I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1263 

To exclude from the application of Executive Order 13796 certain Iraqi 

and Afghani special immigrants and refugees, to render certain Afghanis 

eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority 

system, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 

Mr. WELCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To exclude from the application of Executive Order 13796 

certain Iraqi and Afghani special immigrants and refugees, to render certain Afghanis eligible for Priority 2 

processing under the refugee resettlement priority system, 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 ‘‘Protecting Allies from 

5 Visa Exclusion (PAVE) Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ENTRY INAPPLICABLE TO CER2 TAIN SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS. 

3 (a) IRAQI SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS.—Section 3(c) of 

4 Executive Order 13769, entitled ‘‘Protecting the Nation 

5 from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States’’ 

6 (January 27, 2017), or any other provision of an Execu7 tive order, regulation, informal rule of guidance, or memo8 randum issued by the President or any other official in 

9 the executive branch precluding issuance of visas to, re10 voking visas issued to, or precluding entry or admission 

11 of, a class or classes of aliens, shall not apply to an alien 

12 who is a national of Iraq or Afghanistan and has been 

13 granted special immigrant status under section 

14 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) pursuant to— 

16 (1) section 1244 of the National Defense Au17 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1157 

18 note); 

19 (2) section 1059 of the National Defense Au20 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1101 

21 note); or 

22 (3) section 602 of the Afghan Allies Protection 

23 Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

24 (b) REFUGEES.—Section 5 of Executive Order 

25 13769, or any other provision of an Executive order, regu26 lation, informal rule of guidance, or memorandum issued 


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1 by the President or any other official in the executive 

2 branch precluding issuance of visas to, revoking visas 

3 issued to, or precluding entry or admission of, a class or 

4 classes of aliens, shall not apply to an alien who has been 

5 granted refugee status, has been approved for refugee ad6 mission, or is a refugee applicant in the United States Ref7 ugee Admissions Program under a Priority 2 designation 

8 pursuant to section 1243 of National Defense Authoriza9 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1157 note) or 

10 section 3 of this Act. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

12 as if enacted concurrent with Executive Order 13769. 

13 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PROCESSING 

14 PRIORITIES FOR AFGHANIS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Refugees of special humanitarian 

16 concern eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee 

17 resettlement priority system who may apply directly to the 

18 United States Admission Program shall include— 

19 (1) Afghanis who were or are employed by the 

20 United States Government in Afghanistan; 

21 (2) Afghanis who establish to the satisfaction of 

22 the Secretary of State that they are or were em23 ployed in Afghanistan by— 

24 (A) a media or nongovernmental organiza25 tion headquartered in the United States; or 


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1 (B) an organization or entity closely asso2 ciated with the United States mission in Af3 ghanistan that has received United States Gov4 ernment funding through an official and docu5 mented contract, award, grant, or cooperative 

6 agreement; 

7 (3) spouses, children, and parents whether or 

8 not accompanying or following to join, and sons, 

9 daughters, and siblings of aliens described in para10 graph (1) or paragraph (2); 

11 (4) spouses, children, and parents whether or 

12 not accompanying or following to join, and sons, 

13 daughters, and siblings of Afghanis granted the sta14 tus of a special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) 

15 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1101(a)(27)) based on faithful and valuable service 

17 to the United States Government; and 

18 (5) Afghanis who are members of a religious or 

19 minority community, have been identified by the 

20 Secretary of State, or the designee of the Secretary, 

21 as a persecuted group, and have close family mem22 bers (as described in section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) or 

23 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

24 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) and 1153(a))) in the United 

25 States. 


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1 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER PERSECUTED

2 GROUPS.—The Secretary of State, or the designee of the 

3 Secretary, is authorized to identify other Priority 2 groups 

4 of Afghanis, including vulnerable populations. 

5 (c) INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES.— 

6 Organizations and entities described in subsection (a)(2) 

7 shall not include any that appear on the Department of 

8 the Treasury’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or 

9 any entity specifically excluded by the Secretary of Home10 land Security, after consultation with the Secretary of 

11 State and the heads of relevant elements of the intelligence 

12 community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Se13 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))). 

14 (d) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 Aliens under this section who qualify for Priority 2 proc16 essing under the refugee resettlement priority system shall 

17 satisfy the requirements of section 207 of the Immigration 

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for admission to the 

19 United States. 

20 (e) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—In determining the 

21 number of Afghani refugees who should be resettled in the 

22 United States under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of sub23 section (a) and subsection (b) of section 207 of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), the Presi25 dent shall consult with the heads of nongovernmental orVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Mar 03, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1263.IH H1263

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1 ganizations that have a presence in Afghanistan or experi2 ence in assessing the problems faced by Afghani refugees. 

3 (f) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION AS REFUGEE.—No 

4 alien shall be denied the opportunity to apply for admis5 sion under this section solely because such alien qualifies 

6 as an immediate relative or is eligible for any other immi7 grant classification. 

Æ 


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