Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Visa Processing Improvement Act”.
Visa Processing Improvement Act
A BILL
To improve visa processing times, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Increasing consular office flexibility and capacity
English language interviews— Section 222 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(i)
“(1) Any alien applying for a visa who qualifies for a waiver from the in person interview requirement under clause (vi)(I) of subsection (h)(1)(A) or any other provision of law who certifies that the alien is capable of, and willing to, complete an entire interview in English may be interviewed remotely in English by a consular fellow with limited experience or by another consular employee stationed at a consulate that does not have a significant backlog of visa applicants.
“(2) If the consular fellow or consular employee determines that an applicant is not able to communicate fully or accurately in English during the interview, the applicant may be referred to a consulate in the home country of the applicant for a follow-up interview conducted in the native language of the applicant.”
Consular Fellows Program—
Interest in the Consular Fellows Program— Individuals who register to take the Foreign Service Officers Test shall be asked if they would like to receive information about the Consular Fellows Program.
Expansion; recruitment— Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs shall expand the Consular Fellows Program by 5 percent annually through fiscal year 2030 by recruiting individuals with a demonstrated interest in serving the United States Government and living abroad and who possess valuable language skills, particularly individuals whose scores on the Foreign Service Officer Test are within 10 percent of the score required to be invited to the Foreign Service Oral Assessment, to participate in the Consular Fellows Program.
Training— Each participant in the Consular Fellows Program shall complete 6 months of training in the United States, which shall include conducting English-language interviews of visa applicants on behalf of—
consulates that have an insufficient number of consular officers; or
the consulate at which the participant is expected to be stationed.
Post-fellowship benefit— With respect to an individual who successfully completes an assignment as a Consular Fellow with the Bureau of Consular Affairs lasting not less than 3 years, during the 1-year period beginning on the date on which the individual completes that assignment, the Secretary of State may noncompetitively appoint the individual to a position in the Department of State.
Sec. 3 Improving accountability and transparency
Nonimmigrant visa processing standards— It is the sense of Congress that not fewer than 80 percent of applicants for nonimmigrant visas who submit applications at a United States consulate should be interviewed by appropriate consular staff not later than 21 days after their application is received by such consulate.
Wait times— The consul general at each United States consulate shall—
categorize wait times nonimmigrant visa applicant interviews based on goals established by Congress, the Secretary of State, or the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs;
make such categorizations publicly available; and
regularly update such categorizations.
Recurring noncompliance with wait time standard— If a consulate is not in compliance with the interview wait time standard established pursuant to subsection (d)(1) for 90 consecutive days, the Secretary of State shall develop protocols to reduce such wait times, which may include—
allowing other consulates to share their staff with the noncompliant consulate;
increasing in-person staffing at the noncompliant consulate;
submitting a plan to the Secretary of State for improving the efficiency with which consular staff process nonimmigrant visa applications; and
implementing other remedial efforts, as necessary, including—
technological upgrades;
overtime allocations; and
a new appointment scheduling process.
Rulemaking—
In general— The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, shall issue regulations that—
establish standards for nonimmigrant visa processing timelines that designate phases for compliance and ongoing improvement, in accordance with subsection (a);
establish a trigger mechanism that automatically guarantees immediate support for a nonimmigrant visa applicants after a specified period, in accordance with subsection (c).
Minimum standards for nonimmigrant visa processing— The trigger mechanism established under paragraph (1)(B) shall, at a minimum, guarantee support, in accordance with subsection (c), for a consulate at which, during the preceding 30-day period, not fewer than 20 percent of nonimmigrant visa applicants received an interview within 45 days of the date on which their application was received by such consulate.
Notice and comment exemption— In issuing regulations pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of State is exempted from the requirements set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
Authority To transfer Department of State appropriations to improve passport and visa services—
In general— For any fiscal year, the Secretary of State may transfer not more than $10,000,000 to the Consular and Border Security Programs account from unobligated amounts held in other Department of State accounts or any unobligated balance from prior Acts making appropriations for the Department of State if the Secretary submits a report to the appropriate committees of Congress providing details on the use of the funds.
Use of transferred funds— Any amounts so transferred shall be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the protocols described in subsection (c) or improving passport or visa services.
Appropriate committees of Congress define— In this subsection, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—
the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 4 Revising in-person interview waiver eligibility
Expansion of classes of aliens eligible for in-Person interview waiver— Section 222(h)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(h)(1)(A)) is amended—
in clause (iii), by striking “or” at the end;
by adding at the end the following:
“(iv)
“(I) applying for the first time for a nonimmigrant visa described in subparagraph (B), (F), (H) (J), (L), (M), (O), (P), or (Q);
“(II) a national of a country designated as a program country under section 217(c); and
“(III) a previous traveler to the United States through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization; or.”
