II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 455 

To amend the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 

to facilitate United States openness to international students, scholars, 

scientists, and exchange visitors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2005 

Mr. COLEMAN (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange 

Act of 1961 to facilitate United States openness to international students, scholars, scientists, and exchange visitors, 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 ‘‘American Competitive5 ness Through International Openness Now Act of 2005’’ 

6 or as the ‘‘ACTION Act of 2005’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) The United States has a strategic interest 

2 in encouraging international students, scholars, sci3 entists, and exchange visitors to visit the United 

4 States to study, collaborate in research, and to de5 velop personal relationships. 

6 (2) Openness to international students, schol7 ars, scientists, and exchange visitors serves vital and 

8 longstanding national foreign policy, educational, 

9 and economic interests and the erosion of such open10 ness undermines the national security interests of 

11 the United States. 

12 (3) Educating successive generations of future 

13 world leaders has long been a foundation of the 

14 United States international influence and leadership. 

15 (4) Open scientific exchange enables the United 

16 States to benefit from the knowledge of the world’s 

17 top students and scientists and has been a critical 

18 factor in maintaining the United States leadership 

19 in science and technology. 

20 (5) International students studying in the 

21 United States and their families contribute nearly 

22 $13,000,000,000 to the United States economy each 

23 year, making higher education a major service sector 

24 export. 
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1 (6) The total number of applications submitted 

2 by foreign applicants to graduate schools in the 

3 United States for enrollment during the fall of 2004 

4 declined 28 percent from the number of such appli5 cations submitted for enrollment during the fall of 

6 2003. 

7 (7) The total number of foreign students en8 rolled in graduate schools in the United States dur9 ing the fall of 2004 declined 6 percent from the 

10 number of such enrollments during the fall of 2003. 

11 (8) The number of foreign students enrolled in 

12 schools in the United States during the 2003–2004 

13 academic year decreased by 2.4 percent from the 

14 number of such students the 2002–2003 academic 

15 year, marking the first absolute decline in foreign 

16 enrollments since the 1971–1972 academic year. 

17 (9) The policies implemented by the United 

18 States since September 11, 2001, and the public 

19 perceptions they have engendered, have discouraged 

20 many foreign students from studying in the United 

21 States and have frustrated the efforts of many for22 eign scholars and exchange visitors from visiting the 

23 United States. 

24 (10) The United States must improve its stu25 dent, scholar, scientist, and exchange visitor screen-
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1 ing process to protect against terrorists seeking to 

2 harm the United States. 

3 (11) The United States has seen a dramatic in4 crease in requests for Visa Mantis checks, checks de5 signed to protect against illegal transfers of sensitive 

6 technology, from approximately 1,000 in fiscal year 

7 2000 to approximately 18,500 in fiscal year 2004. 

8 (12) Concerns related to the international stu9 dent monitoring system known as ‘‘SEVIS’’ have 

10 also contributed to the decline in the number of for11 eign applicants to educational institutions in the 

12 United States. 

13 (13) Other countries have instituted aggressive 

14 strategies for attracting foreign students, scholars, 

15 and scientists, and have adjusted their policies to en16 courage and accommodate access to universities and 

17 scientific exchange. One such country, Australia, has 

18 increased enrollment by foreign students in edu19 cational institutions in Australia by more than 53 

20 percent since 2001. 

21 (14) The European Union has set forth a com22 prehensive strategy to be the ‘‘most competitive and 

23 dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world’’ by 

24 2010. Part of this strategy is aimed at enhancing 

25 economic competitiveness by making the European 
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1 Union the most favorable destination for students, 

2 scholars, and researchers from other regions of the 

3 world. 

