[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7028 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7028

To authorize the issuance of visas and admission of certain aliens, and 
 their derivatives, who were selected to apply for diversity immigrant 
  visas but were unable to be issued such visas or be admitted to the 
 United States as a result of certain Presidential Proclamations, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 17, 2024

 Mr. Torres of New York (for himself, Ms. Chu, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Foster, 
    Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Johnson of 
    Georgia, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Huffman, Mr. 
Garamendi, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Adams, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Wasserman 
   Schultz, Ms. Norton, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Cleaver, Mr. Takano, Mr. Casten, Mr. Carson, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Moore of 
 Wisconsin, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Clarke of New York, 
  Mrs. Napolitano, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Nickel, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. 
Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Frost, Mr. Peters, Ms. McCollum, 
 Ms. Meng, Ms. Balint, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Norcross, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. 
  Schiff, Ms. Titus, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Escobar, Ms. 
 Barragan, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. 
 Gomez, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Pocan, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Trone, Mr. Smith of 
 Washington, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, and Mr. Krishnamoorthi) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the issuance of visas and admission of certain aliens, and 
 their derivatives, who were selected to apply for diversity immigrant 
  visas but were unable to be issued such visas or be admitted to the 
 United States as a result of certain Presidential Proclamations, 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 ``Keeping Our Promise Act''.

SEC. 2. ALIENS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED DIVERSITY VISAS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 204(a)(1)(I)(ii)(II) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I)(ii)(II)), 
and subject to subsection (c) of this section, an immigrant visa made 
available to an alien under section 203(c) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)) in any of fiscal years 2017, 2018, 
2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 shall remain available to such alien if--
            (1) the alien was refused a visa or denied admission to the 
        United States solely because of--
                    (A) Executive Order 13769, ``Protecting the Nation 
                from Foreign Terrorist Entry into The United States'' 
                (January 27, 2017);
                    (B) Executive Order 13780, ``Protecting the Nation 
                from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States'' 
                (March 6, 2017);
                    (C) Proclamation 9645, ``Enhancing Vetting 
                Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted 
                Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other 
                Public-Safety Threats'' (September 24, 2017); or
                    (D) Proclamation 9983, ``Improving Enhanced Vetting 
                Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted 
                Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other 
                Public-Safety Threats'' (January 31, 2020); or
            (2) because of the COVID-19 public health emergency--
                    (A) the alien was unable to receive a visa 
                interview despite submitting an Online Immigrant Visa 
                and Alien Registration Application (Form DS-260) to the 
                Secretary of State, and having submitted complete 
                documentation or having qualified for such a visa on or 
                before September 30 of the applicable fiscal year; or
                    (B) the alien was unable to be admitted to the 
                United States despite being approved for a visa under 
                section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)).
    (b) Obligations of the Secretary.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall--
                    (A) notify each alien described in subsection (a) 
                (and such alien's representative, if applicable) of 
                their continuing eligibility to apply for a visa under 
                section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)); and
                    (B) publish on the Department of State website, 
                information and procedures implementing this Act.
            (2) Notice.--The notice described in paragraph (1)(A) shall 
        include procedures for the alien to notify the Secretary of 
        State of the alien's intent to proceed with or abandon the 
        application, and shall include an advisal that such application 
        shall be deemed abandoned if the alien fails to notify the 
        Secretary of the alien's intent to proceed within one year of 
        the date of the notice.
    (c) Limitation on Visa Eligibility.--An alien described in 
subsection (a) shall remain eligible to receive such visa until the 
earliest of the date that the alien--
            (1) notifies the Secretary of the alien's intent to abandon 
        the application in accordance with the procedures described in 
        subsection (b);
            (2) fails to respond to the notice described in subsection 
        (b)(2); or
            (3) is refused a visa by a consular officer--
                    (A) for failure to meet the education or work 
                experience requirements under section 203(c)(2) of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)(2));
                    (B) for failure to meet the requirements under 
                section 204(a)(1)(I)(iii) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I)(iii)); or
                    (C) on grounds that the alien is inadmissible under 
                section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)).
    (d) Numerical Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), visas issued to aliens under this Act shall be counted 
        against the numerical limitation described in section 201(e) of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) for the 
        fiscal year in which such visas were made available to such 
        aliens.
            (2) Unused visas.--Visas under section 201(e) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) that go 
        unused in any of fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, or 
        2022 may be allocated to aliens described in subsection (a) 
        regardless of the fiscal year in which such alien's visa was 
        made available.
            (3) Overage.--In the case that the total number of aliens 
        described in subsection (a) who are eligible for visas exceeds 
        the total number of visas under section 201(e) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) for fiscal 
        years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, such excess 
        number shall not be counted against the numerical limitation 
        described in such section 201(e).
    (e) Age Out Protections.--A determination of whether an unmarried 
son or daughter of the visa applicant is eligible to apply as a child 
of the visa applicant pursuant to section 203(d) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)) shall be made using the age of the 
unmarried son or daughter when the applicant was initially selected for 
a visa in accordance with section 203(e)(2) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 10 1153(e)(2)).
    (f) Prioritization.--The prioritization of visa services, as among 
visa classifications and other consular services, is within the sole 
unreviewable discretion of the Secretary of State. To the extent 
possible, the Secretary of State shall process applications in the rank 
order originally designated, consistent with applicable regulations.
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