II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 417 

To prohibit the Secretary of State from issuing B1 and B2 visas to nationals 

of the People’s Republic of China for periods of more than one year 

unless certain conditions are met. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 

CRUZ, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit the Secretary of State from issuing B1 and 

B2 visas to nationals of the People’s Republic of China 

for periods of more than one year unless certain conditions are met. 

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 Security Act’’. 


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•S 417 IS

1 SEC. 2. CONDITIONS ON ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN B1 AND B2 

2 VISAS TO NATIONALS OF THE PEOPLE’S RE3 PUBLIC OF CHINA. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may not 

5 issue to a national of the People’s Republic of China a 

6 nonimmigrant visa described in section 101(a)(15)(B) of 

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

8 1101(a)(15)(B)) that is valid for a period of more than 

9 one year unless the Secretary certifies to Congress that 

10 the Government of the People’s Republic of China has— 

11 (1) ceased its— 

12 (A) campaign of economic and industrial 

13 espionage against the United States; and 

14 (B) provocative and coercive behavior to15 wards Taiwan; 

16 (2) withdrawn its national security law with re17 spect to Hong Kong and fully upheld its commit18 ments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 

19 1984; 

20 (3) ended its systematic oppression of Uighurs, 

21 Tibetans, and other ethnic groups; 

22 (4) retracted its unlawful claims in the South 

23 China Sea; and 

24 (5) released foreign hostages and wrongfully de25 tained individuals in the People’s Republic of China. 


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•S 417 IS

1 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to limit the period for which a visa 

3 may be issued to an applicant from Taiwan or a bona fide 

4 Hong Kong applicant. 

5 (c) DEFINITION OF BONA FIDE HONG KONG APPLI6 CANT.—In this section, ‘‘bona fide Hong Kong applicant’’ 

7 means an individual who— 

8 (1)(A) was a resident of the Hong Kong Special 

9 Administrative Region on December 31, 2018; or 

10 (B)(i) has been a resident of the Hong Kong 

11 Special Administrative Region during the entire 60- 

12 day period ending on the date on which the indi13 vidual applies for a visa described in section 

14 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)); and 

16 (ii) the Secretary of State certifies to Congress 

17 that the United States has no reason to believe that 

18 the individual is acting on behalf of the Government 

19 of the People’s Republic of China, or any entity con20 trolled by the Government of the People’s Republic 

21 of China; 

22 (2) is a citizen of the People’s Republic of 

23 China; and 

24 (3) is not a citizen of any other country. 

Æ 


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