I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1896

To designate the Republic of Korea as a visa waiver pilot program country

for one year under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 20, 1999

Mr. GARY MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. EHRLICH, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FRANK of

Massachusetts, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To designate the Republic of Korea as a visa waiver pilot

program country for one year under the Immigration

and Nationality Act.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

4 The Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) The Republic of Korea and the United

6 States have close historical and military ties.

7 (2) The Republic of Korea has been designated

8 as a major non-NATO ally.
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1 (3) The Republic of Korea is the ninth largest

2 trading partner of the United States.

3 (4) There is increasing demand by citizens of

4 the Republic of Korea to visit the United States,

5 with an increased demand for nonimmigrant visas

6 from a 1982 total of 800 to a 1995 total of over

7 2,000 applications per day.

8 (5) During calendar year 1995, a total of

9 592,000 Korean citizens visited the United States,

10 an increase of 19 percent over calendar year 1994.

11 (6) According to the United States Department

12 of Commerce, overall tourism dollars spent in the

13 United States by tourists from the Republic of

14 Korea exceeded $680,000,000 in fiscal year 1993.

15 (7) According to the United States Census Bu16 reau, in 1995 the United States exported goods val17 ued at $25,379,874,000 to the Republic of Korea,

18 and imported goods valued at $24,183,941,000 from

19 the Republic of Korea, a trade surplus of nearly

20 $1,200,000,000.

21 (8) Currently all potential Republic of Korea

22 travelers seeking to obtain a travel visa to the

23 United States must apply at the United States Em24 bassy in Seoul, regardless of their place of residence

25 in the Republic of Korea.
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1 (9) The United States consular affairs office at

2 the United States Embassy in Seoul has not been

3 able to meet the growing demand for nonimmigrant

4 visas to the United States due to lack of space and

5 personnel, resulting in unnecessary delays, frustra6 tion, and loss of economic opportunity for the

7 United States.

8 (10) During the past several years numerous

9 press reports and media stories have centered

10 around the growing dissatisfaction of the South Ko11 rean people in relation to such delays and the lack

12 of adequate protection against the natural elements.

13 (11) The Republic of Korea has a unique place

14 of importance with respect to the United States

15 under the provisions of the United States-North

16 Korea Agreed Framework.

17 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AS A

18 VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM COUNTRY.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, beginning 60 days after date of enactment

21 of this Act, the Republic of Korea shall be designated for

22 one year as a visa waiver pilot program country for the

23 purposes of section 217 of the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act.
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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE.—Notwithstanding

2 any other provision of law, the requirements for designa3 tion of a country under section 217 of the Immigration

4 and Nationality Act shall not apply to any designation of

5 the Republic of Korea as a visa waiver pilot program coun6 try under such section.

7 (c) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—No later than one

8 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

9 of State and the Attorney General shall compile and sub10 mit to Congress a report evaluating the visa waiver pilot

11 program country designation under subsection (a) and the

12 qualifications of the Republic of Korea for designation

13 under the provisions of section 217 of the Immigration

14 and Nationality Act.

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