[House Report 110-697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-697
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RENEWAL OF NONIMMIGRANT ATHLETE VISAS
_______
June 5, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Conyers, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5060]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 5060) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to
allow athletes admitted as nonimmigrants described in section
101(a)(15)(P) of such Act to renew their period of authorized
admission in 5-year increments, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 4
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 5060 amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to
allow athletes admitted as nonimmigrants described in section
101(a)(15)(P) of such Act to permit the Department of Homeland
Security to continuously renew their period of authorized
admission in 5-year increments.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Currently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may
grant foreign professional athletes P-1 nonimmigrant status for
an initial 5-year period, with one possible extension of up to
five additional years. Thereafter, in order to continue to work
in the United States legally, the athlete must apply to become
a lawful permanent resident of the United States, a process
that may take several years depending on the athlete's country
of birth.
H.R. 5060 would amend section 214(a)(2)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act to allow DHS to continuously
grant extensions of P-1 status in 5-year increments for the
duration of an athlete's career. Allowing DHS to use its
discretion with respect to whether or not to grant these
extensions, rather than imposing an arbitrary 10-year cap, will
help ensure that foreign athletes in their prime performance
years are allowed to continue working for United States teams.
H.R. 5060 has been endorsed by Major and Minor League Baseball,
the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey
League, and all of the relevant players associations.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
5060.
Committee Consideration
On March 12, 2008, the Subcommittee on Immigration,
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 5060, favorably
reported, without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being
present. On April 2, 2008, the Committee met in open session
and ordered the bill, H.R. 5060, favorably reported without
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 5060.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 5060, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 14, 2008.
Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5060, a bill to
amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow athletes
admitted as nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(P) of
such Act to renew their period of authorized admission in 5-
year increments.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable Lamar S. Smith.
Ranking Member
H.R. 5060--A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow
athletes admitted as nonimmigrants described in section
101(a)(15)(P) of such Act to renew their period of authorized
admission in 5-year increments.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5060 would result in
no significant cost to the Federal Government. The bill would
affect direct spending, but we estimate that any effects would
be insignificant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
H.R. 5060 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
Under current law, certain foreign professional athletes
may be admitted as nonimmigrants for an initial period of up to
5 years, plus one additional period of 5 years. H.R. 5060 would
permit those athletes to apply for admission as nonimmigrants
in 5-year increments beyond the maximum length of stay
authorized by current law.
Based on the number of athletes admitted in recent years
and the relatively short careers of these individuals, CBO
expects that the bill's provisions would affect fewer than
1,000 persons annually. The Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) would collect a fee of $320 to process applications filed
by these individuals. These fees are classified as offsetting
receipts (a credit against direct spending). The department is
authorized to spend such fees without further appropriation, so
the net impact on DHS spending would be insignificant for each
year.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz,
who may be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by
Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
5060 amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow
athletes admitted as nonimmigrants described in section
101(a)(15)(P) of such Act to continuously renew their period of
authorized admission in 5-year increments.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for
this legislation in article I, section 8, clause 4 of the
Constitution.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 5060 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Period of Authorized Admission for Certain
Nonimmigrant Athletes. Section 1 would amend section
214(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow
foreign athletes in P-1 nonimmigrant status to continuously
extend their status in 5-year increments.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 214 OF THE IMMIGRATION AND
NATIONALITY ACT
ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS
Sec. 214. (a)(1) * * *
(2)(A) * * *
(B) The period of authorized status as a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(P) shall be for such period as
the Attorney General may specify in order to provide for the
competition, event, or performance for which the nonimmigrant
is admitted. In the case of nonimmigrants admitted as
individual athletes under section 101(a)(15)(P), the period of
authorized status may be for an initial period (not to exceed 5
years) during which the nonimmigrant will perform as an athlete
and such period may be extended by the Attorney General [for an
additional period of up to 5 years.] in 5-year increments.
* * * * * * *