[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1178 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1178

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the visa waiver 
                 pilot program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Visa Waiver Pilot Program 
Reauthorization Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.

    (a) Designation of Pilot Program Countries.--Section 217(c) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(c)) is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(c) Designation of Pilot Program Countries.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation 
        with the Attorney General, may designate any country as a pilot 
        program country if it meets the requirements of paragraph (2). 
        In order to remain a pilot program country in any subsequent 
        fiscal year, a country shall be redesignated as a pilot program 
        country by the Attorney General in accordance with the 
        requirements of paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Qualifications.--The Secretary of State may not 
        designate a country as a pilot program country unless the 
        following requirements are met:
                    ``(A) Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate for 
                previous 2-year period.--The average number of refusals 
                of nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of that 
                country during the two previous full fiscal years was 
                less than 3.0 percent of the total number of 
                nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of that 
                country which were granted or refused during those 
                years.
                    ``(B) Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate for each 
                of 2 previous years.--The average number of refusals of 
                nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of that 
                country during either of such two previous full fiscal 
                years was less than 3.5 percent of the total number of 
                nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of that 
                country which were granted or refused during that year.
                    ``(C) Machine-readable passport program.--The 
                government of the country certifies to the Secretary of 
                State's and the Attorney General's satisfaction that it 
                issues machine-readable and highly fraud-resistant 
                passports to its citizens.
                    ``(D) Law enforcement interests.--The Attorney 
                General determines that the United States' law 
                enforcement interests would not be compromised by the 
                designation of the country.
                    ``(E) Illegal overstay and disqualification.--For 
                any country with an average nonimmigrant visa refusal 
                rate during the previous two fiscal years of greater 
                than 2 and less than 3 percent of the total number of 
                nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of that 
                country which were granted or refused during those 
                years, and for any country with an average number of 
                refusals during either such year of greater than 2.5 
                and less than 3.5 percent, the Attorney General shall 
                certify to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate and the House of Representatives that the sum 
                of--
                            ``(I) the total of the number of nationals 
                        of that country who were excluded from 
                        admission or withdrew their application for 
                        admission at a port of entry during such 
                        previous fiscal year as a nonimmigrant visitor, 
                        and
                            ``(II) the total number of nationals for 
                        that country who were admitted as nonimmigrant 
                        visitors during such previous fiscal year and 
                        who violated the terms of such admission,
                is less than 2 percent of the total number of nationals 
                of that country who applied for admission as 
                nonimmigrant visitors during such previous fiscal year.
            ``(3) Continuing and subsequent qualifications.--The 
        Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 
        shall assess the continuing and subsequent qualification of 
        countries designated as pilot program countries and shall 
        redesignate countries as pilot program countries only if the 
        requirements specified in this subsection are met. For each 
        fiscal year (within the pilot program period) after the initial 
        period the following requirements shall apply:
                    ``(A) Countries previously designated.--(i) Except 
                as provided in subsection (g) of this section, in the 
                case of a country which was a pilot program country in 
                the previous fiscal year, the Attorney General may not 
                redesignate such country as a pilot program country 
                unless the sum of--
                            ``(I) the total of the number of nationals 
                        of that country who were excluded from 
                        admission or withdrew their application for 
                        admission during such previous fiscal year as a 
                        nonimmigrant visitor, and
                            ``(II) the total number of nationals of 
                        that country who were admitted as nonimmigrant 
                        visitors during such previous fiscal year and 
                        who violated the terms of such admission,
                was less than 2 percent of the total number of 
                nationals of that country who applied for admission as 
                nonimmigrant visitors during such previous fiscal year.
                    ``(ii) In the case of a country which was a pilot 
                program country in the previous fiscal year, the 
