[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 35 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2102-S2103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. 
        Stevens):
  S. 1616. A bill to establish a visa waiver pilot program for 
nationals of Korea who are traveling in tour groups to the United 
States; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


               korean nationals visa waiver pilot program

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation 
that would establish a Visa Waiver Pilot Program for Korean nationals 
who are traveling in tour groups to the United States. I am joined in 
this effort by Senators Murkowski, Akaka, and Stevens.
  According to the 1995 National Trade Estimate Report entitled 
``Foreign Trade Barriers,'' in 1994, the United States trade deficit 
with the Republic of Korea was $1.6 billion, or $718 million greater 
than in 1993. United States merchandise exports to the Republic of 
Korea were $18 billion in 1994, up $3.3 billion from 1993. United 
States imports from the Republic of Korea totaled $19.7 billion in 
1994, 14.8 percent more than in 1993. The Republic of Korea is the 
sixth largest trading partner of the United States.
  Travel and tourism play a major role in reducing the United States' 
unfavorable balance of trade. There is an increasing demand by citizens 
of the Republic of Korea to visit the United States. In fiscal year 
1994, 320,747 nonimmigrants visas were issued to Korean travelers. In 
fiscal year 1995, 394,044 nonimmigrant visas were issued to Korean 
travelers. Of this amount, 320,120 were tourist visas.
  The Republic of Korea is not eligible to participate in the current 
Visa Waiver Pilot Program. Thus, Koreans are required to obtain a visa 
to travel to the United States. Unfortunately, U.S. visas can not be 
processed in a reasonable time frame. There is often a 2 to 3 week 
waiting period to obtain tourist visas. Although the Secretary of State 
has attempted to address the problem by including additional personnel 
in the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, visa processing 
delays do continue.
  The legislation we are introducing today would establish a 3-year 
pilot program that would waive the visa requirement for Korean 
nationals traveling as part of a group tour to the United States. Under 
the program, selected travel agencies in Korea would be allowed to 
issue temporary travel permits. The applicants would be required to 
meet the same prerequisites imposed by the United States Embassy.
  The pilot legislation also includes additional restrictions to help 
deter the possibility of illegal immigration. These are:
  The stay in the United States is no more than 15 days.
  The visitor poses no threat to the welfare, health, and safety, or 
security of the United States.
  The visitor possesses a round-trip ticket.
  The visitor who is deemed inadmissible or deportable by an 
immigration officer would be returned to Korea by the transportation 
carrier.
  Tour operators will be required to post a $200,000 performance bond 
with the Secretary of State, and will be penalized if a visitor fails 
to return on schedule.
  Tour operators will be required to provide written certification of 
the on-time return of each visitor within the tour group.
  The Secretary of State and the Attorney General can terminate the 
pilot program should the overstay rate exceed 2 percent.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this 
legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill text be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record as follows:

                                S. 1616

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

     SECTION 1. KOREA VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
       (1) travel and tourism play a major role in reducing the 
     United States unfavorable balance of trade;
       (2) the characteristics of the Korean travel market do not 
     permit long-term planning for longer trips;
       (3) applications for United States visas cannot now be 
     processed in a reasonable period of time;
       (4) the Secretary of State has attempted to solve the 
     problem by adding additional staff to the consular section at 
     the United States Embassy in Seoul;
       (5) unfortunately, these additions have not resulted in any 
     discernable improvement in reducing visa processing delays;
       (6) further, it is unlikely, given the current fiscal 
     environment, to expect funding to be available for further 
     staff additions in sufficient numbers to effect any 
     significant improvement in the time required to process visa 
     applications;
       (7) most of the nations of the South Pacific, Europe, and 
     Canada do not currently require Koreans entering their 
     countries to have a visa, thus providing them with a serious 
     competitive advantage in the tourism industry;
       (8) the United States territory of Guam has been permitted 
     by the United States Government to eliminate visa 
     requirements for Koreans visiting Guam, with resultant 
     impressive increases in travel and tourism from citizens of 
     the Republic of Korea;
       (9) any application under existing procedures to add the 
     Republic of Korea, or any other nation to the group of 
     favored nations exempted from United States visa regulations, 
     would require many years during which time the United States 
     could well lose its competitive advantages in attracting 
     travel and tourism from the Republic of Korea;
       (10) the Republic of Korea, as a gesture of goodwill, has 
     already unilaterally exempted United States tourists who seek 
     to enter the Republic of Korea from the requirement of 
     obtaining a visa; and
       (11) growth in Korean travel to the United States has not 
     kept pace with growth in travel to non-United States 
     destinations, and cumbersome and time-consuming visa 
     processing procedures are widely recognized as the cause of 
     this loss of market share and competitiveness with 
     alternative destinations.
       (b) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of State and the Attorney 
     General jointly shall establish a pilot project (in this 
     section referred to as the ``pilot program'') within six 
     months of the date of the enactment of this Act under which 
     the requirement of paragraph (7)(B)(i)(II) of section 212(a) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1182(a)(7)(B)(i)(II)) is waived during the pilot program 
     period in the case of any alien who meets the following 
     requirements:

