I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1033 

To establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Visa 

5 Waiver Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITION OF VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER TO 

7 GUAM AND NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 

8 VISA WAIVER. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(l) of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)) is amended to read 

11 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(l) GUAM AND NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS VISA

2 WAIVER PROGRAM; VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER PRO3 GRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement of sub5 section (a)(7)(B)(i) may be waived by the Secretary 

6 of Homeland Security, in the case of an alien apply7 ing for admission as a nonimmigrant visitor for busi8 ness or pleasure and solely for entry into and stay 

9 in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern 

10 Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United 

11 States, for a period not to exceed 45 days, if the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation 

13 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 

14 State, and the Governor of Guam and the Governor 

15 of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is16 lands, or the Governor of the Virgin Islands of the 

17 United States, as the case may be, determines 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(A) an adequate arrival and departure 

20 control system has been developed in Guam and 

21 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands, or the Virgin Islands of the United 

23 States; and 

24 ‘‘(B) such a waiver does not represent a 

25 threat to the welfare, safety, or security of the 


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1 United States or its territories and common2 wealths. 

3 ‘‘(2) ALIEN WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—An alien may 

4 not be provided a waiver under this subsection un5 less the alien has waived any right— 

6 ‘‘(A) to review or appeal under this Act an 

7 immigration officer’s determination as to the 

8 admissibility of the alien at the port of entry 

9 into Guam or the Commonwealth of the North10 ern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of 

11 the United States; or 

12 ‘‘(B) to contest, other than on the basis of 

13 an application for withholding of removal under 

14 section 241(b)(3) of this Act or under the Con15 vention Against Torture, or an application for 

16 asylum if permitted under section 208 of this 

17 Act, any action for removal of the alien. 

18 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—All necessary regulations 

19 to implement this subsection shall be promulgated 

20 by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consulta21 tion with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec22 retary of State. The promulgation of such regula23 tions shall be considered a foreign affairs function 

24 for purposes of section 553(a) of title 5, United 


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1 States Code. At a minimum, such regulations should 

2 include, but not necessarily be limited to— 

3 ‘‘(A) a listing of all countries whose na4 tionals may obtain the waivers provided by this 

5 subsection; and 

6 ‘‘(B) any bonding requirements for nation7 als of some or all of those countries who may 

8 present an increased risk of overstays or other 

9 potential problems, if different from such re10 quirements otherwise provided by law for non11 immigrant visitors. 

12 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.—In determining whether to 

13 grant or continue providing the waiver under this 

14 subsection to nationals of any country, the Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec16 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of State, 

17 shall consider all factors that the Secretary deems 

18 relevant, including electronic travel authorizations, 

19 procedures for reporting lost and stolen passports, 

20 repatriation of aliens, rates of refusal for non21 immigrant visitor visas, overstays, exit systems, and 

22 information exchange. 

23 ‘‘(5) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary of Home24 land Security shall monitor the admission of non25 immigrant visitors to Guam and the Commonwealth 


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1 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Is2 lands of the United States, under this subsection. If 

3 the Secretary determines that such admissions have 

4 resulted in an unacceptable number of visitors from 

5 a country remaining unlawfully in Guam or the 

6 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 

7 the Virgin Islands of the United States, unlawfully 

8 obtaining entry to other parts of the United States, 

9 or seeking withholding of removal or asylum, or that 

10 visitors from a country pose a risk to law enforce11 ment or security interests of Guam or the Common12 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or of the 

13 Virgin Islands of the United States, or of the United 

14 States (including the interest in the enforcement of 

15 the immigration laws of the United States), the Sec16 retary shall suspend the admission of nationals of 

17 such country under this subsection. The Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security may in the Secretary’s discretion 

19 suspend the Guam and Northern Mariana Islands 

20 visa waiver program, or the Virgin Islands visa waiv21 er program, at any time, on a country-by-country 

22 basis, for other good cause. 

23 ‘‘(6) ADDITION OF COUNTRIES.—The Governor 

24 of Guam and the Governor of the Commonwealth of 

25 the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Governor of 


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1 the Virgin Islands of the United States, may request 

2 the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security to add a particular country to 

4 the list of countries whose nationals may obtain the 

5 waiver provided by this subsection, and the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security may grant such request 

7 after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 

8 and the Secretary of State, and may promulgate reg9 ulations with respect to the inclusion of that country 

10 and any special requirements the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s sole discre12 tion, may impose prior to allowing nationals of that 

13 country to obtain the waiver provided by this sub14 section.’’. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS DEADLINE.—Not later than one 

16 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 

18 of the Interior and the Secretary of State, shall promul19 gate any necessary regulations to implement the waiver 

20 provided in the amendment made by subsection (a) for the 

21 Virgin Islands of the United States. 

22 (c) WAIVER COUNTRIES.—The regulations described 

23 in subsection (b) shall include a listing of all member or 

24 associate member countries of the Caribbean Community 

25 whose nationals may obtain, on a country-by-country 


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1 basis, the waiver provided by this section, except that such 

2 regulations shall not provide for a listing of any country 

3 if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that 

4 such country’s inclusion on such list would represent a 

5 threat to the welfare, safety, or security of the United 

6 States or its territories and commonwealths, or would in7 crease fraud or abuse of the nonimmigrant visa system. 

8 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

10 212(a)(7)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(7)(B)(iii)) is amended to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL VISA WAIVER PRO14 GRAMS.—For a provision authorizing waiv15 er of clause (i) in the case of visitors to 

16 Guam or the Commonwealth of the North17 ern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands 

18 of the United States, see subsection (l).’’. 

19 (2) ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 

20 214(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1)) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘Guam or the Commonwealth 

22 of the Northern Mariana Islands’’ each place such 

23 term appears and inserting ‘‘Guam or the Common24 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Vir25 gin Islands of the United States’’. 


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1 (e) FEES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 shall establish an administrative processing fee to be 

3 charged and collected from individuals seeking to enter the 

4 Virgin Islands of the United States in accordance with sec5 tion 212(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1182(l)), as amended by this Act. Such fee shall 

7 be set at a level that will ensure recovery of the full costs 

8 of such processing and any additional costs associated 

9 with the administration of the fees collected. 

Æ 


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