II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5247 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide nonimmigrant 

visas for cooperating witnesses of certain criminal activity, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. MURPHY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

nonimmigrant visas for cooperating witnesses of certain 

criminal activity, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Witness Assistance and 

5 Criminal Accountability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION FOR COOPERATING WITNESSES OF 

7 CERTAIN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF A COOPERATING WITNESS

9 NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.—Section 101(a)(15) of 


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1 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1101(a)(15)) is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (T)(ii)(III), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (U)(iii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

6 and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (3) in subparagraph (V)(ii)(II), by striking the 

8 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

9 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(W)(i)(I) subject to section 214(s), an 

11 alien who files a petition for status under this 

12 subparagraph, if the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity determines that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the alien (or in the case of an 

15 alien child, the parent, guardian, or next 

16 friend of the alien) is in possession of crit17 ical reliable information concerning crimi18 nal activity referred to in subparagraph 

19 (U)(iii), regardless of the location in which 

20 such criminal activity occurred; 

21 ‘‘(bb) the alien (or in the case of an 

22 alien child, the parent, guardian, or next 

23 friend of the alien)— 

24 ‘‘(AA) is willing to provide, is 

25 likely to be willing to provide, or has 


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1 provided such information to a rel2 evant authority; or 

3 ‘‘(BB) cooperated with a relevant 

4 authority in a manner that a relevant 

5 authority determines to have been 

6 critical to the detection, investigation, 

7 prosecution, conviction, or sentencing 

8 of such criminal activity; or 

9 ‘‘(cc) the presence of the alien (or in 

10 the case of an alien child, the presence of 

11 the parent, guardian, or next friend of the 

12 alien) in the United States is essential to 

13 an authorized criminal detection, investiga14 tion, prosecution, conviction, sentencing, or 

15 the successful prosecution of an individual 

16 involved in such criminal activity; or 

17 ‘‘(II) if accompanying, or following to join, 

18 the alien described in subclause (I)— 

19 ‘‘(aa) in the case of an alien described 

20 in subclause (I) who is under 21 years of 

21 age, the spouse, children, unmarried sib22 lings under 18 years of age on the date on 

23 which such alien applied for status under 

24 such subclause, and parents of such alien; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) in the case of an alien described 

2 in subclause (I) who is 21 years of age or 

3 older, the spouse and children of such 

4 alien; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in this subparagraph, the term ‘rel6 evant authority’ means— 

7 ‘‘(I) a Federal, State, or local law en8 forcement official; 

9 ‘‘(II) a Federal, State, or local pros10 ecutor; 

11 ‘‘(III) a Federal, State, or local judge; 

12 ‘‘(IV) an employee of the Department 

13 of Homeland Security; and 

14 ‘‘(V) any other Federal, State, or local 

15 judge or authority who has responsibility 

16 for the detection, investigation, prosecu17 tion, conviction, or sentencing of criminal 

18 activity.’’. 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO W VISAS.—Sec20 tion 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1184) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(s) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SECTION

23 101(a)(15)(W) VISAS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PETITIONING PROCEDURES FOR SECTION

25 101(a)(15)(W) VISAS.—The petition filed by an 


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1 alien under section 101(a)(15)(W)(i)(I) shall contain 

2 a certification from a relevant authority (as defined 

3 in section 101(a)(15)(W)(ii)). This certification shall 

4 state that the alien ‘has been willing, is being will5 ing, or is likely to be willing to provide critical reli6 able information’ concerning the detection, investiga7 tion, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing of crimi8 nal activity described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii). 

9 ‘‘(2) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The number of aliens 

11 who may be issued visas or otherwise provided 

12 status as nonimmigrants under section 

13 101(a)(15)(W) in any fiscal year shall not ex14 ceed 10,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—The numerical limita16 tions in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 

17 spouses, children, or, in the case of alien chil18 dren, the alien parents of such children. 

19 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF HOME20 LAND SECURITY WITH RESPECT TO ‘W’ VISA NON21 IMMIGRANTS.—With respect to a nonimmigrant alien 

22 described in section 101(a)(15)(W), the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security and other government officials 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) as appropriate, provide the alien with 

2 referrals to nongovernmental organizations to 

3 advise the alien regarding their options while in 

4 the United States and the resources available to 

5 them; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provide the alien with employment 

7 authorization during the period the alien is in 

8 lawful temporary resident status under that 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(4) CREDIBLE EVIDENCE CONSIDERED.—In 

11 acting on any petition filed under this subsection, 

12 the consular officer, the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity shall consider any credible evidence relevant 

14 to the petition. 

15 ‘‘(5) NONEXCLUSIVE RELIEF.—Nothing in this 

16 subsection may be construed to limit the ability of 

17 an alien who is eligible or qualifies for status as a 

18 nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(W) to 

19 seek any other immigration benefit or status for 

20 which the alien may be eligible. 

