I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 407 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish the Virgin Islands 
visa waiver program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2019 
Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish 
the Virgin Islands visa waiver program. 
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 ‘‘Virgin Islands Visa 
Waiver Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(l) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)) is amended— 
(1) by amending the subsection heading to read 
as follows: ‘‘GUAM, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, 
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AND VIRGIN ISLANDS VISA WAIVER PROGRAMS.—’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) VIRGIN
ISLANDS
VISA
WAIVER
PRO-
GRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The requirement of 
subsection (a)(7)(B)(i) may be waived by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, in the case of 
an alien who is a national of a country de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) and who is apply-
ing for admission as a nonimmigrant visitor for 
business or pleasure and solely for entry into 
and stay in the United States Virgin Islands for 
a period not to exceed 30 days, if the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, after consultation with 
the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
State, and the Governor of the United States 
Virgin Islands, determines that such a waiver 
does not represent a threat to the welfare, safe-
ty, or security of the United States or its terri-
tories and commonwealths. 
‘‘(B) COUNTRIES.—A country described in 
this subparagraph is a country that— 
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‘‘(i) is a member or an associate mem-
ber 
of 
the 
Caribbean 
Community 
(CARICOM); and 
‘‘(ii) is listed in the regulations de-
scribed in subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(C) ALIEN WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—An alien 
may not be provided a waiver under this para-
graph unless the alien has waived any right— 
‘‘(i) to review or appeal under this Act 
an immigration officer’s determination as 
to the admissibility of the alien at the port 
of entry into the United States Virgin Is-
lands; or 
‘‘(ii) to contest, other than on the 
basis of an application for withholding of 
removal under section 241(b)(3) of this 
Act or under the Convention Against Tor-
ture, or an application for asylum if per-
mitted under section 208, any action for 
removal of the alien. 
‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—All necessary regu-
lations to implement this paragraph shall be 
promulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of State, on or be-
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fore the date that is 1 year after the date of en-
actment of the Virgin Islands Visa Waiver Act 
of 2019. The promulgation of such regulations 
shall be considered a foreign affairs function for 
purposes of section 553(a) of title 5, United 
States Code. At a minimum, such regulations 
should include, but not necessarily be limited 
to— 
‘‘(i) a listing of all member or asso-
ciate member countries of the Caribbean 
Community (CARICOM) whose nationals 
may obtain, on a country by country basis, 
the waiver provided by this paragraph, ex-
cept that such regulations shall not provide 
for a listing of any country if the Secretary 
of Homeland Security determines that 
such country’s inclusion on such list would 
represent a threat to the welfare, safety, or 
security of the United States or its terri-
tories and commonwealths; and 
‘‘(ii) any bonding requirements for na-
tionals of some or all of those countries 
who may present an increased risk of 
overstays or other potential problems, if 
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different from such requirements otherwise 
provided by law for nonimmigrant visitors. 
‘‘(E) FACTORS.—In determining whether 
to grant or continue providing the waiver under 
this paragraph to nationals of any country, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 
with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec-
retary of State, shall consider all factors that 
the Secretary deems relevant, including elec-
tronic travel authorizations, procedures for re-
porting lost and stolen passports, repatriation 
of aliens, rates of refusal for nonimmigrant vis-
itor visas, overstays, exit systems, and informa-
tion exchange. 
‘‘(F) 
SUSPENSION.—The 
Secretary 
of 
Homeland Security shall monitor the admission 
of nonimmigrant visitors to the United States 
Virgin Islands under this paragraph. If the Sec-
retary determines that such admissions have re-
sulted in an unacceptable number of visitors 
from a country remaining unlawfully in the 
United States Virgin Islands, unlawfully obtain-
ing entry to other parts of the United States, 
or seeking withholding of removal or asylum, or 
that visitors from a country pose a risk to law 
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enforcement or security interests of the United 
States Virgin Islands or of the United States 
(including the interest in the enforcement of the 
immigration laws of the United States), the 
Secretary shall suspend the admission of na-
tionals of such country under this paragraph. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security may in the 
Secretary’s discretion suspend the United 
States Virgin Islands visa waiver program at 
any time, on a country-by-country basis, for 
other good cause. 
‘‘(G) ADDITION OF COUNTRIES.—The Gov-
ernor of the United States Virgin Islands may 
request the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to add a par-
ticular country to the list of countries whose 
nationals may obtain the waiver provided by 
this paragraph, and the Secretary of Homeland 
Security may grant such request after consulta-
tion with the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of State, and may promulgate regula-
tions with respect to the inclusion of that coun-
try and any special requirements the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s sole 
discretion, may impose prior to allowing nation-
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als of that country to obtain the waiver pro-
vided by this paragraph.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
212(a)(7)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(7)(iii)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(iii) SPECIAL
VISA
WAIVER
PRO-
GRAMS.—For a provision authorizing waiv-
er of clause (i) in the case of visitors to 
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, or the United States Vir-
gin Islands, see subsection (l).’’. 
(2) ADMISSION
OF
NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 
214(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1)) is 
amended by inserting before the final sentence the 
following: ‘‘No alien admitted to the United States 
Virgin Islands without a visa pursuant to section 
212(l)(7) may be authorized to enter or stay in the 
United States other than in the United States Vir-
gin Islands or to remain in the United States Virgin 
Islands for a period exceeding 30 days from date of 
admission to the United States Virgin Islands.’’. 
Æ 
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