[[Page S2103]]

       (1) National of pilot program country.--The alien is a 
     national of, and presents a passport issued by, the Republic 
     of Korea. The Republic of Korea is urged to provide machine 
     readable passports to its citizens in the near future.
       (2) Seeking entry as tourist.--The alien is applying for 
     admission to the United States during the pilot program 
     period as a nonimmigrant visitor for pleasure (as described 
     in section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B))), as part of a group tour to 
     the United States.
       (3) Period of stay.--The alien seeks to stay in the United 
     States for a period of not more than 15 days.
       (4) Executes immigration forms.--The alien before the time 
     of such admission completes such immigration form as the 
     Attorney General shall establish.
       (5) Entry into the united states.--If arriving by sea or 
     air, the alien arrives at the port of entry into the United 
     States on a carrier which has entered into an agreement with 
     the Immigration and Naturalization Service to guarantee 
     transport of the alien out of the United States if the alien 
     is found inadmissible or deportable by an immigration 
     officer.
       (6) Not a safety threat.--The alien has been determined not 
     to represent a threat to the welfare, health, safety, or 
     security of the United States.
       (7) No previous violation.--If the alien previously was 
     admitted without a visa under this section, the alien must 
     not have failed to comply with the conditions of any previous 
     admission as such a nonimmigrant.
       (8) Round-trip ticket.--The alien is in possession of a 
     round-trip transportation ticket (unless this requirement is 
     waived by the Attorney General under regulations).
       (c) Waiver of Rights.--An alien may not be provided a 
     waiver under the pilot program unless the alien has waived 
     any right--
       (1) to review or appeal under this Act of an immigration 
     officer's determination as to the admissibility of the alien 
     at the port of entry into the United States, or
       (2) to contest, other than on the basis of an application 
     for asylum, any action for deportation against the alien.
       (d) Termination of Authority.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this section, the Attorney General and the 
     Secretary of State, acting jointly, may terminate the pilot 
     program under this section on or after a date which is one 
     year after the date of the establishment of the pilot program 
     if--
       (1) during the preceding fiscal year, the overstay rate for 
     nationals of the Republic of Korea entering the United States 
     under the pilot program exceeds the overstay rate of such 
     nationals entering the United States with valid visas; and
       (2) the Attorney General and the Secretary of State have 
     jointly determined that the pilot program is leading to a 
     significant increase in the number of overstays by such 
     nationals.
       (e) Special Bond and Notification Requirements for Tour 
     Operators.--
       (1) In general.--Nationals of the Republic of Korea may not 
     enter the United States under the terms of this section 
     unless they are accompanied for the duration of their 
     authorized admission period by a tour operator who has 
     fulfilled the following requirements:
       (A) The tour operator has posted a bond of $200,000 with 
     the Secretary of State.
       (B) The Secretary of State, under such regulations as the 
     Secretary may prescribe, has approved an application by the 
     tour operator to escort tour groups to the United States.
       (C) The tour operator provides the name, address, 
     birthdate, passport number, and citizenship of all 
     prospective tour group members to the Secretary of State no 
     less than one business day prior to the departure date of the 
     group, under such regulations as he may prescribe, in order 
     to determine that the prospective travelers do not represent 
     a threat to the welfare, health, safety, and security of the 
     United States.
       (D) The tour operator excludes from the tour group any 
     person whom the Secretary of State denies permission to 
     travel to the United States.
       (E) The tour operator provides written certification or 
     other such evidence prescribed by the Secretary of State and 
     Attorney General which documents the return to Korea of each 
     tour group member.
       (2) Forfeiture of bonds.--Bonds posted in accordance with 
     this subsection shall be forfeited in whole or in part and a 
     tour operator's authorization to escort tours to the United 
     States may be suspended or revoked if the Secretary of State 
     finds that the tour operator--
       (A) has failed to disclose a material fact in connection 
     with the application required under paragraph (1)(B);
       (B) fails to comply with the advance notification and 
     refusal requirements of paragraphs (1)(C) and (1)(D);
       (C) has failed to take adequate steps to ensure that 
     visitors who are being escorted to the United States under 
     the terms of an approved application return to their country 
     of residence; or
       (D) is found at any time to have committed a felony or any 
     offense under the immigration laws of the United States.
       (f) Participation by Tour Agents.--The Secretary of State 
     shall periodically review the overstay rate of nationals of 
     the Republic of Korea that corresponds to each tour agent 
     participating in the program under this section. The 
     Secretary may terminate the participation in the program of 
     any tour agent if the Secretary determines that the 
     corresponding overstay rate is excessive.
       (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       (1) Group tour.--The term ``group tour'' means travelers 
     who take advantage of group-purchased hotel or airfare 
     packages, as guided, supervised, and arranged by a tour agent 
     in the Republic of Korea approved or licensed by the 
     Department of State.
       (2) Overstay rate.--The term ``overstay rate'' means, 
     during a specified period of time, the proportion that the 
     number of aliens remaining in the United States after the 
     expiration of their visas bears to the total number of aliens 
     entering the United States during that period of time.
       (3) Pilot program period.--The term ``pilot program 
     period'' means the three-year period immediately following 
     the establishment of the pilot program.

