To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to render overstaying a visa a criminal offense, and for other purposes. 2019-01-11 Introduced in House This bill makes it a criminal offense to overstay a visa. For the first offense, the overstaying alien shall be fined or imprisoned up to six months, or both. For each subsequent offense, the alien shall be fined or imprisoned up to two years, or both. The Department of Homeland Security may make case-by-case exceptions for medical necessity, public safety, or national security.

Aliens who overstay a visa shall be barred from admission into the United States and may not be granted a visa. For the first offense, the overstaying alien shall be barred from admission for 5 years and barred from receiving a visa for 10 years. For a subsequent offense, the alien shall be permanently barred from admission and from getting a visa.

If an alien's visa is revoked, all valid visas in that alien's possession are automatically cancelled.

The bill expands the types of removal proceedings where an alien shall have the right to counsel. The government shall not bear the expense for such counsel.

The Department of State may share visa and entry permit-related records with foreign governments on a case-by-case basis, if it is in the interests of the United States to do so. The State Department shall have access to National Crime Information Center files for determining whether visas for certain applicants should be granted.

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