sections 212, 213, and 214 of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 1 note) as in effect on June 21, 2020, and as amended by the laws described in subparagraph (B), are revived and restored.
Laws— The laws described in this subparagraph are:
Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 Extension Act (Public Law 111–30; 123 Stat. 1775).
The Act entitled “An Act to amend the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 to extend the operation of such Act, and for other purposes”, approved June 9, 2010 (Public Law 111–90; 124 Stat. 1275).
Definitions— Section 212 of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended—
by striking paragraph (6); and
by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (6).
Applicability—
Markers and agreements before sunset— Notwithstanding the repeal under subsection (a), section 211(b) of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 1 note), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply to any person who received a marker or entered into an antitrust leniency agreement on or before June 22, 2020.
Markers and agreements after sunset— The repeal under subsection (a) shall apply to any person who received a marker or entered into an antitrust leniency agreement on or after June 23, 2020.
IV Community Services and Supports
Sec. 4401 Head Start Designation Renewal System
Notwithstanding section 638 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833), if the Secretary of Health and Human Services—
is required to make a determination under paragraph (6) of section 641(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(c)) whether to renew the designation of a Head Start agency for which such determination under the schedule developed pursuant to paragraph (9)(C) of such section 641(c) is required to be made before December 31, 2020; and
cannot make such determination in accordance with such schedule because the Secretary lacks any information described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of section 641(c)(1) of such Act required for the purpose of making such determination,
V Budgetary Effects
Sec. 4501 Budgetary effects
Statutory PAYGO scorecards— The budgetary effects of division B and each succeeding division shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
Senate PAYGO scorecards— The budgetary effects of division B and each succeeding division shall not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress).
Classification of budgetary effects— Notwithstanding Rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping Guidelines set forth in the joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference accompanying Conference Report 105–217 and section 250(c)(8) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the budgetary effects of division B and each succeeding division shall not be estimated—
for purposes of section 251 of such Act; and
for purposes of paragraph (4)(C) of section 3 of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 as being included in an appropriation Act.