4 (15) In order to maintain United States com5 petitiveness in the world economy, build vital rela6 tionships with future world leaders, and improve 

7 popular perceptions of the United States overseas, 

8 the United States requires a comprehensive strategy 

9 for recruiting foreign students, scholars, scientists, 

10 and exchange visitors. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

16 of the Senate and the Committee on International 

17 Relations of the House of Representatives. 

18 (2) SEVIS.—The term ‘‘SEVIS’’ means the 

19 program to collect information relating to non20 immigrant foreign students and other exchange pro21 gram participants required by the Illegal Immigra22 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

23 1996 (Division C of Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 

24 3009–546). 
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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND 

2 CULTURAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961. 

3 The Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act 

4 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 115. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INTERNATIONAL EDU7 CATIONAL EXCHANGE. 

8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of the ACTION Act of 

11 2005, the President, in consultation with institutions 

12 of higher education in the United States, organiza13 tions that participate in international exchange pro14 grams, and other appropriate groups, shall develop 

15 a strategic plan for enhancing the access of foreign 

16 students, scholars, scientists, and exchange visitors 

17 to the United States for study and exchange activi18 ties. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—The strategic plan shall in20 clude the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) A marketing plan that utilizes the 

22 Internet and other media resources to promote 

23 and facilitate study in the United States by for24 eign students. 

25 ‘‘(B) A clear division of responsibility that 

26 eliminates duplication and promotes inter-agen-
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1 cy cooperation with regard to the roles of the 

2 Departments of State, Commerce, Education, 

3 Homeland Security, and Energy in promoting 

4 and facilitating access to the United States for 

5 foreign students, scholars, scientists, and ex6 change visitors. 

7 ‘‘(C) A mechanism for institutionalized co8 ordination of the efforts of Departments of 

9 State, Commerce, Education, and Homeland 

10 Security in facilitating access to the United 

11 States for foreign students, scholars, scientists, 

12 and exchange visitors. 

13 ‘‘(D) A plan to utilize the educational ad14 vising centers of the Department of State that 

15 are located in foreign countries to promote 

16 study in the United States and to prescreen 

17 visa applicants. 

18 ‘‘(E) A description of the lines of authority 

19 and responsibility for foreign students in the 

20 Department of Commerce. 

21 ‘‘(F) A description of the mandate related 

22 to foreign student and scholar access to edu23 cational institutions in the United States for 

24 the Department of Education. 
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1 ‘‘(G) Streamlined procedures within the 

2 Department of Homeland Security related to 

3 foreign students, scholars, scientists, and ex4 change visitors. 

5 ‘‘(H) Streamlined procedures to facilitate 

6 international scientific collaboration. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

8 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

9 ACTION Act of 2005, the President shall submit 

10 the strategic plan to the Committee on Foreign Re11 lations of the Senate and the Committee on Inter12 national Relations of the House of Representatives. 

13 ‘‘(b) RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS.—It is the sense of 

14 Congress that the United States should negotiate reci15 procity agreements with foreign countries with the goal 

16 of mutual agreement on extending the validity of student 

17 and scholar visas to 4 years and permitting multiple entry 

18 on student and scholar visas. 

19 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The President, acting 

21 through the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

22 the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Commerce, 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security, and Secretary of 

24 Energy, shall submit to Congress an annual report 

25 on the implementation of the strategic plan required 
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1 by subsection (a) and on any negotiations with for2 eign countries related to the reciprocity agreements 

3 referred to in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—An annual report submitted 

5 under this subsection shall include a description of 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Measures undertaken to enhance ac8 cess to the United States by foreign students, 

9 scholars, scientists, and exchange visitors and 

10 to improve inter-agency coordination with re11 gard to foreign students, scholars, scientists, 

12 and exchange visitors. 

13 ‘‘(B) Measures taken to negotiate recip14 rocal agreements referred to in subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(C) The number of foreign students, 

16 scholars, scientists, and exchange visitors who 

17 applied for visas to enter the United States, 

18 disaggregated by applicants’ fields of study or 

19 expertise, the number of such visa applications 

20 that are approved, the number of such visa ap21 plications that are denied, and the reasons for 

22 such denials. 

23 ‘‘(D) The average processing time for an 

24 application for a visa submitted by a foreign 

25 student, scholar, scientist, or exchange visitor. 
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1 ‘‘(E) The number of applications for a visa 

2 submitted by foreign students, scholars, sci3 entists, or exchange visitors that require inter4 agency review. 

