297 
(1) in paragraph (1)(F), by inserting ‘‘the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security or’’ before ‘‘the Attor-
ney General’’ each place such term appears; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘the noncit-
izen or to the noncitizen’s counsel of record’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the noncitizen and to the noncitizen’s coun-
sel of record’’. 
SEC. 4307. CONVERSION OF CERTAIN PETITIONS. 
Section 2 of Public Law 110–242 (8 U.S.C. 1101 
note) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(b) DURATION.—The authority under subsection (a) 
shall expire on the date on which the numerical limitation 
specified under section 1244(c) of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110– 
181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note) is reached.’’. 
SEC. 4308. IMPROVEMENTS TO APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 
AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS. 
Subsection (b) of section 602 of the Afghan Allies 
Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘for 
the first time’’ after ‘‘September 30, 2015’’; and 
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(2) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ-
ing Chief of Mission approval,’’ after ‘‘so that all 
steps’’. 
SEC. 4309. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN SUR-
VIVING SPOUSES AND CHILDREN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(27)(D) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘an immigrant who is an em-
ployee’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘an immigrant 
who— 
‘‘(i) is an employee’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘grant such status;’’ and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘grant such status; or 
‘‘(ii) is the surviving spouse or child 
of an employee of the United States Gov-
ernment abroad: Provided, That the em-
ployee performed faithful service for a total 
of not less than 15 years or was killed in 
the line of duty;’’. 
(b) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR SURVIVING 
SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 602(b)(2)(C) of the 
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 
1101 note) is amended— 
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(A) in clause (ii), by redesignating sub-
clauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb), re-
spectively; 
(B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 
subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and mov-
ing such subclauses 2 ems to the right; 
(C) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 
as redesignated, by striking ‘‘An alien is de-
scribed’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen is de-
scribed’’; 
(D) in clause (i)(I), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘who had a petition for classification 
approved’’ and inserting ‘‘who had submitted 
an application to the Chief of Mission’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(ii) EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 
An application by a surviving spouse or 
child of a principal noncitizen shall be sub-
ject to employment requirements set forth 
in subparagraph (A) as of the date of the 
principal noncitizen’s filing of an applica-
tion for the first time, or if no application 
has been filed, the employment require-
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300 
ments as of the date of the principal non-
citizen’s death.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 602 
of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 
U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph and subparagraph 
headings, by striking ‘‘ALIENS’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘NONCITIZENS’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘an alien’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘a noncitizen’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘An alien’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘A noncitizen’’; 
(D) by striking ‘‘alien’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’’; 
(E) by striking ‘‘aliens’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizens’’; and 
(F) by striking ‘‘alien’s’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’s’’. 
(c) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS
FOR CERTAIN 
IRAQIS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1244(b)(3) of the 
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (8 U.S.C. 1157 
note) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘described in subsection 
(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘in this subsection’’; 
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(B) in subparagraph (B), by redesignating 
clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), 
respectively, and moving such subclauses 2 ems 
to the right; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 
moving such clauses 2 ems to the right; 
(D) in the matter preceding clause (i), as 
redesignated, by striking ‘‘An alien is de-
scribed’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A noncitizen is de-
scribed’’; 
(E) in subparagraph (A)(i), as redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘who had a petition for clas-
sification approved’’ and inserting ‘‘who sub-
mitted an application to the Chief of Mission’’; 
and 
(F) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) EMPLOYMENT
REQUIREMENTS.—An 
application by a surviving spouse or child of a 
principal noncitizen shall be subject to employ-
ment requirements set forth in paragraph (1) 
as of the date of the principal noncitizen’s filing 
of an application for the first time, or if the 
principal noncitizen did not file an application, 
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302 
the employment requirements as of the date of 
the principal noncitizen’s death.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Refugee 
Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (8 U.S.C. 1157 note) is 
amended by— 
(A) in the subsection headings, by striking 
‘‘ALIENS’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘NONCITIZENS’’; 
(B) in the paragraph headings, by striking 
‘‘ALIENS’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘NONCITIZENS’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘an alien’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘a noncitizen’’; 
(D) by striking ‘‘An alien’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘A noncitizen’’; 
(E) by striking ‘‘alien’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’’; 
(F) by striking ‘‘aliens’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizens’’; and 
(G) by striking ‘‘alien’s’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’s’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall be effective on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and shall have retroactive effect. 
