I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5203 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for new procedures 

pertaining to the processing of petitions and applications for immigrant 

or nonimmigrant visas or for immigration benefits, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2016 

Mr. FORBES (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. MARINO, and 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER) 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 Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

for new procedures pertaining to the processing of petitions and applications for immigrant or nonimmigrant 

visas or for immigration benefits, 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 ‘‘Visa Integrity and Se5 curity Act of 2016’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PETITION AND APPLICATION PROCESSING FOR 

2 VISAS AND IMMIGRATION BENEFITS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et seq.) is 

5 amended by inserting after section 211 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 211A. PETITION AND APPLICATION PROCESSING. 

7 ‘‘(a) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No petition or application 

9 filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security or 

10 with a consular officer relating to the issuance of a 

11 visa or to the admission of an alien to the United 

12 States as an immigrant or as a nonimmigrant may 

13 be approved unless the petition or application is 

14 signed by each party required to sign such petition 

15 or application. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR IMMIGRANT VISAS.— 

17 Except as may be otherwise prescribed by regula18 tions, each application for an immigrant visa shall 

19 be signed by the applicant in the presence of the 

20 consular officer, and verified by the oath of the ap21 plicant administered by the consular officer. 

22 ‘‘(b) COMPLETION REQUIREMENT.—No petition or 

23 application filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 or with a consular officer relating to the issuance of a visa 

25 or to the admission of an alien to the United States as 

26 an immigrant or as a nonimmigrant may be approved unVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 14, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5203.IH H5203

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1 less each applicable portion of the petition or application 

2 has been completed. 

3 ‘‘(c) TRANSLATION REQUIREMENT.—No document 

4 submitted in support of a petition or application for a non5 immigrant or immigrant visa may be accepted by a con6 sular officer if such document contains information in a 

7 foreign language, unless such document is accompanied by 

8 a full English translation, which the translator has cer9 tified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s 

10 certification that he or she is competent to translate from 

11 the foreign language into English. 

12 ‘‘(d) REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

13 In an instance where the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 or a consular officer requests any additional information 

15 relating to a petition or application filed with the Sec16 retary or consular officer relating to the issuance of a visa 

17 or to the admission of an alien to the United States as 

18 an immigrant or as a nonimmigrant, such petition or ap19 plication may not be approved unless all of the additional 

20 information requested is provided in complete form and 

21 is provided on or before any deadline included in the re22 quest. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 211B. BACKGROUND CHECKS AND OTHER SCREEN2 ING REQUIREMENTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY AND BACKGROUND

4 CHECK.—Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), 

5 no petition or application filed with the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security or with a consular officer relating to 

7 the issuance of a visa to or to the admission of an alien 

8 to the United States as an immigrant or as a non9 immigrant may be approved unless a background check 

10 to determine whether or not the alien is a national security 

11 threat and or is otherwise ineligible for such visa or admis12 sion is completed for— 

13 ‘‘(1) the petitioner or applicant; and 

14 ‘‘(2) each beneficiary or derivative of the peti15 tion or application. 

16 ‘‘(b) SECURITY ADVISORY OPINION REQUIRED.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 

18 limitation under the immigration laws on the 

19 issuance of a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa, no 

20 such visa may be issued to an alien (other than an 

21 alien described in paragraph (2)) until the comple22 tion of a security advisory opinion for that alien, 

23 if— 

24 ‘‘(A) that alien is a national of— 

25 ‘‘(i) Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, 

26 Sudan, or Yemen; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other country, as the Sec2 retary of State determines appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(B) that alien is a national of a country, 

4 which on the date of enactment of this section 

5 the Secretary of State has designated as a 

6 country whose nationals should be subject to a 

7 security advisory opinion; or 

8 ‘‘(C) the consular officer determines a se9 curity advisory opinion is appropriate for that 

10 alien. 

11 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN ALIENS EXCEPTED.—An alien 

12 described in this paragraph is any alien— 

13 ‘‘(A) for whom the consular officer deter14 mines a security advisory opinion is not appro15 priate; and 

16 ‘‘(B)(i) who has applied for a visa under 

17 subparagraph (A) or (G) of section 101(a)(15); 

18 ‘‘(ii) whose admission is necessary to per19 mit the United States to comply with the 

20 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

21 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 

22 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 

23 1947, between the United Nations and the 

24 United States, or other applicable international 

25 obligations; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) who has applied for a visa which is 

2 within the NATO visa category. 

