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[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 627 Introduced in House (IH)]

105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 627

To establish a visa waiver pilot program for nationals of Korea who are 
             traveling in tour groups to the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 1997

    Mr. Abercrombie (for himself, Mr. Kim, and Mrs. Mink of Hawaii) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To establish a visa waiver pilot program for nationals of Korea who are 
             traveling in tour groups to the United States.

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

SECTION 1. KOREA VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) travel and tourism play a major role in reducing the 
        United States unfavorable balance of trade;
            (2) the characteristics of the Korean travel market do not 
        permit long-term planning for longer trips;
            (3) applications for United States visas cannot now be 
        processed in a reasonable period of time;
            (4) the Secretary of State has attempted to solve the 
        problem by adding additional staff to the consular section at 
        the United States Embassy in Seoul;
            (5) unfortunately, these additions have not resulted in any 
        discernible improvement in reducing visa processing delays;
            (6) further, it is unlikely, given the current fiscal 
        environment, to expect funding to be available for further 
        staff additions in sufficient numbers to effect any significant 
        improvement in the time required to process visa applications;
            (7) most of the nations of the South Pacific, Europe, and 
        Canada do not currently require Koreans entering their 
        countries to have a visa, thus providing them with a serious 
        competitive advantage in the tourism industry;
            (8) the United States territory of Guam has been permitted 
        by the United States Government to eliminate visa requirements 
        for Koreans visiting Guam, with resultant impressive increases 
        in travel and tourism from citizens of the Republic of Korea;
            (9) any application under existing procedures to add the 
        Republic of Korea, or any other nation to the group of favored 
        nations exempted from United States visa regulations, would 
        require many years during which time the United States could 
        well lose its competitive advantages in attracting travel and 
        tourism from the Republic of Korea;
            (10) the Republic of Korea, as a gesture of goodwill, has 
        already unilaterally exempted United States tourists who seek 
        to enter the Republic of Korea from the requirement of 
        obtaining a visa; and
            (11) growth in Korean travel to the United States has not 
        kept pace with growth in travel to non-United States 
        destinations, and cumbersome and time-consuming visa processing 
        procedures are widely recognized as the cause of this loss of 
        market share and competitiveness with alternative destinations.
    (b) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of State and the Attorney General 
jointly shall establish a pilot project (in this section referred to as 
the ``pilot program'') within six months of the date of the enactment 
of this Act under which the requirement of paragraph (7)(B)(i)(II) of 
section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(7)(B)(i)(II)) is waived during the pilot program period in the 
case of any alien who meets the following requirements:
            (1) National of pilot program country.--The alien is a 
        national of, and presents a passport issued by, the Republic of 
        Korea. The Republic of Korea is urged to provide machine 
        readable passports to its citizens in the near future.
            (2) Seeking entry as tourist.--The alien is applying for 
        admission to the United States during the pilot program period 
        as a nonimmigrant visitor for pleasure (as described in section 
        101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15)(B))), as part of a group tour to the United States.
            (3) Period of stay.--The alien seeks to stay in the United 
        States for a period of not more than 15 days.
            (4) Executes immigration forms.--The alien before the time 
        of such admission completes such immigration form as the 
        Attorney General shall establish.
            (5) Entry into the united states.--If arriving by sea or 
        air, the alien arrives at the port of entry into the United 
        States on a carrier which has entered into an agreement with 
        the Immigration and Naturalization Service to guarantee 
        transport of the alien out of the United States if the alien is 
        found inadmissible or deportable by an immigration officer.
            (6) Not a safety threat.--The alien has been determined not 
        to represent a threat to the welfare, health, safety, or 
        security of the United States.
            (7) No previous violation.--If the alien previously was 
        admitted without a visa under this section, the alien must not 
        have failed to comply with the conditions of any previous 
        admission as such a nonimmigrant.
            (8) Round-trip ticket.--The alien is in possession of a 
        round-trip transportation ticket (unless this requirement is 
        waived by the Attorney General under regulations).
    (c) Waiver of Rights.--An alien may not be provided a waiver under 
the pilot program unless the alien has waived any right--
            (1) to review or appeal under this Act of an immigration 
        officer's determination as to the admissibility of the alien at 
        the port of entry into the United States, or
            (2) to contest, other than on the basis of an application 
        for asylum, any action for deportation against the alien.
    (d) Termination of Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of this section, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, 
acting jointly, may terminate the pilot program under this section on 
or after a date which is one year after the date of the establishment 
of the pilot program if--
            (1) during the preceding fiscal year, the overstay rate for 
        nationals of the Republic of Korea entering the United States 
        under the pilot program exceeds the overstay rate of such 
        nationals entering the United States with valid visas; and
            (2) the Attorney General and the Secretary of State have 
        jointly determined that the pilot program is leading to a 
        significant increase in the number of overstays by such 
        nationals.
    (e) Special Bond and Notification Requirements for Tour 
Operators.--
            (1) In general.--Nationals of the Republic of Korea may not 
        enter the United States under the terms of this section unless 
        they are accompanied for the duration of their authorized 
        admission period by a tour operator who has fulfilled the 
        following requirements:
                    (A) The tour operator has posted a bond of $200,000 
                with the Secretary of State.
                    (B) The Secretary of State, under such regulations 
                as the Secretary may prescribe, has approved an 
                application by the tour operator to escort tour groups 
                to the United States.
                    (C) The tour operator provides the name, address, 
                birthdate, passport number, and citizenship of all 
                prospective tour group members to the Secretary of 
                State no less than one business day prior to the 
                departure date of the group, under such regulations as 
                he may prescribe, in order to determine that the 
                prospective travelers do not represent a threat to the 
                welfare, health, safety, and security of the United 
                States.
                    (D) The tour operator excludes from the tour group 
                any person whom the Secretary of State denies 
                permission to travel to the United States.
                    (E) The tour operator provides written 
                certification or other such evidence prescribed by the 
                Secretary of State and Attorney General which documents 
                the return to Korea of each tour group member.
            (2) Forfeiture of bonds.--Bonds posted in accordance with 
        this subsection shall be forfeited in whole or in part and a 
        tour operator's authorization to escort tours to the United 
        States may be suspended or revoked if the Secretary of State 
        finds that the tour operator--
                    (A) has failed to disclose a material fact in 
                connection with the application required under 
                paragraph (1)(B);
                    (B) fails to comply with the advance notification 
                and refusal requirements of paragraphs (1)(C) and 
                (1)(D);
                    (C) has failed to take adequate steps to ensure 
                that visitors who are being escorted to the United 
                States under the terms of an approved application 
                return to their country of residence; or
                    (D) is found at any time to have committed a felony 
                or any offense under the immigration laws of the United 
                States.
    (f) Participation by Tour Agents.--The Secretary of State shall 
periodically review the overstay rate of nationals of the Republic of 
Korea that corresponds to each tour agent participating in the program 
under this section. The Secretary may terminate the participation in 
the program of any tour agent if the Secretary determines that the 
corresponding overstay rate is excessive.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) Group tour.--The term ``group tour'' means travelers 
        who take advantage of group-purchased hotel or airfare 
        packages, as guided, supervised, and arranged by a tour agent 
        in the Republic of Korea approved or licensed by the Department 
        of State.
            (2) Overstay rate.--The term ``overstay rate'' means, 
        during a specified period of time, the proportion that the 
        number of aliens remaining in the United States after the 
        expiration of their visas bears to the total number of aliens 
        entering the United States during that period of time.
            (3) Pilot program period.--The term ``pilot program 
        period'' means the three-year period immediately following the 
        establishment of the pilot program.
                                 <all>
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