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to support the 
Korea visa waiver pilot project legislation. I have worked closely with 
Senators Inouye, Akaka, and Stevens on this legislation. This bill 
addresses the problem of the slow issuance of United States tourist 
visas to Korean citizens, and their, too often, subsequent decision not 
to vacation in the United States.
  Koreans typically wait 2 to 3 weeks to obtain visas from the United 
States Embassy in Seoul. As a result, these spontaneous travelers 
decide to go to one of the other 48 nations that allow them to travel 
to their country without a visa, including both Canada and New Zealand.
  This bill provides the legal basis for a carefully controlled pilot 
program for visa free travel by Koreans to the United States. The 
program seeks to capture the Korean tourism market lost due to the 
cumbersome visa system. For example, in 1994, 296,706 nonimmigrant 
United States visas were granted to Koreans of which 7,000 came to 
Alaska. It is predicted that there would be a 500- to 700-percent 
increase in Korean tourism to Alaska with the visa waiver pilot 
project. In New Zealand, for example, a 700-percent increase in tourism 
from Korea occurred after they dropped the visa requirement.
  This pilot program allows visitors in a tour group from South Korea 
to travel to the United States without a visa. however, it does not 
compromise the security standards of the United States. The program 
would allow selected travel agencies in Korea to issue temporary travel 
permits based on applicants meeting the same preset standards used by 
the United States Embassy in Seoul. The travel permits could only be 
used for supervised group tours.
  Many restrictions are included in the legislation for the pilot 
proposal.
  The Attorney General and Secretary of State can terminate the program 
if the overstay rates in the program are over 2 percent.
  The stay of the visitors is less than or equal to 15 days.
  The visitors have to have a round-trip ticket, in addition, the 
visitors have to arrive by a carrier that agrees to take them back if 
they are deemed inadmissible.
  We recommend to the Secretary of State to institute a bonding and 
licensing requirement that each participating travel agency post a 
substantial performance bond and pay a financial penalty if a tourist 
fails to return on schedule.
  The one-time return of each tourist in the group would be certified 
after each tour.
  Security checks are done to ensure that the visitor is not a safety 
threat to the United States.
  This legislation's restrictions ensure that the pilot program will be 
a successful program. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
                                 ______