I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1778 
To mandate training of members of the Foreign Service to protect the 
rights of United States citizens in the custody of foreign governments, 
to deny entry into the United States of officials of any foreign govern-
ment, including their immediate family members, who commit or who 
fail to rectify fundamental due process and human rights violations 
of United States citizens in the custody of a foreign government, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2013 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To mandate training of members of the Foreign Service 
to protect the rights of United States citizens in the 
custody of foreign governments, to deny entry into the 
United States of officials of any foreign government, 
including their immediate family members, who commit 
or who fail to rectify fundamental due process and 
human rights violations of United States citizens in the 
custody of a foreign government, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Imprisoned 
Americans Overseas Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘Jacob’s Law 
of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The President is required under section 
2001 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 
(22 U.S.C. 1732) to demand the release of any cit-
izen who has been unjustly deprived of his liberty by 
or under the authority of any foreign government, 
and to undertake appropriate means to obtain the 
release of such citizen. 
(2) In a statement submitted to the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate on July 27, 2011, 
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that 
‘‘[t]he State Department has no greater responsi-
bility than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas— 
particularly when Americans find themselves in the 
custody of a foreign government, facing an unfa-
miliar, and at times unfair, legal system.’’. 
(3) Some United States citizens in the custody 
of a foreign government have been and continue to 
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be denied fundamental due process and human 
rights under both local and international law by for-
eign government officials. 
(4) Mr. Jacob Ostreicher, who was detained in 
the notorious Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz de la 
Sierra, Bolivia, from June 4, 2011, until December 
18, 2012, and was subsequently placed under house 
arrest, is one of the United States citizens who cur-
rently is enduring multiple, egregious, and contin-
uous violations of his fundamental due process and 
human rights under both local and international law. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that foreign government officials responsible for vio-
lations of fundamental due process and human rights of 
United States citizens in the custody of a foreign govern-
ment, as well as immediate family members of such offi-
cials, should not have the privilege of traveling to the 
United States while such violations are occurring. 
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROTECTION OF UNITED 
STATES CITIZENS ABROAD. 
(a) TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.— 
Subsection (a) of section 703 of the Foreign Service Act 
of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4023) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec-
retary’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) The Secretary’’; and 
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of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report that describes the implementation of 
the new requirements of the professional development pro-
gram required under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of 
section 703 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added 
by subsection (a)(2) of this section. 
SEC. 4. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES OF 
CERTAIN FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. 
(a) DENIAL OF ENTRY.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of State may not issue any 
visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny 
entry to the United States of, any foreign government offi-
cial identified pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(C) or any im-
mediate family members of such official. 
(b) PERMANENT BAN.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, if any United States citizen identified 
pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A) dies from any cause 
while in the custody of a foreign government, the govern-
ment officials identified pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(C) 
in relation to such citizen and the immediate family mem-
bers of such officials may not be issued any visa by the 
Secretary of State, and may not be admitted by the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, to the United States at any 
time on or after the date of the death of such citizen. 
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(c) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary of State shall 
revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or 
other documentation of any alien who would be ineligible 
to receive such a visa or documentation under subsection 
(a) or (b) of this section. 
(d) DESIGNATION OF INADMISSIBLE FOREIGN OFFI-
CIALS.— 
(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
every 180 days thereafter for five years, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report that contains the fol-
lowing: 
(A) An identification of United States citi-
zens who are in the custody of a foreign govern-
ment and whose fundamental due process or 
human rights pursuant to the laws of such gov-
ernment or international standards binding on 
such government are being violated. 
(B) An identification of the fundamental 
due process or human rights violations that are 
being committed against the citizens identified 
in subparagraph (A). 
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(C) A list of the government officials who, 
based on credible information, are responsible 
for the violations of, or are failing to fulfill their 
official responsibility to protect, the rights iden-
tified in subparagraph (B) of any citizen identi-
fied in subparagraph (A). 
(2) ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 
In the case of each semi-annual report required 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall in-
clude a list of the names and titles of those govern-
ment officials identified in subparagraph (C) of such 
paragraph, and the names and relationships of the 
immediate family members of such officials who 
were denied a visa or entry to the United States 
pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), or whose visa was 
revoked pursuant to subsection (c), during the im-
mediately preceding 180-day period. 
(3) FORM.—Each report required under para-
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form. 
(4) EXCEPTION FOR CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The 
name of a person to be included in each report re-
quired under paragraph (1) may be submitted in a 
classified annex only if the President— 
(A) determines that it is in the best inter-
est of a United States citizen identified pursu-
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ant to subparagraph (A) of such paragraph, or 
that it is vital for the national security interests 
of the United States to do so; 
(B) uses the annex in such a manner con-
sistent with congressional intent and the pur-
poses of this Act; and 
(C) 15 days before submitting the name in 
a classified annex, provides to the appropriate 
congressional committees notice of, and a jus-
tification for, including or continuing to include 
each person in such a classified annex despite 
any publicly available credible information indi-
cating that the government official concerned is 
responsible for the violations of, or is failing to 
fulfill an official responsibility to protect, the 
rights of a United States citizen identified in 
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). 
(5) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 
portion of the report required under paragraph (1) 
shall be made available to the public and published 
in the Federal Register. 
(e) REMOVAL FROM REPORT DESIGNATION.—A gov-
ernment official may be removed from the lists required 
under subsection (d)(1)(C) if the President determines 
and reports to the appropriate congressional committees 
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not less than 15 days before the removal from any such 
list of such governmental official that— 
(1) credible information exists that such gov-
ernment official is not responsible for the violations 
of, or is fulfilling any official responsibility to pro-
tect, the rights identified in subsection (d)(1)(B) of 
any United States citizen identified in subsection 
(d)(1)(A) who is in the custody of a foreign govern-
ment; or 
(2) such citizen has been released. 
(f) REQUESTS
BY CHAIRPERSONS
AND RANKING 
MEMBERS OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-
TEES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after receiving a written request from the chair-
person and ranking member of one of the appro-
priate congressional committees with respect to 
whether a person meets the criteria for being in-
cluded on the list required under subsection 
(d)(1)(C), the President shall transmit a response to 
the chairperson and ranking member of the com-
mittee which made the request with respect to the 
status of such person. 
(2) FORM.—The President may submit a re-
sponse required under paragraph (1) in classified 
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form if the President determines that it is in the 
best interest of a United States citizen identified 
pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A), or that it is nec-
essary for the national security interests of the 
United States to do so. 
(3) REMOVAL.—If the President removes from 
the list required under subsection (d)(1)(C) a person 
who has been included on such list at the request of 
the chairperson and ranking member of one of the 
appropriate congressional committees, the President 
shall provide the chairperson and ranking member 
with any information that contributed to such re-
moval decision. The President may transmit such in-
formation in classified form if the President deter-
mines that such is in the best interest of a United 
States citizen identified pursuant to subsection 
(d)(1)(A), or that it is in the national security inter-
ests of the United States. 
(g) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CONFIDENTIALITY RE-
QUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO VISA RECORDS.—The 
President shall publish the list required under subsection 
(d)(1)(C) without regard to the requirements of section 
222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1202(f)) with respect to confidentiality of records per-
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