5 ‘‘(F) The number of applications for a visa 

6 submitted by foreign students, scholars, sci7 entists, or exchange visitors that were approved 

8 after receipt of such applications in each of the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Less than 15 days. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Between 15 and 30 days. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Between 31 and 45 days. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Between 46 and 60 days. 

14 ‘‘(v) Between 61 and 90 days. 

15 ‘‘(vi) More than 90 days. 

16 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than 

17 November 30 2005, and annually thereafter through 

18 2008, the President shall submit to Congress the re19 port described in this subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. FAIRNESS IN THE SEVIS PROCESS. 

21 (a) REDUCED FEE FOR SHORT-TERM STUDY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 641(e)(4)(A) of the 

23 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon24 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372(e)(4)(A)) is 

25 amended by striking the second sentence and insert-
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1 ing ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (g)(2), the fee 

2 imposed on any individual may not exceed $100, ex3 cept that in the case of an alien admitted under sub4 paragraph (J) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigra5 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) as 

6 an au pair, camp counselor, or participant in a sum7 mer work travel program, the fee shall not exceed 

8 $35 and that in the case of an alien admitted under 

9 subparagraph (F) of such section (8 U.S.C. 

10 1101(a)(15)(F)) for a program that will not exceed 

11 90 days, the fee shall not exceed $35.’’. 

12 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 

13 further amended— 

14 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘At15 torney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security’’; and 

17 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘At18 torney General’s’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’s’’. 

19 (b) REPORT ON IMPROVING FEE COLLECTION.—Not 

20 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 

22 State shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional 

23 committees a report on the feasibility of— 

24 (1) entering data into the SEVIS database and 

25 collecting the fee required by section 641(e) of the 
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1 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon2 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372(e)) only after 

3 the applicant’s visa has been approved; or 

4 (2) refunding the fee required by such section 

5 in the event that the applicant’s visa has been de6 nied. 

7 SEC. 6. REFORMING SEVIS DATABASE MANAGEMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu9 rity and the Secretary of State shall— 

10 (1) develop policies that permit authorized rep11 resentatives of SEVIS-approved schools or programs 

12 to make corrections to a student, scholar, or ex13 change visitor’s record directly within the SEVIS 

14 database; 

15 (2) in the case of such corrections that cannot 

16 be made by such representatives, ensure that suffi17 cient resources are made available to enable such 

18 corrections to be made in a timely manner; 

19 (3) develop policies to prohibit the detention or 

20 deportation of a student who is found to be out of 

21 status as a result of a SEVIS database error; and 

22 (4) review the regulations and technology used 

23 in the SEVIS system, in order to streamline proc24 esses and reduce the time required for SEVIS-ap-
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1 proved universities and programs to perform data 

2 entry tasks. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu5 rity and the Secretary of State shall jointly submit to the 

6 appropriate congressional committees a report on the im7 plementation of this section. 

8 SEC. 7. INTEROPERABLE DATA SYSTEMS. 

9 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FBI DIRECTOR.— 

10 The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall 

11 take the steps necessary to ensure that the Federal Bu12 reau of Investigation has full connectivity to the Consular 

13 Consolidated Database. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bu16 reau of Investigation shall report to the Committee on the 

17 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judici18 ary of the House of Representatives on the Director’s 

19 progress in ensuring that the Federal Bureau of Investiga20 tion has full connectivity to the Consular Consolidated 

21 Database. 

22 SEC. 8. FACILITATING ACCESS. 

23 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that improvements in 

24 visa processing would enhance the national security of the 

25 United States by— 
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1 (1) permitting closer scrutiny of visa applicants 

2 who might pose threats to national security; and 

3 (2) permitting the timely adjudication of visa 

4 applications of those whose presence in the United 

5 States serves important national interests. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that improvements in visa processing should in8 clude— 

9 (1) an operational visa policy that articulates 

10 the national interest of the United States in denying 

11 entry to visitors who seek to harm the United States 

12 and in opening entry to legitimate visitors, to guide 

13 consular officers in achieving the appropriate bal14 ance; 

15 (2) a greater focus by the visa system on visi16 tors who require special screening, while minimizing 

17 delays for legitimate visitors; 

18 (3) a timely, transparent, and predictable visa 

19 process, through appropriate guidelines for inter20 agency review of visa applications; and 

21 (4) a provision of the necessary resources to 

22 fund a visa processing system that meets the re23 quirements of this Act. 