                Attorney General may not redesignate such country as a 
                pilot program country unless the Attorney General has 
                made a precise numerical estimate of the figures under 
                clauses (i)(I) and (i)(II) and reports those figures to 
                the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
                House of Representatives within 30 days after the end 
                of the fiscal year. As of September 30, 1999, any such 
                estimates shall be based on data collected from the 
                automated entry-exit control system mandated by section 
                110 of Public Law 104-708.
                    ``(iii) In the case of a country which was a pilot 
                program country in the previous fiscal year and which 
                was first admitted to the visa waiver pilot program 
                prior to September 30, 1997, the Attorney General may 
                not redesignate such country as a pilot program country 
                unless the country certifies that it has issued or will 
                issue as of a date certain machine-readable and highly 
                fraud-resistant passports and unless the country 
                subsequently complies with any such certification 
                commitments.
                    ``(B) New countries.--In the case of a country to 
                which the clauses of subparagraph (A) do not apply, 
                such country may not be designated as a pilot program 
                country unless the following requirements are met:
                            ``(i) Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate in 
                        previous 2-year period.--The average number of 
                        refusals of nonimmigrant visitor visas for 
                        nationals of that country during the two 
                        previous full fiscal years was less than 3.0 
                        percent of the total number of nonimmigrant 
                        visitor visas for nationals of that country 
                        which were granted or refused during those 
                        years.
                            ``(ii) Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate 
                        in each of the 2 previous years.--The average 
                        number of refusals of nonimmigrant visitor 
                        visas for nationals of that country during 
                        either of such two previous full fiscal years 
                        was less than 3.5 percent of the total number 
                        of nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of 
                        that country which were granted or refused 
                        during that year.
                            ``(iii) Commencement of authorized period 
                        for qualifying countries.--No country 
                        qualifying under the criteria in clauses (i) 
                        and (ii) may be newly designated as a pilot 
                        program country prior to October 1, 1998.
                    ``(C) Reporting requirements for other countries.--
                For every country from which nonimmigrants seek entry 
                into the United States, the Attorney General shall make 
                a precise numerical estimate of the figures under 
                subparagraph (A)(i) (I) and (II) and report those 
                figures to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate and the House of Representatives within 30 days 
                after the end of the fiscal year.
            ``(4) Initial period.--For purposes of paragraph (3), the 
        term `initial period' means the period beginning at the end of 
        the 30-day period described in section 2(c)(1) of the Visa 
        Waiver Pilot Program Reauthorization Act of 1997 and ending on 
        the last day of the first fiscal year which begins after such 
        30-day period.''.
    (b) Authorized Pilot Program Period.--Section 217(f) of that Act is 
amended by striking ``September 30, 1997'' and inserting ``September 
30, 2000''.
    (c) Development of Automated Entry Control System.--(1) As of the 
date of enactment of this Act, no country may be newly designated as a 
pilot program country until the end of the 30-day period beginning on 
the date that the Attorney General submits to the Committees on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
certification that the automated entry-exit control system described in 
paragraph (2) is operational.
    (2) The automated entry-exit control system is the system mandated 
by section 110 of Public Law 104-208 as applied at all ports of entry 
excluding the land borders.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON AUTOMATED ENTRY-EXIT CONTROL SYSTEM.

    (a) Within six months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives on her plans for and the 
feasibility of developing an automated entry-exit control system that 
would operate at the land borders of the United States and that would--
            (1) collect a record of departure for every alien departing 
        the United States and match the records of departure with the 
        record of the alien's arrival in the United States; and
            (2) enable the Attorney General to identify, through on-
        line searching procedures, lawfully admitted nonimmigrants who 
        remain in the United States beyond the period authorized by the 
        Attorney General.
    (b) Such report shall assess the costs and feasibility of various 
means of operating such an automated entry-exit control system; shall 
evaluate how such a system could be implemented without increasing 
border traffic congestion and border crossing delays and, if any such 
system would increase border crossing delays, evaluate to what extent 
such congestion or delays would increase; and shall estimate the length 
of time that would be required for any such system to be developed and 
implemented at the land borders.

            Passed the Senate September 26, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1178

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the visa waiver 
                 pilot program, and for other purposes.