[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12913-12915]
[From the U.S. 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 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.''.

[[Page 12914]]



     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.
  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.

[[Page 12915]]

  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.

                          ____________________