[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7028 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7028
To authorize the issuance of visas and admission of certain aliens, and
their derivatives, who were selected to apply for diversity immigrant
visas but were unable to be issued such visas or be admitted to the
United States as a result of certain Presidential Proclamations, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 17, 2024
Mr. Torres of New York (for himself, Ms. Chu, Ms. Lee of California,
Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Foster,
Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Huffman, Mr.
Garamendi, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Adams, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Wasserman
Schultz, Ms. Norton, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Cleaver, Mr. Takano, Mr. Casten, Mr. Carson, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Clarke of New York,
Mrs. Napolitano, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Nickel, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr.
Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Frost, Mr. Peters, Ms. McCollum,
Ms. Meng, Ms. Balint, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Norcross, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr.
Schiff, Ms. Titus, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Escobar, Ms.
Barragan, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Espaillat, Mr.
Gomez, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Pocan, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Trone, Mr. Smith of
Washington, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, and Mr. Krishnamoorthi)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the issuance of visas and admission of certain aliens, and
their derivatives, who were selected to apply for diversity immigrant
visas but were unable to be issued such visas or be admitted to the
United States as a result of certain Presidential Proclamations, 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 ``Keeping Our Promise Act''.
SEC. 2. ALIENS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED DIVERSITY VISAS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 204(a)(1)(I)(ii)(II) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I)(ii)(II)),
and subject to subsection (c) of this section, an immigrant visa made
available to an alien under section 203(c) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)) in any of fiscal years 2017, 2018,
2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 shall remain available to such alien if--
(1) the alien was refused a visa or denied admission to the
United States solely because of--
(A) Executive Order 13769, ``Protecting the Nation
from Foreign Terrorist Entry into The United States''
(January 27, 2017);
(B) Executive Order 13780, ``Protecting the Nation
from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States''
(March 6, 2017);
(C) Proclamation 9645, ``Enhancing Vetting
Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted
Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other
Public-Safety Threats'' (September 24, 2017); or
(D) Proclamation 9983, ``Improving Enhanced Vetting
Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted
Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other
Public-Safety Threats'' (January 31, 2020); or
(2) because of the COVID-19 public health emergency--
(A) the alien was unable to receive a visa
interview despite submitting an Online Immigrant Visa
and Alien Registration Application (Form DS-260) to the
Secretary of State, and having submitted complete
documentation or having qualified for such a visa on or
before September 30 of the applicable fiscal year; or
(B) the alien was unable to be admitted to the
United States despite being approved for a visa under
section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1153(c)).
(b) Obligations of the Secretary.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall--
(A) notify each alien described in subsection (a)
(and such alien's representative, if applicable) of
their continuing eligibility to apply for a visa under
section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1153(c)); and
(B) publish on the Department of State website,
information and procedures implementing this Act.
(2) Notice.--The notice described in paragraph (1)(A) shall
include procedures for the alien to notify the Secretary of
State of the alien's intent to proceed with or abandon the
application, and shall include an advisal that such application
shall be deemed abandoned if the alien fails to notify the
Secretary of the alien's intent to proceed within one year of
the date of the notice.
(c) Limitation on Visa Eligibility.--An alien described in
subsection (a) shall remain eligible to receive such visa until the
earliest of the date that the alien--
(1) notifies the Secretary of the alien's intent to abandon
the application in accordance with the procedures described in
subsection (b);
(2) fails to respond to the notice described in subsection
(b)(2); or
(3) is refused a visa by a consular officer--
(A) for failure to meet the education or work
experience requirements under section 203(c)(2) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(c)(2));
(B) for failure to meet the requirements under
section 204(a)(1)(I)(iii) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I)(iii)); or
(C) on grounds that the alien is inadmissible under
section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)).
(d) Numerical Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), visas issued to aliens under this Act shall be counted
against the numerical limitation described in section 201(e) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) for the
fiscal year in which such visas were made available to such
aliens.
(2) Unused visas.--Visas under section 201(e) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) that go
unused in any of fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, or
2022 may be allocated to aliens described in subsection (a)
regardless of the fiscal year in which such alien's visa was
made available.
(3) Overage.--In the case that the total number of aliens
described in subsection (a) who are eligible for visas exceeds
the total number of visas under section 201(e) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) for fiscal
years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, such excess
number shall not be counted against the numerical limitation
described in such section 201(e).
(e) Age Out Protections.--A determination of whether an unmarried
son or daughter of the visa applicant is eligible to apply as a child
of the visa applicant pursuant to section 203(d) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)) shall be made using the age of the
unmarried son or daughter when the applicant was initially selected for
a visa in accordance with section 203(e)(2) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 10 1153(e)(2)).
(f) Prioritization.--The prioritization of visa services, as among
visa classifications and other consular services, is within the sole
unreviewable discretion of the Secretary of State. To the extent
possible, the Secretary of State shall process applications in the rank
order originally designated, consistent with applicable regulations.
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