Golden Visa Accountability Act

To require the Secretary of State to establish an investor visa denials database, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Golden Visa Accountability Act 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Foreign state The term foreign state (2) Foreign investor visa The term foreign investor visa (3) Foreign investor visa denial The term foreign investor visa denial (4) Foreign investor visa program The term foreign investor visa program (5) United States investor visa denial The term United States investor visa denial 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) 3. Investor visa denials database (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish an investor visa denials database. Initially, this database shall include records related to United States investor visa denials, for the purpose of coordinating with foreign states— (1) to prevent the abuse of investor visas by foreign corrupt officials or criminals; (2) to ensure that the proceeds of corruption are not used to purchase an investor visa; and (3) to counter the tendency of foreign corrupt officials and criminals to shop (b) Expansion The Secretary of State shall expand the database to include foreign investor visa denials. Foreign states that provide records related to foreign investor visa denials for inclusion in the database shall gain access to records contained therein. Priority foreign states for inclusion in this database are— (1) the foreign states of the European Union, which include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden; and (2) the foreign states of the Five Eyes, which include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. (c) Admission Foreign states may of their own volition apply for access to, and inclusion in, the investor visa denials database. The Secretary of State may admit a foreign state to the database if the Secretary determines that— (1) the foreign state will be honest and forthcoming with records regarding its foreign investor visa denials; and (2) the foreign investor visa program is at risk of abuse by foreign corrupt officials.

Summary: Golden Visa Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of State to establish and maintain a database containing information about investor visa denials due to the applicant's involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuses. (Generally, the United States offers immigrant visas to qualified individuals who invest in the United States and create a certain number of full-time jobs.) Initially, the database must include records related to such denials of U.S. investor visas. The bill also requires the State Department to eventually expand the database to include records of such denials of investor visas in other countries. The State Department shall prioritize including records from European Union countries and from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The State Department may admit a foreign country to be part of the database if the State Department determines (1) that country will be honest and forthcoming with its records, and (2) that country's investor visa program is at risk of abuse by corrupt foreign officials.