[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8628 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8628

 To direct the Secretary of State to further surge capacity to better 
    support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of 
                  Afghanistan, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2022

Ms. Slotkin (for herself and Mr. Waltz) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of State to further surge capacity to better 
    support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of 
                  Afghanistan, 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 ``Support Our Afghan Partners Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA AND REFUGEE 
              APPLICANTS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States should increase support for nationals of Afghanistan who aided 
the United States mission in Afghanistan during the past twenty years 
and are now under threat from the Taliban, specifically special 
immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan and 
referrals of nationals of Afghanistan to the United States Refugee 
Admissions Program, including through the Priority 2 Designation for 
nationals of Afghanistan, who remain in Afghanistan or are in third 
countries.
    (b) Requirements.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other relevant Federal 
departments and agencies, shall further surge capacity to better 
support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of 
Afghanistan and referrals of nationals of Afghanistan to the United 
States Refugee Admissions Program and who have been approved by the 
chief of mission, including through the Priority 2 Designation for 
nationals of Afghanistan, and reduce their application processing 
times, while ensuring strict and necessary security vetting, including, 
to the extent practicable, enabling refugee referrals to initiate 
application processes while still in Afghanistan.
    (c) Surge Capacity Described.--The term ``surge capacity'' includes 
increasing consular personnel to any embassy or consulate in the region 
processing visa applications for nationals of Afghanistan.
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