TITLE IV—IMPROVEMENT OF
VISA PROGRAMS AND ISSUANCE
SEC. 401. VISA WAIVER PROGRAM.
(a) ELIMINATION
OF
JOINT
ACTION
REQUIRE-
MENT.—Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Attorney
General and the Secretary of State, acting jointly’’
and inserting ‘‘Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of State’’;
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Attorney
General and the Secretary of State acting jointly’’
and inserting ‘‘Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of State,’’; and
(3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Attorney
General and the Secretary of State, acting jointly,’’
and inserting ‘‘Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of State,’’.
(b) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 217(f) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(f)) is
amended by striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘2002.’’.
(c) DURATION AND TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION
OF PILOT PROGRAM COUNTRIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 217(g) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(g)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(g) DURATION
AND TERMINATION
OF DESIGNA-
TION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICATION
OF DISQUALIFICATION RATE.—Upon determina-
tion by the Attorney General that a pilot pro-
gram country’s disqualification rate is 2 percent
or more, the Attorney General shall notify the
Secretary of State.
‘‘(B) PROBATIONARY STATUS.—If the pro-
gram country’s disqualification rate is greater
than 2 percent but less than 3.5 percent, the
Attorney General shall place the program coun-
try in probationary status for a period not to
exceed 2 full fiscal years following the year in
which the determination under subparagraph
(A) is made.
‘‘(C) TERMINATION
OF
DESIGNATION.—
Subject to paragraph (3), if the program coun-
try’s disqualification rate is 3.5 percent or
more, the Attorney General shall terminate the
country’s designation as a pilot program coun-
try effective at the beginning of the second fis-
cal year following the fiscal year in which the
determination under subparagraph (A) is made.
‘‘(2) TERMINATION
OF
PROBATIONARY
STA-
TUS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney Gen-
eral determines at the end of the probationary
period described in paragraph (1)(B) that the
program country placed in probationary status
under such paragraph has failed to develop a
machine-readable passport program as required
by section (c)(2)(C), or has a disqualification
rate of 2 percent or more, the Attorney General
shall terminate the designation of the country
as a pilot program country. If the Attorney
General determines that the program country
has developed a machine-readable passport pro-
gram and has a disqualification rate of less
than 2 percent, the Attorney General shall re-
designate the country as a pilot program coun-
try.
‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A termination of
the designation of a country under subpara-
graph (A) shall take effect on the first day of
the first fiscal year following the fiscal year in
which the determination under such subpara-
graph is made. Until such date, nationals of the
country shall remain eligible for a waiver under
subsection (a).
‘‘(3) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
PROVI-
SIONS.—Paragraph (1)(C) shall not apply unless the
total number of nationals of a pilot program country
described in paragraph (4)(A) exceeds 100.
‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘disqualification rate’ means the
percentage which—
‘‘(A) the total number of nationals of the
pilot program country who were—
‘‘(i) excluded from admission or with-
drew their application for admission during
the most recent fiscal year for which data
are available; and
‘‘(ii) admitted as nonimmigrant visi-
tors during such fiscal year and who vio-
lated the terms of such admission; bears to
‘‘(B) the total number of nationals of such
country who applied for admission as non-
immigrant visitors during such fiscal year.’’.
(2) TRANSITION.—A country designated as a
pilot program country with probationary status
under section 217(g) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (as in effect on the day before the date
of the enactment of this Act) shall be considered to
be designated as a pilot program country on and
after such date, subject to placement in probationary
status or termination of such designation under such
section (as amended by paragraph (1)).
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
217(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(2)(B)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘or is’’ through ‘‘subsection (g).’’ and inserting
a period.
SEC. 402. INCREASE IN VISA PROCESSING CONSULAR PER-
SONNEL.
At consular posts in Seoul, South Korea, Caracus,
Venezuela, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo,
Brazil, and at the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei,
the Secretary of State shall increase the number of con-
sular personnel assigned at such locations as of October
1, 1997, by 25 percent above the number of consular per-
sonnel as of September 30, 1996, and shall maintain such
increase until September 30, 2001. The Secretary of State
shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
increased consular personnel shall be deployed to expedite
the processing of nonimmigrant visa applications.
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