Consular Review Act of 1996

Summary: Consular Review Act of 1996 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish within the Department of State a Board of Visa Appeals to review consular decisions regarding specified visa applications, revocations, and cancellations. 
Provides that Board review requests shall be a fee-based service.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Consular Review Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF A BOARD OF VISA APPEALS.

    (a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 
inserting after section 224 the following new section:

                        ``board of visa appeals

    ``Sec. 225. (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall 
establish within the Department of State a Board of Visa Appeals. The 
Board shall be composed of 5 members who shall be appointed by the 
Secretary. No more than 2 members of the Board may be consular 
officers. The Secretary shall designate a member who shall be 
chairperson of the Board.
    ``(b) Authority and Functions.--The Board shall have authority to 
review any discretionary decision of a consular officer with respect to 
an alien concerning the denial, revocation, or cancellation of an 
immigrant visa and of a nonimmigrant visa or petition and the denial of 
an application for waiver of one or more grounds of excludability under 
section 212. The review of the Board shall be made upon the record for 
decision of the consular officer, including all documents, notes, and 
memoranda filed with the consular officer, supplemented by affidavits 
and other writings if offered by the consular officer or alien. Upon a 
conclusive showing that the decision of the consular official is 
contrary to the preponderance of the evidence, the Board shall have 
authority to overrule, or remand for further consideration, the 
decision of such consular officer.
    ``(c) Procedure.--Proceedings before the Board shall be in 
accordance with such regulations, not inconsistent with this Act and 
sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, as the Secretary 
of State shall prescribe. Such regulations shall include requirements 
that provide that--
            ``(1) at the time of any decision of a consular officer 
        under subsection (b), an alien, attorney of record, and any 
        interested party defined in subsection (d) shall be given 
        notice of the availability of the review process and the 
        necessary steps to request such review,
            ``(2) a written record of the proceedings and decision of 
        the consular officer (in accordance with such sections 556 and 
        557) shall be available to the Board, and on payment of 
        lawfully prescribed costs, shall be made available to the 
        alien,
            ``(3) upon receipt of request for review under this 
        section, the Board shall, within 30 days, notify the consular 
        officer with respect to whose decision review is sought, and, 
        upon receipt of such notice, such officer shall promptly (but 
        in no event more than 30 days after such receipt) forward to 
        the Board the record of proceeding as described in subsection 
        (b),
            ``(4) the appellant shall be given notice, reasonable under 
        all the circumstances of the time and place at which the Board 
        proceedings will be held,
            ``(5) the appellant may be represented (at no expense to 
        the Government) by such counsel, authorized to practice in such 
        proceedings, as the appellant shall choose, and
            ``(6) a request for review under this section must be made 
        in writing to the Board within 60 days after receipt of notice 
        of the denial, revocation or cancellation.
    ``(d) Interested Parties.--The Board shall review each decision 
described in subsection (b) upon request of the alien or any of the 
following interested parties:
            ``(1) The petitioner or beneficiary of an immigrant visa 
        petition approved under section 203(a), 203(b)(1), 203(b)(4), 
        203(b)(5), 203(c), or the petitioner of an immigrant visa 
        petition approved under sections 203(b)(2) and 203(b)(3).
            ``(2) The petitioner of a nonimmigrant visa petition.
            ``(3) The postsecondary educational institution approved 
        for the attendance of nonimmigrant students under section 
        101(a)(15)(F)(i) or 101(a)(15)(M)(i) which has provided notice 
        of the acceptance of the alien in its program.
            ``(4) A recognized international agency or organization 
        approved as a program sponsor under section 101(a)(15)(J) which 
        has provided notice of the acceptance of the alien in its 
        program.
            ``(5) A treaty investor or trader individual or 
        organization in the United States that, under section 
        101(a)(15)(E), has made an offer of employment to an alien to 
        perform executive or supervisory management functions.
    ``(e) Limitation.--A review may not be requested under this section 
more than once in any 24 month period.
    ``(f) Construction.--This section may not be construed to restrict 
any right to further administrative or judicial review established 
under any other provision of law.
    ``(g) Fees.--The Secretary of State shall charge, and collect, an 
appropriate fee associated with a request to the Board for a review. 
Such fee shall be sufficient to cover the cost of the administration of 
this section.''.
    (b) Effective Dates.--
            (1) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 
        120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Proposed regulations with respect to the amendment made 
        by subsection (a) shall be promulgated not later than 30 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) Members of the Board of Visa Appeals under section 225 
        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as inserted by 
        subsection (a)) shall be appointed not later than 120 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Technical Amendments.--
            (1) Section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``except that'' and all that 
                follows up to the period, and
                    (B) by adding: ``An interested party under section 
                225(d) or court shall be permitted to inspect the 
                record of proceeding as described in subsections (c)(2) 
                and (c)(3) of section 225,''.
            (2) Section 104(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1104(a)(1)) is 
        amended by striking the ``except'' and inserting ``including'',
            (3) The table of contents of such Act is amended by 
        inserting after the item relating to section 224 the following 
        new item:

``Sec. 225. Board of Visa Appeals.''.