I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8310 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for enhanced 

visa security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama (for himself, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, 

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, and Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 

and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, and Foreign 

Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 

for enhanced visa security, 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 ‘‘Countering China’s 

5 Theft of American Research and Innovation Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CCTARI Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. VISA SECURITY. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the interagency 

4 working group established under section 1746(a) of the 

5 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 

6 (Public Law 116–92) shall commence a review of the cur7 rent policies and procedures of the Department of Home8 land Security and Department of State for the purpose 

9 of identifying, investigating, and preventing the illicit 

10 transfer of sensitive technologies and research from 

11 United States institutions of higher education and re12 search institutions through more effective visa security op13 erations and improved protections for such sensitive tech14 nologies. 

15 (b) OBJECTIVES.— 

16 (1) ANALYSIS OF CURRENT VISA ISSUANCE AND

17 ADMISSION PROCEDURES.—The interagency working 

18 group referred to in subsection (a) shall— 

19 (A) analyze the current visa application 

20 process, and the role of the Department of 

21 Homeland Security and the Department of 

22 State in such process, including the screening 

23 of visa applicants against appropriate criminal, 

24 intelligence, national security, terrorism, and 

25 other databases and information maintained by 

26 the Federal Government, and make recVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Oct 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8310.IH H8310

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1 ommendations to the Secretaries of such De2 partments to better screen, identify, and refuse 

3 entry to individuals who seek to enter the 

4 United States to engage in the illicit transfer of 

5 sensitive technologies from United States insti6 tutions of higher educations or research institu7 tions; 

8 (B) evaluate current policies for refusing 

9 visas on grounds that an individual is likely to 

10 enter the United States to engage in the illicit 

11 transfer of sensitive technologies and rec12 ommend updates to the Foreign Affairs Manual 

13 and other agency guidance to clarify when and 

14 how visas can be refused on such grounds; and 

15 (C) analyze current screening procedures 

16 at United States ports of entry and make rec17 ommendations to the Secretaries of such De18 partments to better identify individuals who 

19 seek to enter the United States to engage in 

20 such illicit transfer of sensitive technologies. 

21 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEW OF CERTAIN

22 NONIMMIGRANT STUDENTS.—The interagency work23 ing group shall recommend procedures and stand24 ards for the Department of Homeland Security, in 


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1 cooperation with other appropriate Federal agencies, 

2 to conduct national security reviews of aliens who— 

3 (A) are present in the United States— 

4 (i) in a nonimmigrant classification 

5 described in subparagraphs (F), (J), or 

6 (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

8 1101(a)(15)) and change from a program 

9 of study not related to sensitive tech10 nologies to a program of study or signifi11 cant coursework, research, or laboratory 

12 access related to sensitive technologies; or 

13 (ii) as a nonimmigrant and seek to 

14 change status, pursuant to section 248 of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1258)), to that of a nonimmigrant 

17 described in subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) 

18 of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), for purposes of en20 gaging in a program of study related to 

21 sensitive technologies; and 

22 (B) as a result of engaging in a program 

23 of study related to sensitive technologies, will 

24 have access to information related to operating, 

25 installing, maintaining, repairing, overhauling, 


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1 or refurbishing sensitive technologies or devel2 opment activities related to sensitive tech3 nologies. 

4 (3) IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS REQUIRING NA5 TIONAL SECURITY REVIEW.—For purposes of facili6 tating the identification of individuals described in 

7 paragraph (2)(B), the interagency working group 

8 shall— 

9 (A) develop a nonpublic list of six-digit 

10 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 

11 codes for programs of study related to sensitive 

12 technologies to be used in reporting required by 

13 section 641 of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1372(d)) and related regulations; 

15 (B) recommend to the Secretary of Home16 land Security changes, as appropriate, to the 

17 Student and Exchange Visitor Information Sys18 tem, or other system designated for such pur19 pose by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to 

20 ensure that individuals who seek to engage in 

21 programs of study but who will not have access 

22 to information related to operating, installing, 

23 maintaining, repairing, overhauling, or refur24 bishing sensitive technologies or development 

