SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 
Congress— 
(1) recognizes that Christians and Yazidis in 
Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, and Libya are targets of 
genocide and encourages other nations to likewise 
recognize the ongoing genocide and the threat of 
genocide to these people; and 
(2) further recognizes that such targets of 
genocide who are seeking admission to the United 
States as immigrants or refugees should be given 
priority and expedited processing. 
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY ADMISSION OF REFUGEES AND IMMI-
GRANTS. 
(a) REFUGEES.— 
(1) EMERGENCY
REFUGEE
SITUATION
DE-
SCRIBED.—The 
persecution 
of 
Christians 
and 
Yazidis in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, and Libya 
constitutes an unforeseen emergency refugee situa-
tion, and the admission of such persecuted individ-
uals in response to that situation is of grave human-
itarian concern. 
(2) EXPEDITED
PROCESSING.—The Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall provide for the expedited 
processing of the visas for aliens described in para-
graph (3), and shall ensure that such applications 
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receive first priority among applications for refugee 
status. 
(3) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described 
in this paragraph if the alien— 
(A) is a citizen or national of Iraq, Syria, 
Pakistan, Iran, or Libya, or in the case of an 
alien having no nationality, whose country of 
last habitual residence was Iraq, Syria, Paki-
stan, Iran, or Libya; 
(B) is a member of the Christian or Yazidi 
community; and 
(C) is seeking admission to the United 
States as a refuge under section 207 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 
(4) QUALIFICATION AS REFUGEES.—For pur-
poses of qualifying as a refugee under section 101 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101)— 
(A) membership in the Christian or Yazidi 
community shall qualify an alien described in 
paragraph (3) as a member of a persecuted 
group; and 
(B) the requirement that an alien be out-
side any country of such person’s nationality or, 
in the case of a person having no nationality, 
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is outside any country in which such person last 
habitually resided, shall not apply to an alien 
described in paragraph (3). 
(b) IMMIGRANTS.— 
(1) EXPEDITED
PROCESSING.—The Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall provide for the expedited 
processing of visas for the aliens described in para-
graph (2), and shall ensure that such applications 
receive first priority among applications for immi-
grant status. 
(2) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described 
in this paragraph if the alien— 
(A) is a citizen or national of Iraq, Syria, 
Pakistan, Iran, Libya, or in the case of an alien 
having no nationality, whose country of last ha-
bitual residence was Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, 
or Libya; 
(B) is a member of the Christian or Yazidi 
community; and 
(C) is seeking admission to the United 
States as an immigrant under subsection (a) or 
(b) of section 203 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153). 
Æ 
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