[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5504-H5506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STUDENT VISA REFORM ACT
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 3120) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to
require accreditation of certain educational institutions for purposes
of a nonimmigrant student visa, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3120
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 ``Student Visa Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT FOR COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES.
Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (15)(F)(i)--
(A) by striking ``section 214(l) at an established college,
university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school,
elementary school, or other academic institution or in an
accredited language training program in the United States''
and inserting ``section 214(m) at an accredited college,
university, or language training program, or at an
established seminary, conservatory, academic high school,
elementary school, or other academic institution in the
United States''; and
(B) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
(2) by amending paragraph (52) to read as follows:
``(52) Except as provided in section 214(m)(4), the term
`accredited college, university, or language training
program' means a college, university, or language training
program that is accredited by an accrediting agency
recognized by the Secretary of Education.''.
SEC. 3. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS.
Section 214(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1184(m)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(3) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in the
Secretary's discretion, may require accreditation of an
academic institution (except for seminaries or other
religious institutions) for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(F)
if--
``(A) that institution is not already required to be
accredited under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i);
``(B) an appropriate accrediting agency recognized by the
Secretary of Education is able to provide such accreditation;
and
``(C) the institution has or will have 25 or more alien
students accorded status as nonimmigrants under clause (i) or
(iii) of section 101(a)(15)(F) pursuing a course of study at
that institution.
``(4) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in the
Secretary's discretion, may waive the accreditation
requirement in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) with respect to an
established college, university, or language training program
if the academic institution--
``(A) is otherwise in compliance with the requirements of
such section; and
``(B) is making a good faith effort to satisfy the
accreditation requirement.
``(5)(A) No person convicted of an offense referred to in
subparagraph (B) shall be permitted
[[Page H5505]]
by any academic institution having authorization for
attendance by nonimmigrant students under section
101(a)(15)(F)(i) to be involved with the institution as its
principal, owner, officer, board member, general partner, or
other similar position of substantive authority for the
operations or management of the institution, including
serving as an individual designated by the institution to
maintain records required by the Student and Exchange Visitor
Information System established under section 641 of the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372).
``(B) An offense referred to in this subparagraph includes
a violation, punishable by a term of imprisonment of more
than 1 year, of any of the following:
``(i) Chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code (relating
to peonage, slavery and trafficking in persons).
``(ii) Chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code
(relating to transportation for illegal sexual activity and
related crimes).
``(iii) Section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1324) (relating to unlawful bringing of aliens into
the United States).
``(iv) Section 1546 of title 18, United States Code
(relating to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other
documents) relating to an academic institution's
participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.''.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Section 212(a)(6)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(G)) is amended by striking ``section
214(l)'' and inserting ``section 214(m)''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
amendments made by sections 2 and 3--
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) shall apply with respect to applications for a
nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i))
that are filed on or after the effective date described in
paragraph (1).
(b) Temporary Exception.--
(1) In general.--During the 3-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act, an alien seeking to enter the
United States to pursue a course of study at a college or
university that has been certified by the Secretary of
Homeland Security may be granted a nonimmigrant visa under
clause (i) or clause (iii) of section 101(a)(15)(F) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F))
without regard to whether or not that college or university
has been accredited or been denied accreditation by an entity
described in section 101(a)(52) of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(52)), as amended by section 2(2) of this Act.
(2) Additional requirement.--An alien may not be granted a
nonimmigrant visa under paragraph (1) if the college or
university to which the alien seeks to enroll does not--
(A) submit an application for the accreditation of such
institution to a regional or national accrediting agency
recognized by the Secretary of Education on or before the
date that is 1 year after the effective date described in
subsection (a)(1); and
(B) comply with the applicable accrediting requirements of
such agency.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3120, as
amended, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would first like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lofgren) for introducing this legislation.
H.R. 3120 helps prevent student visa fraud by requiring that any
college or university that admits foreign students on F visas must be
accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Department of
Education. Accreditation of academic institutions ensures that foreign
students in the United States on temporary visas receive the high-level
education they deserve and expect as opposed to an education from a
sham school only interested in the student's money.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a foreign national can get
a student visa to study at a U.S. college or university. Those schools
must be officially recognized, but that sometimes means that there's
just a windshield check to see that the building actually exists.
Foreign students were admitted to the US 1.5 million times on F visas
during fiscal year 2010. We must ensure that the colleges or
universities they attend are not simply visa mills that exist only to
provide the students with a way to enter the United States. Examples of
rampant student visa fraud can be found in many recent news reports.
H.R. 3120 helps ensure a school's legitimacy for foreign students who
want to come to the United States in order to receive an education. It
also helps ensure the integrity of our immigration system by reducing
the opportunities for visa fraud.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3120.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, the Student Visa Reform
Act.
Our U.S. student visa program has a long and proud history. For
decades, it's helped American colleges and universities attract some of
the brightest young minds in the world, while offering those students
the opportunity to study in the world's leading institutions of higher
education.
The benefits to our country have been great. International students
have expanded and enriched the educational experiences for all students
at U.S. universities and colleges. And by immersing foreign students in
American culture, the program often creates a lasting and favorable
understanding of our country that pays dividends in foreign nations for
years to come.
Unfortunately, some institutions have been undermining the laudable
mission of this visa program. Last year, the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement took down two schools in California after they were
found to have engaged in widespread visa fraud and exploitation of
students.
Among other things, these schools misled students as to their
accreditation. They lied about the ability of students to transfer
credits to other institutions. Commonly known as ``visa mills,'' these
schools took enormous sums of money from the students but provided
questionable academic courses and essentially worthless degrees.
To prevent this type of fraud in the future, H.R. 3120 requires that
colleges and universities be accredited in order to host foreign
students. Such accreditation would need to be given by a regional or
national accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.
Seminaries and other religious institutions would be exempt from this
requirement.
This bill follows in the footsteps of legislation enacted in the
111th Congress that requires the accreditation of language training
programs before they can host foreign students. That bill, sponsored by
my good friend, Representative Barney Frank, and the chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, Congressman Lamar Smith, has already helped the
Department of Homeland Security crack down on fraud in language
training programs.
Like the Frank-Smith bill, the accreditation requirements instituted
by this bill will prevent illegitimate institutions from cheating
foreign students who legitimately seek a bona fide education in the
United States. In addition, this requirement will prevent fly-by-night
institutions from engaging in student visa fraud to smuggle or traffic
persons into the country.
Finally, in committee, I worked with the chairman to add a provision
that would prevent persons who have committed certain crimes from
owning or running an academic institution that seeks to host foreign
students. Persons would be barred if they had been convicted of human
trafficking, transportation for illegal sexual activity, alien
smuggling, or harboring or visa fraud under the student visa program.
We also added a provision to give the Secretary of Homeland Security
additional flexibility with respect to schools that are playing by the
rules and trying to get accreditation but may be running into
bureaucratic delays. Specifically, the Secretary is given the ability
to waive the accreditation requirements in cases where an educational
institution is otherwise in compliance with the law and is taking good
faith steps to obtain accreditation.
I thank Chairman Smith for working with me to bring this bill to the
floor and for working with me to improve and strengthen the bill in
committee. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
[[Page H5506]]
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3120, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum
is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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