[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3181 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3181

   To establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas for 
nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants, 
 to improve procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant student visas, and 
  to enhance procedures for admission at ports of entry to the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2001

 Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Hunter) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas for 
nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants, 
 to improve procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant student visas, and 
  to enhance procedures for admission at ports of entry to the United 
                                States.

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

SECTION 1. MORATORIUM ON NONIMMIGRANT FOREIGN STUDENT AND OTHER 
              EXCHANGE PROGRAM VISAS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b) and notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act and ending 9 months after such date, no nonimmigrant visas shall be 
issued which are described under subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of 
section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
    (b) Exception.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State, may provide for case-by-case exceptions to the 
prohibition under subsection (a) if the Attorney General determines it 
to be in the national interest of the United States.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIER AND DATABASE CROSSCHECK 
              FOR NONIMMIGRANT APPLICATIONS AND AT POINTS OF ENTRY INTO 
              THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Requirement for Nonimmigrant Visa Application.--Section 221(b) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(b)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)''; and
            (2) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) Each alien who applies for a nonimmigrant visa shall submit a 
photograph and a biometric identifier (such as the fingerprints or 
handprint of the alien) that is machine readable, at such time and in 
such manner as shall be determined by regulation by the Attorney 
General and the Secretary of State. A photograph and biometric 
identifier shall be required to be contained on the visa or other 
documentation required for admission at the port of entry. The Attorney 
General may, in the discretion of the Attorney General and on the basis 
of reciprocity pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General may 
prescribe, waive the requirement of a biometric identifier in the case 
of any nonimmigrant.''.
    (b) Match Requirement for Admission.--Section 221(f) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(f)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(f)''; and
            (2) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) Each alien presenting a nonimmigrant visa and other documents 
required at the port of entry is not permitted to enter the United 
States unless the photograph and biometric identifier contained on the 
documents matches the appropriate facial and biometric characteristics 
of the alien.''.
    (c) Database Crosscheck.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of 
State, jointly, shall by regulation require that prior to the issuance 
of a nonimmigrant visa, the photograph and biometric identifier of each 
applicant shall be crosschecked with all appropriate databases 
(including the IDENT System of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, the interagency border inspection system of the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service, the Integrated 
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, and the Consular Lookout and Support System 
(CLASS) of the Department of State) for information regarding the 
alien.
    (d) Implementation.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of 
State shall ensure that officials at consular offices abroad with the 
responsibility to consider applications for nonimmigrant visas and 
immigration officials at points of entry have the technology and 
training to carry out this section and the amendments made by this 
section.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON ACCOMPANYING SPOUSE AND CHILD IN 
              THE PROGRAM TO COLLECT INFORMATION RELATING TO 
              NONIMMIGRANT FOREIGN STUDENTS AND OTHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM 
              PARTICIPANTS.

    Section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 is amended in subsection (c)(1)--
            (1) in subparagraph (C) by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D) by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E) the names, ages, and other appropriate 
                information concerning any accompanying spouse or 
                child.''.
                                 <all>