SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Visa Reform 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT FOR COLLEGES 
AND UNIVERSITIES. 
Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (15)(F)(i)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘section 214(l) at an estab-
lished college, university, seminary, conserv-
atory, academic high school, elementary school, 
or other academic institution or in an accred-
ited language training program in the United 
States’’ and inserting ‘‘section 214(m) at an ac-
credited college, university, or language training 
program, or at an established seminary, con-
servatory, academic high school, elementary 
school, or other academic institution in the 
United States’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 
place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec-
retary of Homeland Security’’; and 
(2) by amending paragraph (52) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(52) Except as provided in section 214(m)(4), the 
term ‘accredited college, university, or language training
program’ means a college, university, or language training 
program that is accredited by an accrediting agency recog-
nized by the Secretary of Education.’’. 
SEC. 3. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ACADEMIC INSTITU-
TIONS. 
Section 214(m) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(m)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(3) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in the Sec-
retary’s discretion, may require accreditation of an aca-
demic institution (except for seminaries or other religious 
institutions) for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(F) if— 
‘‘(A) that institution is not already required to 
be accredited under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i); 
‘‘(B) an appropriate accrediting agency recog-
nized by the Secretary of Education is able to pro-
vide such accreditation; and 
‘‘(C) the institution has or will have 25 or more 
alien students accorded status as nonimmigrants 
under clause (i) or (iii) of section 101(a)(15)(F) 
pursuing a course of study at that institution. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in the Sec-
retary’s discretion, may waive the accreditation require-
ment in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) with respect to an estab-
lished college, university, or language training program if 
the academic institution— 
‘‘(A) is otherwise in compliance with the re-
quirements of such section; and 
‘‘(B) is making a good faith effort to satisfy the 
accreditation requirement. 
‘‘(5)(A) No person convicted of an offense referred 
to in subparagraph (B) shall be permitted by any aca-
demic institution having authorization for attendance by 
nonimmigrant students under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) to 
be involved with the institution as its principal, owner, of-
ficer, board member, general partner, or other similar po-
sition of substantive authority for the operations or man-
agement of the institution, including serving as an indi-
vidual designated by the institution to maintain records 
required by the Student and Exchange Visitor Information 
System established under section 641 of the Illegal Immi-
gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
(8 U.S.C. 1372). 
‘‘(B) An offense referred to in this subparagraph in-
cludes a violation, punishable by a term of imprisonment 
of more than 1 year, of any of the following: 
‘‘(i) Chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code 
(relating to peonage, slavery and trafficking in per-
sons).
‘‘(ii) Chapter 117 of title 18, United States 
Code (relating to transportation for illegal sexual ac-
tivity and related crimes). 
‘‘(iii) Section 274 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324) (relating to unlawful 
bringing of aliens into the United States). 
‘‘(iv) Section 1546 of title 18, United States 
Code (relating to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, 
and other documents) relating to an academic insti-
tution’s participation in the Student and Exchange 
Visitor Program.’’. 
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 
Section 212(a)(6)(G) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(G)) is amended by striking 
‘‘section 214(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 214(m)’’. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the amendments made by sections 2 and 3— 
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) shall apply with respect to applications for 
a nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) that are filed on or after the ef-
fective date described in paragraph (1).
(b) TEMPORARY EXCEPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 3-year period be-
ginning on the date of enactment of this Act, an 
alien seeking to enter the United States to pursue 
a course of study at a college or university that has 
been certified by the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity may be granted a nonimmigrant visa under 
clause (i) or clause (iii) of section 101(a)(15)(F) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(F)) without regard to whether or not 
that college or university has been accredited or been 
denied accreditation by an entity described in section 
101(a)(52) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(52)), as 
amended by section 2(2) of this Act. 
(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—An alien may 
not be granted a nonimmigrant visa under para-
graph (1) if the college or university to which the 
alien seeks to enroll does not— 
(A) submit an application for the accredi-
tation of such institution to a regional or na-
tional accrediting agency recognized by the Sec-
retary of Education on or before the date that 
is 1 year after the effective date described in 
subsection (a)(1); and
(B) comply with the applicable accrediting 
requirements of such agency. 
Passed the House of Representatives August 1, 
2012. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3120 
AN ACT 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
require accreditation of certain educational insti-
tutions for purposes of a nonimmigrant student 
visa, and for other purposes.