Prior submission of biometric data— Section 222(h)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(h)(1)(A)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
“(vi)
“(I) not a first time applicant for a nonimmigrant visa;
“(II) is an individual who—
“(aa) has previously submitted biometric data to the Department of State or Department of Homeland Security; and
“(bb) has held a valid visa described in subparagraph (B), (F), (H), (J), (L), (M), (O), (P) or (Q) not more than 24 months before submitting the current application; and
“(III) an individual with respect to whom the consular officer has no indication has not complied with the immigration laws and regulations of the United States.”
Prior visa issued— Section 222(h)(1)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(h)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking “12 months” and inserting “48 months”.
Remote interview pilot— Section 222 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 2(a), is further amended—
in subsection (h), by inserting “except as provided in subsection (j),” after “of this Act,”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(j) The in-person interview requirement under subsection (h) may be satisfied by remote videoconference interview if—
“(1) the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security, certifies to Congress that such a videoconference interview will not cause undue security concern, as demonstrated by a 2-year pilot program to be carried out by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security for such purpose;
“(2) the videoconference technology used to conduct such an interview—
“(A) meets applicable security and privacy standards, consistent with Department of Homeland Security regulations; and
“(B) is capable of capturing and collecting biometrics, in accordance with nonimmigrant visa application requirements;
“(3) such an interview may be conducted by a participant in the Consular Fellows program; and
“(4) the visa applicant to be so interviewed—
“(A) is a former visa holder who is applying for a B–1 or B–2 visa on a date that is not more than 48 months after the date on which the previous visa issued to the applicant expired;
“(B) has never been refused or denied a visa;
“(C) appears to be prima facie eligible for the B–1 or B–2 visa;
“(D) is residing in his or her country of citizenship;
“(E) is able and willing to complete the entire interview in English; and
“(F) is a citizen of a country with an active Global Entry agreement.”
Sec. 5 Improving the service experience
Expedited service—
In general— Any first-time visa applicant who is eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement under section 222(h)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(h)), as amended by section 4, may, upon the payment of the fees described in paragraph (2), request expedited service, which shall entitle the applicant to a remote interview not later than 14 days after the applicant files a completed application for such visa.
Fee— In addition to the application fee otherwise required to be submitted with an application for a visa, an applicant described in paragraph (1) seeking expedited service under such paragraph shall include with the application a payment of $500, (in the case of an individual over the age of 17 years) or $50 (in the case of an individual who is 17 years of age or younger) which shall be used by the Secretary of State—
to pay for the expansion of the Consular Fellows Program required under section 2(b); and
to support the recruitment and training of sufficient additional consular staff to provide the expedited services to which applicants are entitled under paragraph (1).
Domestic renewal of B visitor visas— Section 221(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(c)(2)) is amended—
by striking “A nonimmigrant” and inserting the following:
“(A) Period of validity—A nonimmigrant”
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) Domestic renewal of B–1 and B–2 visas
“(i) In general—Subject to clause (ii), any alien who, while visiting the United States temporarily for business or pleasure in accordance with section 101(a)(15)(B), desires to extend his or her period of stay in the United States beyond the initial period granted by a B–1 or B–2 visa, as applicable, may apply for such extension not later than the date established by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 5(c) of the Visa Processing Improvement Act without leaving the United States by submitting an application to the appropriate office of the Department of State, together with a fee, in an amount to be determined by the Secretary of State.
“(ii) Eligibility—An alien’s period of stay in the United States may not be extended under clause (i) unless such alien is eligible for an in person interview waiver under section 222(h)(1).
“(iii) Status while application is pending—If an alien’s application for an extension of stay under clause (i) is not approved before the expiration of the alien’s initial period of stay, the alien shall immediately depart from the United States and may not reenter the United States without a valid visa.
“(iv) Processing renewals—Applications for an extension of stay under clause (i) shall be considered on a case-by-case basis and processed either by Department of State staff stationed in the United States or by consular staff in the applicants country of origin, depending on workload, staff availability, and language requirements.”
Rulemaking— The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall promulgate regulations that establish—
the number of days before the expiration of an alien’s initial period of admission under a B–1 or B–2 visa by which such alien may apply for an extension of such period without leaving the United States; and
the amount of the fee payable by any alien requesting an extension of his or her period of stay under subparagraph (B)(i) of section 221(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(c)(2)), as amended by subsection (b), without leaving the United States, which shall be in addition to the fee otherwise required to be submitted with the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application form (commonly known as the “DS–160”) and shall not include fingerprinting service, which shall be completed by applicants, at their own expense, through an approved third-party vendor who will share the fingerprints directly with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security.
Retention of discretionary authority— Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of section 221(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(c)(2)), as amended by subsection (b), the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have discretionary authority to require visitors seeking an extension of their period of authorized stay in the United States to leave the United States and complete in-person interviews in their respective countries of origin if the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security determine that such requirement is necessary for safety or security purposes.