3 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY.—The 

4 background check under subsection (a) shall include a re5 view of the alien’s publicly available interactions on and 

6 posting of material to the Internet (including social media 

7 services). 

8 ‘‘(d) DNA TESTING.—No petition or application filed 

9 with the Secretary of Homeland Security or with a con10 sular officer relating to the issuance of an immigrant visa 

11 to an alien or to the admission of an alien to the United 

12 States as an immigrant, if the eligibility for the immigra13 tion benefit is predicated on the fact that a biological rela14 tionship exists between the petitioner or applicant and the 

15 beneficiary or derivative, may be approved, unless a ge16 netic test is conducted to confirm such biological relation17 ship and the results of such test are submitted as part 

18 of the petition or application. Any such genetic test shall 

19 be conducted at the expense of the petitioner or applicant. 

20 ‘‘(e) INTERVIEWS.—No petition or application filed 

21 with the Secretary of Homeland Security for any benefit 

22 under this Act, except for work authorization, by or on 

23 behalf of an alien present in the United States may be 

24 approved unless the Secretary conducts an in-person inter25 view with that alien. The Secretary may waive such reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 14, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5203.IH H5203

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1 quirement in the case of any alien who would be 10 years 

2 of age or younger at the time of the interview.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

5 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item pertaining 

6 to section 211 the following: 

‘‘211A. Petition and application processing. 

‘‘211B. Background checks and other screening requirements.’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 222(e) of 

8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(e)) 

9 is amended by striking the following: ‘‘Except as may be 

10 otherwise prescribed by regulations, each application for 

11 an immigrant visa shall be signed by the applicant in the 

12 presence of the consular officer, and verified by the oath 

13 of the applicant administered by the consular officer.’’. 

14 (d) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 

15 section shall apply with respect to applications and peti16 tions filed after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 3. FRAUD PREVENTION. 

18 (a) PROSPECTIVE ANALYTICS TECHNOLOGY.— 

19 (1) PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

20 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub22 mit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on the Judici24 ary of the Senate a plan for the use of advanced 


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1 analytics software to ensure the proactive detection 

2 of fraud in immigration benefits applications and pe3 titions and to ensure that any such applicant or peti4 tioner does not pose a threat to national security. 

5 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—Not later 

6 than 1 year after the date of the submission of the 

7 plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home8 land Security shall begin implementation of the plan. 

9 (b) BENEFITS FRAUD ASSESSMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security, acting through the Fraud Detection and 

12 Nationality Security Directorate, shall complete a 

13 benefit fraud assessment by fiscal year 2021 on each 

14 of the following: 

15 (A) Petitions by VAWA self-petitioners (as 

16 such term is defined in section 101(a)(51) of 

17 the Immigration and Nationality Act). 

18 (B) Applications or petitions for visas or 

19 status under section 101(a)(15)(K) of such Act 

20 or under section 201(b)(2) of such Act, in the 

21 case of spouses. 

22 (C) Applications for visas or status under 

23 section 101(a)(27)(J) of such Act. 

24 (D) Applications for visas or status under 

25 section 101(a)(15)(U) of such Act. 


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1 (E) Petitions for visas or status under sec2 tion 101(a)(27)(C) of such Act. 

3 (F) Applications for asylum under section 

4 208 of such Act. 

5 (G) Applications for adjustment of status 

6 under section 209 of such Act. 

7 (H) Petitions for visas or status under sec8 tion 201(b) of such Act. 

9 (2) REPORTING ON FINDINGS.—Not later than 

10 30 days after the completion of each benefit fraud 

11 assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

12 submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on the 

14 Judiciary of the Senate such assessment and rec15 ommendations on how to reduce the occurrence of 

16 instances of fraud identified by the assessment. 

