SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Religious 
Minorities Persecuted by ISIS Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. PROCESSING MECHANISMS. 
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish 
or use existing refugee processing mechanisms in Iraq and 
in other countries determined appropriate by the Sec-
retary, through which aliens described in section 3(a) may 
apply and interview for admission to the United States 
as refugees. Such processing mechanisms shall ensure that 
background and security checks of such aliens are con-
ducted, which shall include the use of biographic and bio-
metric data to check an alien’s identity against all appro-
priate records and databases maintained by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Sec-
retary of State, and any other Federal agency determined 
appropriate by the Secretary of Homeland Security in 
order to determine any whether an alien may be inadmis-
sible to the United States. 
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PROCESSING 
PRIORITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Refugees of special humanitarian 
concern eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee 
resettlement priority system who may apply directly to the 
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United States Refugee Admissions Program shall include 
aliens who are or were nationals or residents of Iraq or 
Syria who have been persecuted or have a credible fear 
of being persecuted by the group commonly known as the 
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (or any successor 
name), or by a similar group, based on— 
(1) the alien’s membership in a minority group, 
including a religious or ethnic minority group; 
(2) the alien’s gender; or 
(3) other characteristics identified by the Sec-
retary of State, or the designee of the Secretary. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION AS A REFUGEE.— 
No alien shall be denied the opportunity to apply for ad-
mission under this section solely because such alien— 
(1) qualifies as an immediate relative; 
(2) is eligible for any other immigrant classi-
fication; or 
(3) was referred to apply for admission to the 
United States as a refugee by a United States non-
profit organization that is exempt from Federal in-
come taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code. 
(c) PERMITTING CERTAIN ALIENS WITHIN CAT-
EGORIES TO REAPPLY
FOR REFUGEE STATUS.—Each 
alien described in subsection (a) who after, June 1, 2014, 
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and before the date of the enactment of this Act was de-
nied refugee status shall be permitted to reapply for such 
status. Such an application shall be determined taking 
into account the application of this Act. 
(d) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—In the case that the 
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, determines that an alien who is de-
scribed in subsection (a) and who has applied for admis-
sion to the United States as a refugee under section 207 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) 
using the processes under section 2 is in imminent danger, 
the Secretary shall make a reasonable effort to provide 
such alien with protection or the immediate removal from 
that country. 
SEC. 4. DETERMINATIONS OF REFUGEE APPLICATIONS. 
(a) RECORD OF DETERMINATION.—The adjudicator 
of an application for admission to the United States as 
a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) submitted by an alien who 
is described in section 3(a) using the processes under sec-
tion 2 shall consider all relevant evidence and maintain 
a record of the evidence considered. 
(b) LEGAL REPRESENTATION.—An applicant de-
scribed in subsection (a) may be represented, including at 
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a refugee interview, at no expense to the Government, by 
an attorney or accredited representative who— 
(1) was chosen by the applicant; and 
(2) is authorized by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to be recognized as the representative of 
such applicant in an adjudication under this section. 
(c) WRITTEN DECISION REQUIRED.—A decision to 
deny an application of an alien described in subsection 
(a)— 
(1) shall be in writing; and 
(2) shall provide, to the maximum extent fea-
sible, information on the reason for the denial, in-
cluding— 
(A) the facts underlying the determination; 
(B) the basis of any negative credibility 
finding; and 
(C) whether there is a waiver of inadmis-
sibility available to the applicant. 
(d) REVIEW OF DENIALS OF REFUGEE STATUS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after being denied admission to the United States as 
a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), an applicant de-
scribed in subsection (a) may file a request with the 
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Secretary of Homeland Security for review of such 
denial. 
(2) REVIEW
BY
TRAINED
REFUGEE
OFFI-
CERS.—Not later than 90 days after receiving a re-
quest for review under paragraph (1), a refugee offi-
cer who has received training on reviewing a denial 
described in paragraph (1), other than the refugee 
officer who adjudicated the alien’s application for 
admission, shall review such denial. 
(3) STANDARD
FOR
REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall publish on the Internet website of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security the standard to be ap-
plied to the review of a denial described in para-
graph (1). 
(4) DECISIONS OF REQUESTS FOR REVIEW.—A 
refugee officer reviewing a denial described in para-
graph (1) may, upon review— 
(A) affirm the denial; 
(B) reverse the denial; or 
(C) reopen the application and conduct 
further investigation and interviews to deter-
mine whether the denial should be affirmed or 
reversed. 
(5) WRITTEN
DECISION
REQUIRED
FOR
AF-
FIRMED DENIALS.—In the case that the refugee offi-
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cer reviewing the denial described in paragraph (1) 
affirms the denial, the decision affirming such denial 
shall— 
(A) be in writing; and 
(B) provide, to the maximum extent fea-
sible, information relating to the reason for the 
denial, including the information described in 
subsection (c)(2). 
SEC. 5. EXPEDITED SYSTEM FOR PRIORITY 2 REFUGEE 
PROCESSING. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Committee on For-
eign Relations of the Senate a report containing a plan 
to expedite the processing of applications for admission 
to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) of 
aliens described in section 3(a) who apply for admission 
using the processes under section 2, which shall include 
information relating to— 
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