REVEAL Act
Bill: H.R.4557 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Revealing and Explaining Visa Exclusions for Accountability and Legitimacy Act or the REVEAL Act
This bill authorizes the Department of State to publicly disclose the identity of an alien who has been denied admission into the United States because that alien's entry would pose potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. The State Department may also reveal the grounds that it relied on to make such a determination.
The President must annually report to Congress a list of individuals denied a visa on such foreign policy grounds and another list of the instances when the State Department chose to not publicly disclose the identity of such an individual.

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the Secretary of 
State to make available to the public certain records pertaining to the 
    refusal of a visa or permit based on an alien's involvement in 
       corruption or human rights abuse, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Revealing and Explaining Visa 
Exclusions for Accountability and Legitimacy Act'' or the ``REVEAL 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITING CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting the following: ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) the Secretary of State may make available to the 
        public the identity of an individual alien determined to be 
        inadmissible to the United States pursuant to subparagraph (C) 
        of section 212(a)(3), and the grounds on which a determination 
        was made to refuse a visa or permit.''.
    (b) Application.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act 
shall apply with respect to any determination under section 
212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(3)(C)) made before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Consideration of Certain Information in Revealing Bans.--In 
determining whether to waive confidentiality under section 222(f)(3) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a), the 
Secretary of State shall consider--
            (1) information provided by the chairperson and ranking 
        member of each of the appropriate congressional committees; and
            (2) credible information obtained by other countries and 
        nongovernmental organizations that monitor corruption and human 
        rights abuse.

SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
includes, for the previous year--
            (1) a list of each individual that the Secretary of State 
        determined was ineligible for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa 
        pursuant to subparagraph (C) of section 212(a)(3) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)); and
            (2) a list of each individual described in paragraph (1), 
        but for whom the Secretary of State determined not to make 
        public the identity of the individual, and the grounds on which 
        the determination of ineligibility was made.
    (b) Form of Report.--
            (1) In general.--Each report required by subsection (a) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
        classified annex.
            (2) Exception.--The name of an alien to be included in the 
        list required by subsection (a)(1) may be submitted in the 
        classified annex authorized by paragraph (1) only if the 
        President--
                    (A) determines that it is vital for the national 
                security interests of the United States to do so;
                    (B) uses the annex in a manner consistent with 
                congressional intent and the purposes of this Act; and
                    (C) not later than 15 days before submitting the 
                name in a classified annex, provides to the appropriate 
                congressional committees notice of, and a justification 
                for, including the name in the classified annex.
    (c) Public Availability.--
            (1) In general.--The unclassified portion of the report 
        required by subsection (a) shall be made available to the 
        public, including through publication in the Federal Register.
            (2) Nonapplicability of confidentiality requirement with 
        respect to visa records.--The President shall publish the list 
        required by subsection (a)(1) without regard to the 
        requirements of section 222(f) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect to 
        confidentiality of records pertaining to the issuance or 
        refusal of visas or permits to enter the United States.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
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