17 SEC. 4. VISA SECURITY PROGRAM. 

18 (a) FUNDING.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 2016 and 

21 thereafter, the Secretary of State is authorized to 

22 charge surcharges in support of visa security that 

23 are in addition to the passport and immigrant visa 

24 fees in effect on January 1, 2004, and any other 

25 fees collected pursuant to the fourth paragraph 


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1 under the heading ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Pro2 grams’’ in the Department of State and Related 

3 Agency Appropriations Act, 2005 (title IV of divi4 sion B of Public Law 108–447): Provided, that 

5 funds collected pursuant to this authority shall be 

6 credited to the appropriation for U.S. Immigration 

7 and Customs Enforcement for the fiscal year in 

8 which the fees were collected, and shall be available 

9 until expended for the funding of the Visa Security 

10 Program established by the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security under section 428(e) of the Homeland Se12 curity Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296): Provided 

13 further, that such surcharges shall total the amount 

14 sufficient annually to cover the Visa Security Pro15 gram costs. 

16 (2) REPAYMENT OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

17 Twenty percent of the funds collected each fiscal 

18 year under the heading ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular 

19 Programs’’ in title IV of division B of the Depart20 ment of State and Related Agency Appropriations 

21 Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447) shall be deposited 

22 into the general fund of the Treasury as repayment 

23 of funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (b)(3) 

24 until the entire appropriated sum has been repaid. 


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1 (b) EXPEDITIOUS EXPANSION OF ASSIGNMENT OF

2 HOMELAND SECURITY EMPLOYEES TO DIPLOMATIC AND

3 CONSULAR POSTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 428 of the Home5 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236) is amend6 ed— 

7 (A) in subsection (e)— 

8 (i) by amending paragraph (1) to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

11 after the date of the enactment of the Visa Integrity 

12 and Security Act of 2016, the Secretary shall assign 

13 employees of the Department to each diplomatic and 

14 consular post at which visas are issued, and shall 

15 communicate such assignments to the Secretary of 

16 State.’’; and 

17 (ii) by amending paragraph (2)(B) to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(B) Review all such applications and sup20 porting documentation prior to the adjudication 

21 of such an application.’’; and 

22 (B) by striking subsection (i). 

23 (2) EXPEDITED CLEARANCE AND PLACEMENT

24 OF DHS PERSONNEL.—Notwithstanding any other 

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1 tional Security Defense Directive 38 (dated June 2, 

2 1982) or any successor Directive, not later than one 

3 year after the date on which the Secretary of Home4 land Security communicates to the Secretary of 

5 State the assignment of personnel to a diplomatic or 

6 consular post under section 428(e) of the Homeland 

7 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)), as amended 

8 by this Act, the Chief of Mission of such a post shall 

9 ensure that such personnel have been stationed and 

10 accommodated at that post and are able to carry out 

11 their duties. 

12 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 

14 for each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018, which shall 

15 be used to expedite the implementation of section 

16 428(e) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

17 U.S.C. 236(e)), as amended by this Act. 

18 SEC. 5. BURDEN OF PROOF. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 291 of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1361) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘to the satisfaction of the con22 sular officer’’ and inserting ‘‘by clear and convincing 

23 evidence’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘to the satisfaction of the Attor2 ney General’’ and by inserting ‘‘by clear and con3 vincing evidence’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 214(b) of 

5 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘es6 tablishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer,’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘establishes by clear and convincing evidence to 

8 the consular officer,’’. 

9 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 

10 section shall apply with respect to applications filed on or 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

15 General of the United States shall conduct a review and 

16 report to Congress on the security of nonimmigrant and 

17 immigrant visa application processes. Such a review shall 

18 address— 

19 (1) how the United States government conducts 

20 security screening and background checks for non21 immigrant and immigrant visa petitions and applica22 tions, including the agencies and partners involved 

23 and the systems and databases used; and 

24 (2) how the Departments of Homeland Security 

25 and State consider the results of such screening and 


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1 background checks in adjudicating nonimmigrant 

2 and immigrant visa petitions and applications. 

3 (b) AGENCY COOPERATION.—Each agency involved 

4 in the processes for conducting and considering the results 

5 of such security screening and background checks shall 

6 fully cooperate with, and provide timely access to, the 

7 Comptroller General any requests for records and infor8 mation. 

Æ 


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