109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3821

AN ACT

To authorize certain athletes to be admitted temporarily into

the United States to compete or perform in an athletic

league, competition, or performance.

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 either the ‘‘Creating Oppor5 tunities for Minor League Professionals, Entertainers, and

6 Teams through Legal Entry Act of 2006’’ or the ‘‘COM7 PETE Act of 2006’’.
 †

2

S 3821 ES

1 SEC. 2. NONIMMIGRANT ALIEN STATUS FOR CERTAIN ATH2 LETES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(4)(A) of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)(A)) is

5 amended by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(i)(I) performs as an athlete, individually or as

8 part of a group or team, at an internationally recog9 nized level of performance;

10 ‘‘(II) is a professional athlete, as defined in sec11 tion 204(i)(2);

12 ‘‘(III) performs as an athlete, or as a coach, as

13 part of a team or franchise that is located in the

14 United States and a member of a foreign league or

15 association of 15 or more amateur sports teams, if—

16 ‘‘(aa) the foreign league or association is

17 the highest level of amateur performance of

18 that sport in the relevant foreign country;

19 ‘‘(bb) participation in such league or asso20 ciation renders players ineligible, whether on a

21 temporary or permanent basis, to earn a schol22 arship in, or participate in, that sport at a col23 lege or university in the United States under

24 the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic As25 sociation; and
†

3

S 3821 ES

1 ‘‘(cc) a significant number of the individ2 uals who play in such league or association are

3 drafted by a major sports league or a minor

4 league affiliate of such a sports league; or

5 ‘‘(IV) is a professional athlete or amateur ath6 lete who performs individually or as part of a group

7 in a theatrical ice skating production; and

8 ‘‘(ii) seeks to enter the United States tempo9 rarily and solely for the purpose of performing—

10 ‘‘(I) as such an athlete with respect to a

11 specific athletic competition; or

12 ‘‘(II) in the case of an individual described

13 in clause (i)(IV), in a specific theatrical ice

14 skating production or tour.’’.

15 (b) LIMITATION.—Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)) is amend17 ed by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(F)(i) No nonimmigrant visa under section

19 101(a)(15)(P)(i)(a) shall be issued to any alien who is a

20 national of a country that is a state sponsor of inter21 national terrorism unless the Secretary of State deter22 mines, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity and the heads of other appropriate United States

24 agencies, that such alien does not pose a threat to the

25 safety, national security, or national interest of the United
†

4

S 3821 ES

1 States. In making a determination under this subpara2 graph, the Secretary of State shall apply standards devel3 oped by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the

4 Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other

5 appropriate United States agencies, that are applicable to

6 the nationals of such states.

7 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘state sponsor

8 of international terrorism’ means any country the govern9 ment of which has been determined by the Secretary of

10 State under any of the laws specified in clause (iii) to have

11 repeatedly provided support for acts of international ter12 rorism.

13 ‘‘(iii) The laws specified in this clause are the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(I) Section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Adminis16 tration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A))

17 (or successor statute).

18 ‘‘(II) Section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control

19 Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)).

20 ‘‘(III) Section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assist21 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)).’’.

22 (c) PETITIONS FOR MULTIPLE ALIENS.—Section

23 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

24 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)), as amended by subsection (b), is fur25 ther amended by adding at the end the following:
†

5

S 3821 ES

1 ‘‘(G) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall per2 mit a petition under this subsection to seek classification

3 of more than 1 alien as a nonimmigrant under section

4 101(a)(15)(P)(i)(a).’’.

5 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE

6 IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—Section

7 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)), as amended by subsections (b) and

9 (c), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(H) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall per11 mit an athlete, or the employer of an athlete, to seek ad12 mission to the United States for such athlete under a pro13 vision of this Act other than section 101(a)(15)(P)(i) if

14 the athlete is eligible under such other provision.’’.

Passed the Senate December 6, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3821

AN ACT

To authorize certain athletes to be admitted tempoformance. form in an athletic league, competition, or per- rarily into the United States to compete or per-