[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 195 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S7267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ENERGY SECURITY AND LIGHTERING INDEPENDENCE ACT OF 2022

  Mr. KING. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 5168 
and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 5168) to amend the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act to include aliens passing in transit through the United 
     States to board a vessel on which the alien will perform 
     ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer operations within a class 
     of nonimmigrant aliens, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KING. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a 
third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 5168) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed as follows:

                                S. 5168

       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 ``Energy Security and 
     Lightering Independence Act of 2022''.

     SEC. 2. CHANGES IN NONIMMIGRANT CATEGORIES.

       (a) Transit Through United States.--Section 101(a)(15)(C) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1101(a)(15)(C)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(C)(i) an alien in immediate and continuous transit 
     through the United States, for a period not to exceed 29 
     days;
       ``(ii) an alien who qualifies as a person entitled to pass 
     in transit to and from the United Nations Headquarters 
     District (as defined in section 209A(e) of the State 
     Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 
     4309a(e))) and foreign countries, under the provisions of 
     paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 11 of the Agreement 
     regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, done at 
     Lake Success June 26, 1947 (61 Stat. 758); or
       ``(iii) an alien passing in transit through the United 
     States to board a vessel on which the alien will perform, or 
     to disembark from a vessel on which the alien performed, 
     ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer operations to or from 
     another vessel engaged in foreign trade, for a period not to 
     exceed 180 days;''.
       (b) Alien Crewmen.--Section 101(a)(15)(D) of such Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(D)) is amended--
       (1) in clause (ii), by adding ``or'' at the end; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) an alien crewman performing ship-to-ship liquid 
     cargo transfer operations to or from another vessel engaged 
     in foreign trade, who intends to land temporarily solely in 
     pursuit of the alien's responsibilities as a crewman and to 
     depart from the United States on the vessel on which the 
     alien arrived or on another vessel or aircraft, for a period 
     not to exceed 180 days;''.

     SEC. 3. CONDITIONAL PERMITS TO LAND TEMPORARILY.

       Section 252(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1282(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) 180 days, if the immigration officer determines that 
     the crewman--
       ``(A) intends to depart, within the period for which the 
     crewman is permitted to land, on the same vessel or on a 
     vessel or aircraft other than the vessel on which the crewman 
     arrived; and
       ``(B) will perform ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer 
     operations to or from any other vessel engaged in foreign 
     trade during such period.''.

     SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       For purposes of this Act, and the amendments made by this 
     Act, the performance by a crewman of ship-to-ship liquid 
     cargo transfer operations to or from any other vessel engaged 
     in foreign trade shall not be considered, for immigration 
     purposes, to be services, work, labor or employment by the 
     crewman within the United States.

                          ____________________