II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1443 

To permit athletes to receive nonimmigrant alien status under certain 

conditions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2005 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To permit athletes to receive nonimmigrant alien status 

under certain conditions, 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. NONIMMIGRANT ALIEN STATUS FOR CERTAIN 

4 ATHLETES. 

5 Section 214(c)(4)(A) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 

7 clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(i)(I) performs as an athlete, individually or as 

9 part of a group or team, at an internationally recog10 nized level of performance, 
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1 ‘‘(II) is a professional athlete, as defined in sec2 tion 204(i)(2), 

3 ‘‘(III) performs as an athlete, or as a coach, as 

4 part of a team or franchise that is located in the 

5 United States and a member of a foreign league or 

6 association of 15 or more amateur sports teams, if— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the foreign league or association is 

8 the highest level of amateur performance of 

9 that sport in the relevant foreign country, 

10 ‘‘(bb) participation in such league or asso11 ciation renders players ineligible, whether on a 

12 temporary or permanent basis, to earn a schol13 arship in, or participate in, that sport at a col14 lege or university in the United States under 

15 the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic As16 sociation (NCAA), and 

17 ‘‘(cc) a significant number of the individ18 uals who play in such league or association are 

19 drafted by a major sports league or a minor 

20 league affiliate of such a sports league, or 

21 ‘‘(IV) is a professional athlete or amateur ath22 lete who performs individually or as part of a group 

23 in a theatrical ice skating production, and 

24 ‘‘(ii) seeks to enter the United States tempo25 rarily and solely for the purpose of performing— 
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1 ‘‘(I) as such an athlete with respect to a 

2 specific athletic competition, or 

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of an individual described 

4 in clause (i)(IV), in a specific theatrical ice 

5 skating production or tour.’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVISORY OPINIONS. 

7 Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

8 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (4)(D), by inserting ‘‘(other 

10 than with respect to aliens seeking entry under sub11 clause (II), (III), or (IV) of subparagraph (A)(i) of 

12 this paragraph),’’ after ‘‘101(a)(15)(P)’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (6)(A)(iii), by inserting 

14 ‘‘(other than with respect to aliens seeking entry 

15 under subclause (II), (III), or (IV) of paragraph 

16 (4)(A)(i))’’ after ‘‘101(a)(15)(P)(i)’’. 

17 SEC. 3. PETITIONS FOR MULTIPLE ALIENS. 

18 Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(F) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall per22 mit a petition under this subsection to seek classification 

23 of more than one alien as a nonimmigrant under section 

24 101(a)(15)(P)(i)(a). The fee charged for such a petition 
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1 may not be more than the fee charged for a petition seek2 ing classification of one such alien.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE IM4 MIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT. 

5 Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)), as amended by section 3, is 

7 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

10 title, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall permit an 

11 athlete, or the employer of an athlete, to seek admission 

12 to the United States for such athlete under a provision 

13 of this Act other than section 101(a)(15)(P)(i).’’. 

14 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

15 Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘Attor17 ney General’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Sec18 retary of Homeland Security’’. 

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