[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 523 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 523
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to render overstaying a
visa a criminal offense, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 2019
Mr. Smucker introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to render overstaying a
visa a criminal offense, 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. VISA OVERSTAYS CRIMINALIZED.
(a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by
inserting after section 274D the following:
``SEC. 274E. VISA OVERSTAYS.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), any alien
who remains in the United States for any period of time after the date
on which any visa or status under which the alien is lawfully present
has expired shall--
``(1) for the first commission of any such offense, be
fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned no more
than 6 months, or both; and
``(2) for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be
fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not
more than 2 years, or both.
``(b) Exception.--If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines
on an individual case-by-case basis that, because of reasons of a
medical necessity, public safety, or national security, the alien
violated subsection (a), the alien shall not be subject to the
penalties under subsection (a).
``(c) Limitation on Reentry.--
``(1) First offenders.--Subject to section 222(g)(2), any
alien convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(1)--
``(A) may not be admitted to the United States for
a period of 5 years, beginning on the date of the
conviction; and
``(B) may not be granted a visa for a period of 10
years, beginning on the date of the conviction.
``(2) Subsequent offenses.--Notwithstanding section
222(g)(2), any alien convicted of a violation of subsection
(a)(2)--
``(A) may not be admitted to the United States; and
``(B) may not be granted a visa.
``(d) Disclosure of Penalties.--In the case of any application or
petition by or on behalf of an alien for admission to the United
States, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall provide the alien with notice of the penalties under this section
and section 275 on receipt of the application or petition, and again at
the time of admission.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Immigration
and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 274D the following:
``274E. Visa overstays.''.
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF VISA REVOCATION.
(a) In General.--Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)) is amended by inserting before the final
sentence the following: ``A revocation under this subsection shall
automatically cancel any other valid visa that is in the alien's
possession.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to
revocations under section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1201(i)) occurring on or after such date.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF INTENT REGARDING TAXPAYER-PROVIDED COUNSEL.
Section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362)
is amended--
(1) by striking ``In any removal proceedings before an
immigration judge and in any appeal proceedings before the
Attorney General from any such removal proceedings'' and
inserting ``In any removal proceedings before an immigration
judge, or any other immigration proceedings before the Attorney
General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or any appeal of
such a proceeding'';
(2) by striking ``(at no expense to the Government)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following ``Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, in no instance shall the Government
bear any expense for counsel for any person in proceedings
described in this section.''.
SEC. 4. SHARING VISA RECORDS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.
Section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1202(f)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) the Secretary of State on a case-by-case basis may
provide to a foreign government copies of any record of the
Department of State and of diplomatic and consular offices of
the United States pertaining to the issuance or refusal of
visas or permits to enter the United States, or any information
contained in those records, if the Secretary determines that it
is in the national interests of the United States; and''.
SEC. 5. ACCESS TO NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER FILES FOR VISA
ADJUDICATIONS RELATING TO DIPLOMATS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS.
Section 222 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) In the case of an alien described in one of clauses (i)
through (iv) of subsection (h)(2)(E) who has applied for a visa, the
Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall provide the Secretary of State with access to the
criminal history record information contained in files maintained by
the National Crime Information Center for the purpose of determining
whether the visa should be issued.''.
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