Title: Baseball Diplomacy Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Baseball Diplomacy Act
This bill waives certain foreign assistance and trade and travel prohibitions against Cuba under specified federal law regarding Cuban nationals who: (1) enter the United States on a visa to play organized professional baseball, and (2) return to Cuba with their baseball earnings.Such visa shall be valid only for the duration of the season and need not be renewed as long as the player remains with the same team.
The bill prohibits the President from denying visas to such nationals based upon authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict any entry of aliens or class of aliens that would be detrimental to U.S. interests.
This bill shall not be affected by the economic embargo requirements against Cuba under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 573 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 573

To waive certain prohibitions with respect to nationals of Cuba coming 
     to the United States to play organized professional baseball.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2017

 Mr. Serrano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, 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 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To waive certain prohibitions with respect to nationals of Cuba coming 
     to the United States to play organized professional baseball.

    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 ``Baseball Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.

    (a) Restriction on Embargo Authority.--The authorities of section 
620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, those authorities under 
section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act that were being 
exercised with respect to Cuba on July 1, 1977, as a result of a 
national emergency declared before that date, and are being exercised 
on the date of the enactment of this Act, and section 203 of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act may not be exercised to 
regulate or prohibit--
            (1) those transactions permitted under section 515.571 of 
        title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, by or on behalf of a 
        Cuban national who enters the United States from Cuba on a visa 
        issued under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act for the purpose of playing organized 
        professional baseball; and
            (2) a Cuban national described in paragraph (1) from 
        returning to Cuba with the earnings made in playing organized 
        professional baseball.
    (b) Restriction on Immigration Authority.--The authority contained 
in section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act may not be 
used to deny a visa described in subsection (a)(1) to a Cuban national 
for the purpose of playing organized professional baseball.
    (c) Inapplicability of Other Restrictions.--This section applies 
notwithstanding section 102(h) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 
Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.

SEC. 3. DURATION OF VISA.

    A visa described in section 2(a)(1)--
            (1) shall permit the alien to whom the visa is issued to 
        remain in the United States only for the duration of the 
        baseball season; and
            (2) need not be renewed for subsequent entries into the 
        United States for the duration of a valid contract entered into 
        between the alien and the professional baseball team with which 
        the alien played in the preceding baseball season.
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