25 activities related to sensitive technologies are 


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1 not unnecessarily subjected to national security 

2 reviews; 

3 (C) recommend to the Secretary of Home4 land Security changes to relevant regulations to 

5 ensure that entities certified by the Student and 

6 Exchange Visitor Program routinely and accu7 rately report the program of study and other 

8 necessary information in the Student and Ex9 change Visitor Information System, or other 

10 system designated for such purpose by the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security, for each non12 immigrant described in subparagraph (F), (J), 

13 or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1101(a)(15)) who is enrolled in such entity; and 

16 (D) identify mechanisms for the Depart17 ment of Homeland Security, in cooperation with 

18 other appropriate Federal agencies, to order the 

19 removal of and make ineligible for future non20 immigrant classification described in subpara21 graphs (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of 

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

23 1101(a)(15)) individuals who may be identified 

24 following pursuant to national security reviews 

25 conducted in accordance with paragraph (2). 


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1 (4) IDENTIFYING GAPS IN AUTHORITY TO AD2 DRESS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS.—Not later 

3 than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act, the interagency working group shall identify de5 ficiencies in existing legal authorities determined to 

6 be an impediment in achieving the recommendations 

7 described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of para8 graph (3), and recommend to the appropriate con9 gressional committees legislative solutions to address 

10 such deficiencies. 

11 (c) COMPOSITION.—In addition to the members spec12 ified in section 1746(a)(2) of the National Defense Au13 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116– 

14 92), for purposes of carrying out the review required 

15 under subsection (a), the interagency working group con16 sult with the following: 

17 (1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office 

18 of Field Operations. 

19 (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce20 ment, Student and Exchange Visitor Program. 

21 (3) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce22 ment, Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation 

23 Unit. 

24 (4) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce25 ment, Visa Security Program. 


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1 (5) The Department of Homeland Security, Of2 fice of Intelligence and Analysis. 

3 (6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

4 (7) At least two representatives from the De5 partment of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. 

6 (8) Private sector and higher education per7 sonnel, as appropriate and to a degree that would 

8 not detrimentally impact any ongoing law enforce9 ment investigation or intelligence operation, as de10 termined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

11 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the objectives 

12 described in subsection (b), the interagency working group 

13 shall coordinate and consult regularly with the National 

14 Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable established 

15 under section 1746(b) of the National Defense Authoriza16 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92). 

17 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the com18 mencement of the review required under subsection (a), 

19 the interagency working group shall submit to the appro20 priate congressional committees a report— 

21 (1) detailing the results of such review and the 

22 analyses and evaluation required under subsection 

23 (b)(1); and 

24 (2) identifying any legislative solutions nec25 essary to improve the ability of the Department of 


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1 Homeland Security, the Department of State, or 

2 both, to identify, investigate, and prevent the illicit 

3 transfer of sensitive technologies from United States 

4 institutions of higher education and research institu5 tions as a result of programs of study related to sen6 sitive technologies undertaken by aliens described in 

7 subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) 

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

9 1101(a)(15)). 

10 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu14 rity, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 

15 on Armed Services, and the Committee on Foreign 

16 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

18 Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Com19 mittee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 

20 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

21 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High24 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 


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1 (3) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘program 

2 of study’’ means any degree program, field of study, 

3 significant coursework, research, or laboratory ac4 cess related to sensitive technologies, or other aca5 demic activity required to be reported pursuant to 

6 section 641(a) of the Omnibus Consolidated Appro7 priations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104–208 (8 U.S.C. 

8 1372(a))). 

9 (4) SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGIES.—The term 

10 ‘‘sensitive technologies’’ has the meaning given such 

11 term in paragraph (8) of section 428(e) of the 

12 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)), 

13 as added by section 3. 

14 SEC. 3. VISA SECURITY. 

15 (a) PROGRAM SCOPE.—Paragraph (1) of section 

16 428(e) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

17 236(e)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(B) RISK-BASED ASSIGNMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Assignments 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall be made— 

3 ‘‘(I) in a risk-based manner; 

4 ‘‘(II) considering the criteria de5 scribed in clause (ii); and 

6 ‘‘(III) in accordance with Na7 tional Security Decision Directive 38 

8 of June 2, 1982, or any superseding 

9 presidential directive concerning staff10 ing at diplomatic and consular posts. 

