[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1545 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1545

  To designate Taiwan as a visa waiver program country under section 
             217(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2011

  Mr. Inhofe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To designate Taiwan as a visa waiver program country under section 
             217(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The United States enjoys a friendly and mutually 
        beneficial relationship with Taiwan. Solid commercial, 
        educational, and cultural ties between the United States and 
        Taiwan could be further strengthened by the inclusion of Taiwan 
        in the United States Visa Waiver Program.
            (2) As a full-fledged, stable democracy, Taiwan shares with 
        the United States a commitment to democracy, human rights, the 
        rule of the law, and a market-based economy.
            (3) Taiwan is the United States ninth largest trading 
        partner and a key export market in almost every major sector. 
        Trade in commercial goods between Taiwan and the United States 
        totaled nearly $62,000,000,000 in 2010.
            (4) The United States and Taiwan have long maintained close 
        and productive cooperation in science and technology. Since 
        1979, the United States and Taiwan have signed more than 190 
        science and technology agreements under the framework of the 
        Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and the 
        American Institute in Taiwan.
            (5) Taiwan has worked very closely with the United States 
        in the field of education. More than 26,000 Taiwanese studied 
        at colleges and universities in the United States during 2010.
            (6) These important relationships generate significant 
        interpersonal contact and travel. In 2009, people from Taiwan 
        made more than 500,000 trips to the United States.
            (7) If allowed to participate in the Visa Waiver Program, 
        holders of Taiwan passports could travel to the United States 
        without the expense and time consuming process of obtaining a 
        visa, which is expected to boost the number of visits for 
        sightseeing and business purposes. Taiwanese travel to the 
        United Kingdom and New Zealand increased by 35 to 40 percent 
        after those countries waived visa obligations. Tourism revenue 
        would increase by an estimated $1,800,000,000 by waiving visa 
        requirements for Taiwanese travelers to the United States.
            (8) Taiwan has already exempted United States passport 
        holders from visa requirements for visits up to 30 days. By 
        extending similar privileges to Taiwanese travelers, the United 
        States could facilitate people-to-people contacts, enhance 
        cultural links, and expand business opportunities and tourism.
            (9) During fiscal year 2010, Taiwan's United States visa 
        refusal rate was 2.2 per cent, which is well below the maximum 
        allowable 3 percent rate for refusals of United States 
        nonimmigrant visitor visa applications under the Visa Waiver 
        Program.
            (10) Taiwan has a high Human Development Index, which 
        indicates that it has a high income economy.
            (11) The Government of Taiwan has actively pursued the 
        resumption of mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States 
        at the highest levels.
            (12) Census figures show that there were about 230,000 
        Taiwanese residing in the United States in 2010, while 
        unofficial reports put that figure at 500,000.
            (13) S. Con. Res. 17 was introduced on May 12, 2011, to 
        express the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be accorded 
        observer status in the International Civil Aviation 
        Organization and has since been voted favorably out of the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
            (14) Taiwanese citizens who are in possession of a machine 
        readable passport and have completed Form I-736 (Guam-CNMI Visa 
        Waiver Information Form) and Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure 
        Record) may enter Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands without a visa under a visa waiver program that 
        applies to these United States territories.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATING TAIWAN AS A VISA WAIVER PROGRAM COUNTRY.

    Notwithstanding section 217(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(c)), Taiwan shall be deemed to be a designated 
program country for purposes of the Visa Waiver Program established 
under section 217 of such Act.
                                 <all>