HR 4695 RDS
SEC. 16. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 
GOODS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and requirements 
to impose sanctions under this Act or any amendments 
made by this Act shall not include the authority or re-
quirement to impose sanctions on the importation of 
goods. 
(b) GOOD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man-made sub-
stance, material, supply or manufactured product, includ-
ing inspection and test equipment and excluding technical 
data. 
SEC. 17. HUMANITARIAN WAIVER. 
The President may waive the application of any pro-
vision of this Act (other than section 16) for the purpose 
of providing humanitarian assistance if the President cer-
tifies to the appropriate congressional committees that 
such a waiver is important to address a humanitarian need 
and consistent with the national security interests of the 
United States, not later than 15 days before issuing such 
a waiver, the President submits to such committees a jus-
tification relating to such determination. 
SEC. 18. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PRIORITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
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designate, as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian 
concern— 
(1) Syrian Kurds, stateless persons who habit-
ually resided in Syria, and other Syrians, who 
partnered with, or worked for or directly with, the 
United States Government in Syria for an aggregate 
period of not less than 1 year; 
(2) Syrian Kurds, stateless persons who habit-
ually resided in Syria, and other Syrians, who were 
employed in Syria, for an aggregate period of not 
less than 1 year, by— 
(A) a media or nongovernmental organiza-
tion based in the United States; 
(B) an organization or entity that has re-
ceived a grant from, or entered into a coopera-
tive agreement or contract with, the United 
States Government; or 
(C) an organization that— 
(i) was continuously physically present 
in Northeast Syria between 2011 and the 
date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(ii) has partnered with an organiza-
tion described in subparagraph (A) or (B); 
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(3) the spouses, children, sons, daughters, sib-
lings, and parents of aliens described in paragraph 
(1); or 
(4) Syrian Kurds, stateless persons who habit-
ually resided in Syria, and other Syrians, who have 
an immediate relative (as defined in section 
201(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)(i)) or a family member 
described in section 203(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
203(a)) who is physically present in the United 
States. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION AS A REFUGEE.— 
An alien may not be denied the opportunity to apply for 
admission as a refugee under this section solely because 
such alien qualifies as an immediate relative of a national 
of the United States or is eligible for admission to the 
United States under any other immigrant classification. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP IN CERTAIN SYRIAN ORGANIZA-
TIONS.—An applicant for admission to the United States 
under this section may not be deemed inadmissible solely 
because the applicant was a member of, or provided sup-
port to, the Syrian Democratic Forces. 
(d) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 
Aliens provided refugee status under this section shall not 
be counted against any numerical limitation under section 
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201, 202, 203, or 207 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152, 1153, and 1157). 
(e) 
IDENTIFICATION
OF
OTHER
PERSECUTED 
GROUPS.—The Secretary of State, or the designee of the 
Secretary, is authorized to classify other groups of Syr-
ians, including vulnerable populations, as Priority 2 refu-
gees of special humanitarian concern. 
(f) SATISFACTION
OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 
Aliens designated as Priority 2 refugees of special humani-
tarian concern under this section shall be deemed to sat-
isfy the requirements under section 207 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for admission 
to the United States. 
SEC. 19. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 
‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Armed Services, and the Com-
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mittee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate. 
(3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per-
son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 
United States person. 
(4) GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY 
RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘gross vio-
lations of internationally recognized human rights’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 
502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)). 
(5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ with 
respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 
means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 
have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 
result. 
(6) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ means— 
(A) a United States citizen or an alien law-
fully admitted for permanent residence to the 
United States; or 
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