Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act of 2023”.
Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act of 2023
A BILL
To amend the Afghan Allies Protection Act to provide special immigrant visas to certain Fulbright Scholars, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Special immigrant visas for certain fulbright scholars
Special immigrant visas for certain scholars— Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2)”;
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking “subparagraph (D)” and inserting “subparagraph (E)”;
by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G), respectively;
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
“(B) Fulbright and other scholars as principal alien—An alien is described in this subparagraph if the alien is a national or citizen of Afghanistan and was selected between October 7, 2001 and August 31, 2023, to participate in—
“(i) the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program authorized under section 102 of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(a)(1)) including the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Grants and the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program;
“(ii) the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program pursuant to section 112(a)(2) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)(2));
“(iii) the International Visitor Leadership Program pursuant to section 112(a)(3) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)(3)); or
“(iv) any other educational or cultural exchange activity administered by the Secretary of State pursuant to sections 102 or 112 of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452; 22 U.S.C. 2460) for which the Secretary determines that a participating alien is eligible for a special immigrant visa under this paragraph.”
in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by striking “subparagraph (A)” and inserting “subparagraph (A) or (B)”; and
in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by striking “subparagraph (A)” each place it appears and inserting “subparagraph (A) or (B)”;
in paragraph (4)(C), by striking “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2)”;
in paragraph (5), by striking “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2)”;
in paragraph (6), by striking “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2)”; and
in paragraph (9), by striking “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “an alien described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2)”.
Numerical limitations— Section 602(b)(3) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended—
by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G), respectively;
in subparagraph (A), by striking “(C)” and inserting “(D)”;
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:
“(B) Fulbright and other scholars—An alien provided immigrant status pursuant to subparagraph (2)(B) shall not be counted against any numerical limitation under this section, or section 201, 202, 203, or 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152, 1153, and 1157).”
in subparagraph (E), as redesignated by paragraph (1),—
by striking “paragraph (C)” and inserting “subparagraph (D)”; and
by striking “subsection (b)(2)(D)” and inserting “paragraph (2)(E)”;
in subparagraph (F), as redesignated by paragraph (1),—
by striking “paragraph (2)(D)” and inserting “paragraph (2)(E)”; and
by striking “subparagraph (D)” each place that it appears and inserting “subparagraph (E)”; and
in subparagraph (G), as redesignated by paragraph (1)—
by striking “subparagraph (D)” and inserting “subparagraph (E)”;
by striking “subparagraphs (D) and (E)” and inserting “subparagraphs (E) and (F)”; and
in clause (ii), by striking “paragraph (2)(D)” and inserting “paragraph (2)(E)”.