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303 
SEC. 4310. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN SYR-
IANS WHO WORKED FOR THE UNITED STATES 
GOVERNMENT IN SYRIA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), for 
purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), the Secretary may provide any non-
citizen described in subsection (b) with the status of a spe-
cial immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of that Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) if— 
(1) the noncitizen, or an agent acting on behalf 
of the noncitizen, submits a petition to the Secretary 
under section 204 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) for 
classification under section 203(b)(4) of that Act (8 
U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)); 
(2) the noncitizen is otherwise eligible to receive 
an immigrant visa; 
(3) the noncitizen is otherwise admissible to the 
United States for permanent residence (excluding 
the grounds for inadmissibility specified in section 
212(a)(4) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4))), except 
that an applicant for admission to the United States 
under this section may not be considered inadmis-
sible based solely on membership in, participation in, 
or support provided to, the Syrian Democratic 
Forces or other partner organizations, as determined 
by the Secretary of Defense; and 
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(4) the noncitizen clears a background check 
and appropriate screening, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(b) NONCITIZENS DESCRIBED.—A noncitizen de-
scribed in this subsection is a noncitizen who— 
(1)(A) is a citizen or national of Syria or a 
stateless person who has habitually resided in Syria; 
(B) was employed by or on behalf of (including 
under a contract, cooperative agreement or grant 
with) the United States Government in Syria, for a 
period of not less than 1 year beginning on January 
1, 2014; and 
(C) obtained a favorable written recommenda-
tion from a U.S. citizen supervisor who was in the 
chain of command of the United States Armed 
Forces unit or U.S. Government entity that was 
supported by the noncitizen; or 
(2)(A) is the spouse or a child of a principal 
noncitizen described in paragraph (1); and 
(B)(i) is following or accompanying to join the 
principal noncitizen in the United States; or 
(ii) due to the death of the principal noncitizen, 
a petition to follow or accompany to join the prin-
cipal noncitizen in the United States— 
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305 
(I) was or would be revoked, terminated, 
or otherwise rendered null; and 
(II) would have been approved if the prin-
cipal noncitizen had survived. 
(c) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this subsection, the total number of prin-
cipal noncitizens who may be provided special immi-
grant status under this section may not exceed 
5,000 in any of the first 5 fiscal years beginning 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) EXEMPTION
FROM
NUMERICAL
LIMITA-
TIONS.—Noncitizens provided special immigrant sta-
tus under this section shall not be counted against 
any numerical limitation under section 201(d), 
202(a), or 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 
1153(b)(4)). 
(3) CARRY FORWARD.—If the numerical limita-
tion set forth in paragraph (1) is not reached during 
a fiscal year, the numerical limitation under such 
paragraph for the following fiscal year shall be in-
creased by a number equal to the difference be-
tween— 
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(A) the number of visas authorized under 
paragraph (1) for such fiscal year; and 
(B) the number of principal noncitizens 
provided special immigrant status under this 
section during such fiscal year. 
(d) 
VISA
FEES
AND
TRAVEL
DOCUMENT 
ISSUANCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A noncitizen described in 
subsection (b) may not be charged any fee in con-
nection with an application for, or the issuance of, 
a special immigrant visa under this section. 
(2) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a 
noncitizen who is issued a special immigrant visa 
under this section is provided with an appropriate 
travel document necessary for admission to the 
United States. 
(e) PROTECTION OF NONCITIZENS.—The Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the head of any other appro-
priate Federal agency, shall make a reasonable effort to 
provide protection to each noncitizen described in sub-
section (b) who is seeking special immigrant status under 
this section or to immediately remove such noncitizen from 
Syria, if possible, if the Secretary of State determines, 
after consultation, that such noncitizen is in imminent 
danger. 
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307 
(f) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 
(1) REPRESENTATION.—A noncitizen applying 
for admission to the United States as a special im-
migrant under this section may be represented dur-
ing the application process, including for relevant 
interviews and examinations, by an attorney or other 
accredited representative. Such representation shall 
not be at the expense of the United States Govern-
ment. 
(2) COMPLETION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 
and the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Defense, shall ensure that applications 
for special immigrant visas under this section 
are processed in such a manner so as to ensure 
that all steps under the control of the respective 
departments incidental to the issuance of such 
visas, including required screenings and back-
ground checks, are completed not later than 
270 days after the date on which an eligible 
noncitizen submits all required materials to 
apply for such visa. 
(B) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith-
standing subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary, or the Secretary of De-
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fense may take longer than 270 days to com-
plete the steps incidental to issuing a visa under 
this section if the Secretary of State, the Sec-
retary, or the Secretary of Defense, or a des-
ignee— 
(i) determines that the satisfaction of 
national security concerns requires addi-
tional time; and 
(ii) notifies the applicant of such de-
termination. 
(3) APPEAL.—A noncitizen whose petition for 
status as a special immigrant is rejected or re-
voked— 
(A) shall receive a written decision that 
provides, to the maximum extent feasible, infor-
mation describing the basis for the denial, in-
cluding the facts and inferences underlying the 
individual determination; and 
(B) shall be provided not more than 1 
written appeal per rejection or denial, which— 
(i) shall be submitted to the authority 
that issued the denial not more than 120 
days after the date on which the applicant 
receives a decision pursuant to subpara-
graph (A); 
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