11 ‘‘(ii) CRITERIA DESCRIBED.—The cri12 teria described in this clause are the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(I) The number of nationals of 

15 the subject country who were identi16 fied in United States Government 

17 databases related to the identities of 

18 known or suspected terrorists during 

19 the previous two years. 

20 ‘‘(II) Information on the coopera21 tion of such country with the counter22 terrorism efforts of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(III) Information analyzing the 

24 presence, activity, or movement of ter25 rorist organizations (as such term is 


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1 defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi) of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi))) within 

4 or through such country. 

5 ‘‘(IV) The number of formal ob6 jections and denials based on deroga7 tory information issued through the 

8 interagency Security Advisory Opinion 

9 process. 

10 ‘‘(V) Countries identified as a 

11 strategic competitor in the ‘Summary 

12 of the 2018 National Defense Strat13 egy of the United States of America: 

14 Sharpening the American Military’s 

15 Competitive Edge’ issued by the De16 partment of Defense pursuant to sec17 tion 113(g)(1)(A) of title 10, United 

18 States Code, or any successor docu19 ment. 

20 ‘‘(VI) The number of cases in21 volving counterintelligence, illicit tech22 nology transfer, and counterprolifera23 tion related to the identities of nation24 als of such country. 


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1 ‘‘(VII) Information on the co2 operation of such country with the 

3 counterintelligence, countering non4 traditional collection, illicit technology 

5 transfer, and counterproliferation ef6 forts of the United States, including 

7 information on foreign government8 owned infrastructure and organiza9 tions dedicated to such matters. 

10 ‘‘(VIII) The adequacy of the bor11 der and immigration control of such 

12 country. 

13 ‘‘(IX) Any other criteria the Sec14 retary determines appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(iii) PRIORITIZATION.—The Sec16 retary shall, until December 31, 2024, 

17 prioritize the establishment of new over18 seas assignments made under this sub19 section to diplomatic and consular posts in 

20 countries that are strategic competitors 

21 with the goal of countering the exploitation 

22 or illicit transfer of sensitive technologies 

23 by aliens described in subparagraph (F), 

24 (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of such 

25 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)).’’. 


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1 (b) SCREENING.—Paragraph (2) of section 428(e) of 

2 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub5 paragraph (D); and 

6 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol7 lowing new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) Review visa applications of aliens 

9 against appropriate criminal, national security, 

10 and terrorism databases or other relevant infor11 mation maintained by the Federal Government 

12 to improve the detection and examination of 

13 aliens whose entry into the United States would 

14 pose a substantial risk of the illicit transfer of 

15 sensitive technologies.’’. 

16 (c) DEFINITION.—Subsection (e) of section 428 of 

17 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)) is 

18 amended by inserting at the end the following new para19 graph: 

20 ‘‘(8) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

21 ‘sensitive technologies’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) areas of research or technology that 

23 require additional protection, as established by 

24 the interagency working group in accordance 

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1 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

2 Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92); 

3 ‘‘(B) emerging and foundational tech4 nologies identified through the interagency 

5 process established under section 1758 of the 

6 John S. McCain National Defense Authoriza7 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 

8 115–232); 

9 ‘‘(C) sciences, technologies, and associated 

10 programs of study at an institution of higher 

11 education, related to energy, nuclear science, 

12 nuclear engineering, or a related field for which 

13 an alien who is a citizen of Iran would be de14 nied a visa to participate in coursework pursu15 ant to section 501 of the Iran Threat Reduction 

16 and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 

17 U.S.C. 8771); and 

18 ‘‘(D) technologies and items included on 

19 the Commerce Control List, the United States 

20 Munitions List, the Nuclear Regulatory Com21 mission Controls, or the Technology Alert 

22 List.’’. 

23 (d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Not later 

24 than 18 months days after the date of the enactment of 

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1 retary of State shall jointly develop and submit to the ap2 propriate congressional committees a memorandum of un3 derstanding detailing the responsibilities of and proce4 dures used by Department of Homeland Security per5 sonnel assigned to diplomatic and consular posts under 

6 section 428 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 

7 amended by this section, including visa security vetting 

8 and screening activities, the collection and distribution of 

9 relevant fees, and the sharing of information on visa refus10 als based on derogatory information issued through the 

11 interagency Security Advisory Opinion process. 