24 (c) VISA PROCESSING.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not withstanding any other 

2 provision of law, not later than 60 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

4 shall issue appropriate guidance to consular officers 

5 in order to— 

6 (A) give consulates appropriate discretion 

7 to grant waivers of personal appearance for for8 eign students, scholars, scientists and exchange 

9 visitors in order to minimize delays for legiti10 mate travelers while permitting more thorough 

11 interviews of visa applicants in appropriate 

12 cases; 

13 (B) establish a presumption of visa ap14 proval for frequent visitors who have previously 

15 been granted visas for the same purpose and 

16 who have no status violations and for people 

17 previously approved for visas who had to depart 

18 the United States for family emergencies; and 

19 (C) give appropriate discretion, according 

20 to criteria developed at each post and approved 

21 by the Secretary of State, to view as ‘‘rec22 reational in nature’’ courses of a duration no 

23 more than 1 semester or its equivalent, and not 

24 awarding certification, license or degree, for 
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1 purposes of determining appropriateness to vis2 itor status. 

3 (2) TIMELINESS STANDARDS.—Not later than 

4 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

5 President shall publish final regulations for inter6 agency review of visa applications requiring security 

7 clearances which establish the following standards 

8 for timeliness for international student, scholar, sci9 entist, and exchange visitor visas that— 

10 (A) establish a 15-day standard for re11 sponses to the Department of State by other 

12 agencies involved in the clearance process; 

13 (B) establish a 30-day standard for com14 pleting the entire inter-agency review and advis15 ing the consulate of the result of the review; 

16 (C) provide for expedited processing of any 

17 visa application with respect to which a review 

18 is not completed within 30 days, and for advis19 ing the consulate of the delay and the estimated 

20 processing time remaining; and 

21 (D) establish a special review process to 

22 resolve any cases whose resolution is still pend23 ing after 60 days. 

24 (d) STANDARDS FOR VISA EVALUATIONS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of 

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

3 1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘having a residence in a 

5 foreign country which he has no intention of 

6 abandoning’’ and inserting ‘‘having the inten7 tion, capability, and sufficient financial re8 sources to complete a course of study in the 

9 United States’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘and solely’’ after ‘‘tempo11 rarily’’. 

12 (2) PRESUMPTION OF STATUS.—Section 214(b) 

13 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1184(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph (L) 

15 or’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (F), (J), (L), or’’. 

16 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall re18 port to appropriate congressional committees on— 

19 (1) the feasibility of expediting visa processing 

20 for participants in official exchange programs, and 

21 for students, scholars, scientists and exchange visi22 tors through prescreening of applicants by the gov23 ernment or a university in the country in which the 

24 individual resides, a Department of State edu-
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1 cational advising center located in a foreign country, 

2 or other appropriate entity; 

3 (2) the feasibility of developing the capability to 

4 collect biometric data without requiring an applicant 

5 for a visa to appear in person at a United States 

6 mission in a foreign country; and 

7 (3) the implementation of the guidance de8 scribed in subsection (b), including the training of 

9 consular officers, and the effect of such guidance 

10 and training on visa processing volume and timeli11 ness. 

12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as may be necessary to carry out to carry out this Act, 

15 including for the consular affairs and educational and cul16 tural exchange functions of the Department of State, the 

17 visa application review and SEVIS database management 

18 function of the Department of Homeland Security, for the 

19 Departments of Education, Commerce, and State to de20 velop an implement a marketing plan to attract inter21 national students, scholars, scientists, and exchange visi22 tors, and for database improvements in the Federal Bu23 reau of Investigations as specified in section 7. 

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