H. R. 3304—241 
‘‘(A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 
on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices of the Senate; and 
‘‘(B) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Armed Services 
of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under paragraph 
(1) shall describe the implementation of improvements to the 
processing of applications for special immigrant visas under 
section 1244(a), including information relating to— 
‘‘(A) enhancing existing systems for conducting back-
ground and security checks of persons applying for special 
immigrant status, which shall— 
‘‘(i) support immigration security; and 
‘‘(ii) provide for the orderly processing of such 
applications without significant delay; 
‘‘(B) the financial, security, and personnel consider-
ations and resources necessary to carry out this subtitle; 
‘‘(C) the number of aliens who have applied for special 
immigrant visas under section 1244 during each month 
of the preceding fiscal year; 
‘‘(D) the reasons for the failure to process any applica-
tions that have been pending for longer than 9 months; 
‘‘(E) the total number of applications that are pending 
due to the failure— 
‘‘(i) to receive approval from the Chief of Mission; 
‘‘(ii) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
to complete the adjudication of the Form I–360; 
‘‘(iii) to conduct a visa interview; or 
‘‘(iv) to issue the visa to an eligible alien; 
‘‘(F) the average wait times for an applicant at each 
of the stages described in subparagraph (E); 
‘‘(G) the number of denials or rejections at each of 
the stages described in subparagraph (E); and 
‘‘(H) the reasons for denials by the Chief of Mission 
based on the categories already made available to denied 
special immigrant visa applicants in the denial letter sent 
to them by the Chief of Mission. 
‘‘(g) PUBLIC QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2014, and every 3 months thereafter, 
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall publish a report 
on the website of the Department of State that describes the effi-
ciency improvements made in the process by which applications 
for special immigrant visas under section 1244(a) are processed, 
including information described in subparagraphs (C) through (H) 
of subsection (f)(2). 
‘‘(h) SENIOR COORDINATING OFFICIALS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO DESIGNATE.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of 
Defense shall each designate a senior coordinating official, with 
sufficient expertise, authority, and resources, to carry out the 
duties described in paragraph (2), with regard to the issuance 
of special immigrant visas under this subtitle and the Afghan 
Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note).
H. R. 3304—242 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—Each senior coordinating official designated 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) develop proposals to improve the efficiency and 
effectiveness of the process for issuing special immigrant 
visas under this subtitle and the Afghan Allies Protection 
Act of 2009; 
‘‘(B) coordinate and monitor the implementation of such 
proposals; 
‘‘(C) include such proposals in the report required by 
subsection (f) and in each quarterly report required by 
subsection (g); and 
‘‘(D) implement appropriate actions as authorized by 
law to carry out the improvements described in the report 
required by subsection (f). 
‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, the Secretary of Home-
land Security, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of 
Defense shall each submit to the committees set out in subpara-
graphs (A) and (B) of subsection (f)(1) the name and title 
of the senior coordinating official designated under paragraph 
(1) by each such Secretary, along with a description of the 
relevant expertise, authority, and resources of such official.’’. 
SEC. 1219. IMPROVEMENT OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA 
PROGRAM. 
Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 
(8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (D)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘A recommendation’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under clause 
(ii), a recommendation’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(ii) REVIEW PROCESS FOR DENIAL BY CHIEF OF MIS-
SION.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An applicant who has been 
denied Chief of Mission approval shall— 
‘‘(aa) receive a written decision that pro-
vides, to the maximum extent feasible, 
information describing the basis for the denial, 
including the facts and inferences underlying 
the individual determination; and 
‘‘(bb) be provided not more than one writ-
ten appeal— 
‘‘(AA) that shall be submitted not 
more than 120 days after the date that 
the applicant receives such decision in 
writing; and 
‘‘(BB) that may request reopening of 
such decision and provide additional 
information, clarify existing information, 
or explain any unfavorable information. 
‘‘(II) AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA COORDI-
NATOR.—The Secretary of State shall designate, 
in the Embassy of the United States in Kabul,
H. R. 3304—243 
Afghanistan, an Afghan Special Immigrant Visa 
Coordinator responsible for overseeing the effi-
ciency and integrity of the processing of special 
immigrant visas under this section, who shall be 
given— 
‘‘(aa) sufficiently high security clearance 
to review information supporting Chief of Mis-
sion denials if an appeal of a denial is filed; 
‘‘(bb) responsibility for ensuring that an 
applicant described in subclause (I) receives 
the information described in subclause (I)(aa); 
and 
‘‘(cc) responsibility for ensuring that every 
applicant is provided a reasonable opportunity 
to provide additional information, clarify 
existing information, or explain any unfavor-
able information pursuant to clause (I)(bb).’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS THREAT.—A credible sworn 
statement depicting dangerous country conditions, together 
with official evidence of such country conditions from the 
United States Government, should be considered as a factor 
in determination of whether the alien has experienced or 
is experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a consequence 
of the alien’s employment by the United States Government 
for purposes of subparagraph (A)(iv). 
‘‘(F) REPRESENTATION.—An alien applying for admis-
sion to the United States pursuant to this title may be 
represented during the application process, including at 
relevant interviews and examinations, by an attorney or 
other accredited representative. Such representation shall 
not be at the expense of the United States Government.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 
’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION PROCESS.—’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2014, the Secretary of State and 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense, shall improve the efficiency by 
which applications for special immigrant visas under para-
graph (1), are processed so that all steps under the control 
of the respective departments incidental to the issuance 
of such visas, including required screenings and back-
ground checks, should be completed not later than 9 months 
after the date on which an eligible alien submits all 
required materials to complete an application for such visa. 
‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to limit the ability of a Secretary referred to 
in subparagraph (A) to take longer than 9 months to com-
plete those steps incidental to the issuance of such visas 
in high-risk cases for which satisfaction of national security 
concerns requires additional time. 
‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Secretary’’; and
H. R. 3304—244 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, the Sec-
retary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit 
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report, with 
a classified annex, if necessary. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report required by subparagraph 
(A) shall describe the implementation of improvements to 
the processing of applications for special immigrant visas 
under this subsection, including information relating to— 
‘‘(i) enhancing existing systems for conducting 
background and security checks of persons applying 
for special immigrant status, which shall— 
‘‘(I) support immigration security; and 
‘‘(II) provide for the orderly processing of such 
applications without significant delay; 
‘‘(ii) the financial, security, and personnel consider-
ations and resources necessary to carry out this section; 
‘‘(iii) the number of aliens who have applied for 
special immigrant visas under this subsection during 
each month of the preceding fiscal year; 
‘‘(iv) the reasons for the failure to process any 
applications that have been pending for longer than 
9 months; 
‘‘(v) the total number of applications that are 
pending due to the failure— 
‘‘(I) to receive approval from the Chief of Mis-
sion; 
‘‘(II) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv-
ices to complete the adjudication of the Form I– 
360; 
‘‘(III) to conduct a visa interview; or 
‘‘(IV) to issue the visa to an eligible alien; 
‘‘(vi) the average wait times for an applicant at 
each of the stages described in clause (v); 
‘‘(vii) the number of denials or rejections at each 
of the stages described in clause (v); and 
‘‘(viii) the reasons for denials by the Chief of Mis-
sion based on the categories already made available 
to denied special immigrant visa applicants in the 
denial letter sent to them by the Chief of Mission. 
‘‘(13) PUBLIC QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, and every 3 months 
thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Home-
land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, 
shall publish a report on the website of the Department of 
State that describes the efficiency improvements made in the 
process by which applications for special immigrant visas under 
this subsection are processed, including information described 
in clauses (iii) through (viii) of paragraph (12)(B).’’.