12 (e) MACHINE READABLE TECHNOLOGY PILOT PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 

17 State shall jointly commence a pilot program at a 

18 United States diplomatic or consular post in a coun19 try with a high volume of individuals who are known 

20 to have engaged in government sponsored technology 

21 transfer campaigns. The pilot program shall— 

22 (A) be conducted for not fewer than 365 

23 days; and 

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1 able technology and applicant interviews, to bet2 ter defend research or sensitive technologies in 

3 the United States from foreign government 

4 sponsored technology transfer campaigns. 

5 (2) MACHINE READABLE TECHNOLOGY.—The 

6 Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary 

7 of State shall jointly, as part of the pilot program 

8 under paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) deploy and test equipment and tech10 nology to ensure that all documents collected in 

11 connection with visa applications are stored in 

12 a machine-readable and content-searchable for13 mat compatible and shareable between the De14 partment of Homeland Security and the De15 partment of State, and as appropriate, other 

16 interagency partners; 

17 (B) collect supplemental documents from 

18 visa applicants in accordance with the require19 ments under subparagraph (A), as appropriate, 

20 and ensure appropriate personnel from the De21 partment of Homeland Security and the De22 partment of State have access to such docu23 ments for visa security vetting purposes; and 


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1 (C) evaluate the use of such technology 

2 and supplemental documents in improving the 

3 efficacy and efficiency of visa security vetting. 

4 (3) APPLICANT INTERVIEWS.—The Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security, in coordination with the Sec6 retary of State, shall determine whether additional 

7 questions or further documentation requests may be 

8 appropriate during visa applicant in-person inter9 views to improve visa security vetting to address 

10 evolving threats to the United States. 

11 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 420 days after 

12 the initiation of the pilot program under paragraph 

13 (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

14 Secretary of State shall jointly submit to the appro15 priate congressional committees and other appro16 priate Federal partners a report on the following: 

17 (A) The results of the pilot program. 

18 (B) Recommendations for machine-read19 able and content searchable equipment and 

20 technology and supplemental documents under 

21 paragraph (2). 

22 (C) Recommendations for additional inter23 view questions and further documentation re24 quests under paragraph (3). 


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1 (D) A determination as to whether and 

2 where to expand the use of technologies evalu3 ated during the pilot program. 

4 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security, 

9 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com10 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep11 resentatives; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

14 the Judiciary, and the Committee on Foreign 

15 Relations of the Senate. 

16 (2) SCREENING.—The term ‘‘screening’’ means 

17 the review of public, private, or governmental infor18 mation to assess the accuracy and authenticity of 

19 claims made on a visa application, including infor20 mation contained in Federal Government records to 

21 include derogatory information. 

22 (3) SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGIES.—The term 

23 ‘‘sensitive technologies’’ has the meaning given such 

24 term in paragraph (8) of section 428(e) of the 


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1 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)), 

2 as added by subsection (c) 

3 (4) STRATEGIC COMPETITOR.—The term ‘‘stra4 tegic competitor’’ means a country identified as a 

5 strategic competitor to the United States in the 

6 ‘‘Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy 

7 of the United States of America: Sharpening the 

8 American Military’s Competitive Edge’’ issued by 

9 the Department of Defense pursuant to section 

10 113(g)(1)(A) of title 10, United States Code, or any 

11 successor document. 

12 (5) VETTING.—The term ‘‘vetting’’ with respect 

13 to a visa applicant means the review and use of in14 formation collected during screening, any additional 

15 information obtained through interviews, consulta16 tion with other Federal Government officials, derog17 atory information, and information drawn from 

18 other sources to reach a determination regarding a 

19 national security concern related to the visa appli20 cant. 

Æ 


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