Title: Protecting Allies from Visa Exclusion (PAVE) Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Protecting Allies from Visa Exclusion (PAVE) Act
This bill makes any executive order precluding issuance of visas to, revoking visas issued to, or precluding entry or admission of, a class or classes of aliens inapplicable to an alien who is a national of Iraq or Afghanistan and has been granted special immigrant status pursuant to: (1) the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, (2) the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, or (3) the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009.
Any such executive order shall not apply to an alien who has been granted refugee status, has been approved for refugee admission, or is a refugee applicant in the United States Refugee Admissions Program under a priority 2 designation pursuant to this bill or the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Priority 2 is for groups of special humanitarian concern identified by the U.S. refugee program.
The bill provides priority 2 designation for:
The Department of State may identify other priority 2 groups of Afghanis, including vulnerable populations.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1263 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1263

To exclude from the application of Executive Order 13796 certain Iraqi 
and Afghani special immigrants and refugees, to render certain Afghanis 
   eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement 
                priority system, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2017

  Mr. Welch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To exclude from the application of Executive Order 13796 certain Iraqi 
and Afghani special immigrants and refugees, to render certain Afghanis 
   eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement 
                priority system, 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 ``Protecting Allies from Visa 
Exclusion (PAVE) Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ENTRY INAPPLICABLE TO CERTAIN SPECIAL 
              IMMIGRANTS.

    (a) Iraqi Special Immigrants.--Section 3(c) of Executive Order 
13769, entitled ``Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry 
into the United States'' (January 27, 2017), or any other provision of 
an Executive order, regulation, informal rule of guidance, or 
memorandum issued by the President or any other official in the 
executive branch precluding issuance of visas to, revoking visas issued 
to, or precluding entry or admission of, a class or classes of aliens, 
shall not apply to an alien who is a national of Iraq or Afghanistan 
and has been granted special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) pursuant 
to--
            (1) section 1244 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
        for Fiscal Year 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1157 note);
            (2) section 1059 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
        for Fiscal Year 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note); or
            (3) section 602 of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 
        (8 U.S.C. 1101 note).
    (b) Refugees.--Section 5 of Executive Order 13769, or any other 
provision of an Executive order, regulation, informal rule of guidance, 
or memorandum issued by the President or any other official in the 
executive branch precluding issuance of visas to, revoking visas issued 
to, or precluding entry or admission of, a class or classes of aliens, 
shall not apply to an alien who has been granted refugee status, has 
been approved for refugee admission, or is a refugee applicant in the 
United States Refugee Admissions Program under a Priority 2 designation 
pursuant to section 1243 of National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1157 note) or section 3 of this Act.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect as if enacted 
concurrent with Executive Order 13769.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PROCESSING PRIORITIES FOR 
              AFGHANIS.

    (a) In General.--Refugees of special humanitarian concern eligible 
for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority 
system who may apply directly to the United States Admission Program 
shall include--
            (1) Afghanis who were or are employed by the United States 
        Government in Afghanistan;
            (2) Afghanis who establish to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary of State that they are or were employed in 
        Afghanistan by--
                    (A) a media or nongovernmental organization 
                headquartered in the United States; or
                    (B) an organization or entity closely associated 
                with the United States mission in Afghanistan that has 
                received United States Government funding through an 
                official and documented contract, award, grant, or 
                cooperative agreement;
            (3) spouses, children, and parents whether or not 
        accompanying or following to join, and sons, daughters, and 
        siblings of aliens described in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2);
            (4) spouses, children, and parents whether or not 
        accompanying or following to join, and sons, daughters, and 
        siblings of Afghanis granted the status of a special immigrant 
        under section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) based on faithful and valuable service 
        to the United States Government; and
            (5) Afghanis who are members of a religious or minority 
        community, have been identified by the Secretary of State, or 
        the designee of the Secretary, as a persecuted group, and have 
        close family members (as described in section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) 
        or 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1151(b)(2)(A)(i) and 1153(a))) in the United States.
    (b) Identification of Other Persecuted Groups.--The Secretary of 
State, or the designee of the Secretary, is authorized to identify 
other Priority 2 groups of Afghanis, including vulnerable populations.
    (c) Ineligible Organizations and Entities.--Organizations and 
entities described in subsection (a)(2) shall not include any that 
appear on the Department of the Treasury's list of Specially Designated 
Nationals or any entity specifically excluded by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, after consultation with the Secretary of State and 
the heads of relevant elements of the intelligence community (as 
defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
401a(4))).
    (d) Applicability of Other Requirements.--Aliens under this section 
who qualify for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement 
priority system shall satisfy the requirements of section 207 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for admission to the 
United States.
    (e) Numerical Limitations.--In determining the number of Afghani 
refugees who should be resettled in the United States under paragraphs 
(2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) and subsection (b) of section 207 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), the President 
shall consult with the heads of nongovernmental organizations that have 
a presence in Afghanistan or experience in assessing the problems faced 
by Afghani refugees.
    (f) Eligibility for Admission as Refugee.--No alien shall be denied 
the opportunity to apply for admission under this section solely 
because such alien qualifies as an immediate relative or is eligible 
for any other immigrant classification.
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