I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2626 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to improve visa security, visa applicant vetting, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2017 
Mr. HURD (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. KATKO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the 
Immigration and Nationality Act to improve visa secu-
rity, visa applicant vetting, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Strong Visa Integrity 
Secures America Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. VISA SECURITY. 
(a) VISA SECURITY UNITS AT HIGH-RISK POSTS.— 
Paragraph (1) of section 428(e) of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 236(e)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(B) RISK-BASED ASSIGNMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall assign, in a risk-based manner, and 
based on the criteria described in clause 
(ii), employees of the Department to not 
fewer than 30 diplomatic and consular 
posts at which visas are issued. 
‘‘(ii) CRITERIA DESCRIBED.—The cri-
teria referred to in clause (i) are the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(I) The number of nationals of 
a country in which any of the diplo-
matic and consular posts referred to 
in clause (i) are located who were 
identified in United States Govern-
ment databases related to the identi-
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ties of known or suspected terrorists 
during the previous year. 
‘‘(II) The level of cooperation of 
such country with the counterter-
rorism efforts of the United States. 
‘‘(III) Information analyzing the 
presence, activity, or movement of ter-
rorist organizations (as such term is 
defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi))) within 
or through such country. 
‘‘(IV) The number of derogatory 
Security Advisory Opinions issued by 
the Visa Security Advisory Opinion 
Unit pursuant to paragraph (10) re-
garding nationals of a country in 
which any of the diplomatic and con-
sular posts referred to in clause (i) 
are located. 
‘‘(V) The adequacy of the border 
and immigration control of such coun-
try. 
‘‘(VI) Any other criteria the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
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‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The 
assignment of employees of the Depart-
ment pursuant to this subparagraph is 
solely the authority of the Secretary and 
may not be altered or rejected by the Sec-
retary of State.’’. 
(b) COUNTERTERROR VETTING AND SCREENING.— 
Paragraph (2) of section 428(e) of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (D); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) Screen any such applications against 
the appropriate criminal, national security, and 
terrorism databases maintained by the Federal 
Government.’’. 
(c) TRAINING AND HIRING.—Subparagraph (A) of 
section 428(e)(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
is amended by— 
(1) striking ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure, to the 
extent possible, that any employees’’ and inserting 
‘‘The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Direc-
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tor of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
shall provide training to any employees’’; and 
(2) striking ‘‘shall be provided the necessary 
training’’. 
(d) PRE-ADJUDICATED VISA SECURITY ASSISTANCE 
AND VISA SECURITY ADVISORY OPINION UNIT.—Sub-
section (e) of section 428 of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) REMOTE
PRE-ADJUDICATED
VISA
SECU-
RITY
ASSISTANCE.—At the visa-issuing posts at 
which employees of the Department are not assigned 
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, to 
the greatest extent possible, in a risk-based manner, 
and in consultation, where appropriate, with the Sec-
retary of State, assign employees of the Department 
to remotely perform the functions required under 
paragraph (2) for such posts. 
‘‘(10) 
VISA
SECURITY
ADVISORY
OPINION 
UNIT.—The Secretary shall establish within U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement a Visa Secu-
rity Advisory Opinion Unit to respond to requests 
from the Secretary of State to conduct a visa secu-
rity review using information maintained by the De-
partment on visa applicants, including terrorism as-
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sociation, criminal history, and other relevant fac-
tors, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC PASSPORT SCREENING AND BIOMET-
RIC MATCHING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tions: 
‘‘SEC. 434. ELECTRONIC PASSPORT SCREENING AND BIO-
METRIC MATCHING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Commissioner 
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall— 
‘‘(1) screen electronic passports at airports of 
entry by reading each such passport’s embedded 
chip; and 
‘‘(2) to the greatest extent practicable, utilize 
facial recognition technology or other biometric tech-
nology, as determined by the Commissioner, to 
screen travelers at United States airports of entry. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC
PASSPORT
SCREENING.— 
Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall apply to pass-
ports belonging to individuals who are United States 
citizens, individuals who are nationals of a program 
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country pursuant to section 217 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187), and individ-
uals who are nationals of any other foreign country 
that issues electronic passports. 
‘‘(2) FACIAL RECOGNITION MATCHING.—Para-
graph (2) of subsection (a) shall apply to individuals 
who are nationals of a program country pursuant to 
section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 
‘‘SEC. 435. CONTINUOUS SCREENING BY U.S. CUSTOMS AND 
BORDER PROTECTION. 
‘‘The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection shall, in a risk-based manner, continuously 
screen individuals issued any visa, and individuals who are 
nationals of a program country pursuant to section 217 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, who are present, 
or will soon be arriving, in the United States, against the 
appropriate criminal, national security, and terrorism 
databases maintained by the Federal Government.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
433 the following new items: 
‘‘Sec. 434. Electronic passport screening and biometric matching. 
‘‘Sec. 435. Continuous screening by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.’’. 
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SEC. 4. REPORTING OF VISA OVERSTAYS. 
Section 2 of Public Law 105–173 (8 U.S.C. 1376) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ‘‘, and any additional infor-
mation that the Secretary determines necessary 
for purposes of the report under subsection 
(b)’’; and 
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 
2017, and not later than June 30 of each year thereafter, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
a report providing, for the preceding fiscal year, numerical 
estimates of— 
‘‘(1) for each country, the number of aliens 
from the country who are described in subsection 
(a), including— 
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‘‘(A) the total number of such aliens within 
all classes of nonimmigrant aliens described in 
section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); and 
‘‘(B) the number of such aliens within each 
of the classes of nonimmigrant aliens, as well as 
the number of such aliens within each of the 
subclasses of such classes of nonimmigrant 
aliens, as applicable; 
‘‘(2) for each country, the percentage of the 
total number of aliens from the country who were 
present in the United States and were admitted to 
the United States as nonimmigrants who are de-
scribed in subsection (a); 
‘‘(3) the number of aliens described in sub-
section (a) who arrived by land at a port of entry 
into the United States; and 
‘‘(4) the number of aliens described in sub-
section (a) who entered the United States using a 
border crossing identification card (as such term is 
defined in section 101(a)(6) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(6))).’’. 
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