21 ‘‘(6) DURATION OF STATUS.—The authorized 

22 period of status of an alien as a nonimmigrant de23 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(W) shall be for a pe24 riod of not more than 4 years, but shall be extended 

25 upon certification from a relevant authority (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5247.IS S5247

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1 fined in section 101(a)(15)(W)(ii)) that the alien’s 

2 presence in the United States is required to assist 

3 in the detection, investigation, prosecution, convic4 tion, or sentencing of criminal activity described in 

5 section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii). The Secretary of Home6 land Security is authorized to extend the status of 

7 such an alien beyond the 4-year period authorized 

8 under this paragraph if the Secretary determines 

9 that an extension of such period is warranted. Such 

10 an alien’s nonimmigrant status shall be extended if 

11 the alien has properly filed an application or petition 

12 for an immigration benefit or has been granted such 

13 a benefit but a visa is not immediately available. The 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security may authorize for 

15 employment in the United States any alien who has 

16 a pending, bona fide application for nonimmigrant 

17 status under section 101(a)(15)(W). 

18 ‘‘(7) AGE DETERMINATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) CHILDREN.—An unmarried alien who 

20 seeks to accompany, or follow to join, a parent 

21 granted status as a nonimmigrant described in 

22 section 101(a)(15)(W)(i)(I), and who was under 

23 21 years of age on the date on which such par24 ent petitioned for such status, shall continue to 

25 be classified as a child for purposes of section 


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1 101(a)(15)(W)(i)(II), if the alien attains 21 

2 years of age after such parent’s petition was 

3 filed but while it was pending. 

4 ‘‘(B) PRINCIPAL ALIEN.—An alien de5 scribed in subclause (I) of section 

6 101(a)(15)(W)(i) shall continue to be treated as 

7 an alien described in subclause (II)(aa) of such 

8 section if the alien attains 21 years of age after 

9 the alien’s application for status under such 

10 clause is filed but while it is pending.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR COOPERATING WIT12 NESSES. 

13 Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

14 (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(o) WITNESSES TO CRIMES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ADJUST STATUS.—The 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 

19 General may adjust the status of an alien admitted 

20 into the United States (or otherwise provided non21 immigrant status) under section 101(a)(15)(W) to 

22 that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res23 idence if the alien is not described in section 

24 212(a)(3)(E), unless the Secretary or Attorney Gen25 eral, as applicable, determines based on affirmative 


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1 evidence that the alien unreasonably refused to pro2 vide assistance in a criminal investigation or pros3 ecution, if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the alien has been physically present 

5 in the United States for a continuous period of 

6 at least 3 years since the date of admission as 

7 a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) in the opinion of the Secretary or the 

10 Attorney General, as applicable, the alien’s con11 tinued presence in the United States is justified 

12 for law enforcement purposes, on humanitarian 

13 grounds, or to ensure family unity, or is other14 wise in the public interest. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE.—An 

16 alien shall be considered to have failed to maintain 

17 continuous physical presence in the United States 

18 under paragraph (1)(A) if the alien has departed 

19 from the United States for any period in excess of 

20 90 days or for any periods in the aggregate exceed21 ing 180 days unless— 

22 ‘‘(A) the absence is in order to assist in 

23 the detection, investigation, prosecution, convic24 tion, or sentencing of criminal activity described 

25 in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) an official involved in the investiga2 tion or prosecution certifies that the absence 

3 was otherwise justified. 

4 ‘‘(3) SPOUSES, CHILDREN, AND PARENTS.—On 

5 approval of adjustment of status under paragraph 

6 (1) of an alien described in section 

7 101(a)(15)(W)(i), the Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity may adjust the status of or issue an immigrant 

9 visa to (and, as applicable, the Attorney General 

10 may adjust the status of) a spouse, a child, or, in 

11 the case of an alien child, a parent who did not re12 ceive a nonimmigrant visa under section 

13 101(a)(15)(W)(i)(II), if the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security (or Attorney General) considers the grant 

15 of such status or visa necessary to avoid extreme 

16 hardship. 

17 ‘‘(4) RECORD OF ADMISSION.—On the approval 

18 of adjustment of status under paragraph (1) or (3), 

19 the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 

20 General, as applicable, shall record the alien’s lawful 

21 admission for permanent residence as of the date of 

22 such approval. 

23 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security shall consult with the AttorVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5247.IS S5247

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1 ney General, as appropriate, in making a deter2 mination under paragraph (1) whether affirma3 tive evidence demonstrates that the alien unrea4 sonably refused to provide assistance to a Fed5 eral law enforcement official, Federal pros6 ecutor, Federal judge, or other Federal author7 ity investigating or prosecuting criminal activity 

8 described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii). 

9 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 paragraph (1)(B) may be construed to prevent the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security from consulting 

12 with the Attorney General in making a determina13 tion whether affirmative evidence demonstrates that 

14 the alien unreasonably refused to provide assistance 

15 to a State or local law enforcement official, State or 

16 local prosecutor, State or local judge, or other State 

17 or local authority investigating or prosecuting crimi18 nal activity described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii).’’. 

Æ 


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