Religious Worker Visa Reciprocity Act of 2017

Bill: 115-hr-178
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4]
Introduced: 2017-01-03
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad

Foreign labor

Human rights

Immigration status and procedures

Religion

Visas and passports
Latest action: action_date: 2017-01-13
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-01-03
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Religious Worker Visa Reciprocity Act of 2017</strong></p> <p> This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit, as of October 1, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from approving a petition for classification of an alien as a special immigrant religious worker/minister if DHS has determined that the alien's country of nationality: </p> <ul> <li>is identified as a Country of Particular Concern or a country where religious freedom is of significant interest in the 2013 International Religious Freedom Report, or </li> <li>does not extend reciprocal immigration treatment to U.S. nationals who are seeking resident status in order to work in a religious vocation or occupation.</li> </ul>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 178 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 3, 2017 Mr. King of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require the country of origin of certain special immigrant religious workers to extend reciprocal immigration treatment to nationals of the United States.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Religious Worker Visa Reciprocity Act of 2017 . 2. Requiring reciprocal immigration treatment Section 204(a)(1)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(G) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (iii) Beginning on October 1, 2017, no petition may be approved for classification of an alien as a special immigrant under section 101(a)(27)(C) if the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that the country of the alien’s nationality— (I) is identified as a Country of Particular Concern or a country where religious freedom is of significant interest in the 2013 International Religious Freedom Report; or (II) does not extend reciprocal immigration treatment to nationals of the United States who are seeking resident status in order to work in a religious vocation or occupation. .