II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1653 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 4, 2011 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Heller, and Mr. Begich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To make minor modifications to the procedures relating to the issuance of visas.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the International Tourism Facilitation Act.

2.

Fee retention

(a)

In general

The Department of State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2005 (title IV of division B of Public Law 108–447) is amended, in the fourth paragraph under the heading Diplomatic and Consular Programs, by striking the second proviso and inserting Provided further, That the Secretary of State is authorized to charge fees for consular services, which may be deposited in the appropriate Department of State account to the extent that the amount of such fees collected during a fiscal year, excluding any fees for consular services retained by the Department of State pursuant to any other authority, is greater than the amount of fees for consular services deposited in the Treasury during fiscal year 2011.. (b)

Conforming amendments

(1)

Passport act

Section 1(a) of the Passport Act of June 4, 1920 (22 U.S.C. 214(a)) is amended— (A)by striking and paid into the Treasury of the United States; and (B)by striking except that the Secretary and inserting . The Secretary. (2)

Authority to amend surcharges

Section 6 of the Department of State Authorities Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–472) is repealed.

3.

Visa extension interview waiver

Section 222(h)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(h)(1)(B)) is amended— (1)in clause (i), by striking 12 months and inserting 4 years; (2)by striking clause (ii); and (3)by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively.

4.

Visa system performance assessment

The Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that includes— (1)an annual forecast of demand through 2020 for nonimmigrant visas in the key high-growth markets of Brazil, China, and India, including a description of the methodology used to make such forecasts that— (A)describes the internal and external studies utilized to prepare such forecasts; and (B)indicates whether such methodology utilizes the Department of Commerce’s analysis of visitor arrival projections; (2)a comparison of the Department of State’s nonimmigrant visa demand projections and the Department of Commerce’s yearly visitor arrival projections for Brazil, China, and India through 2020, including details on whether the Department of State’s workload projections for each such country align with the Department of Commerce’s yearly visitor arrival projections; (3)a description of the practices and procedures currently used by each United States diplomatic and consular mission in Brazil, China, and India to manage nonimmigrant visa workload; (4)information on short- and long-term plans developed to meet the forecasted demand for nonimmigrant visas through 2020 in Brazil, China, and India, including facility expansion needs; and (5)information on the strategies that will be used by the Department of State to maximize existing consular and embassy space to accommodate new limited non-career appointment consular officers.