Visa Security Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 417 To prohibit the Secretary of State from issuing B1 and B2 visas to nationals of the People’s Republic of China for periods of more than one year unless certain conditions are met. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CRUZ, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the Secretary of State from issuing B1 and B2 visas to nationals of the People’s Republic of China for periods of more than one year unless certain condi- tions are met. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Visa Security Act’’. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S417.IS S417 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 417 IS SEC. 2. CONDITIONS ON ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN B1 AND B2 1 VISAS TO NATIONALS OF THE PEOPLE’S RE- 2 PUBLIC OF CHINA. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may not 4 issue to a national of the People’s Republic of China a 5 nonimmigrant visa described in section 101(a)(15)(B) of 6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 7 1101(a)(15)(B)) that is valid for a period of more than 8 one year unless the Secretary certifies to Congress that 9 the Government of the People’s Republic of China has— 10 (1) ceased its— 11 (A) campaign of economic and industrial 12 espionage against the United States; and 13 (B) provocative and coercive behavior to- 14 wards Taiwan; 15 (2) withdrawn its national security law with re- 16 spect to Hong Kong and fully upheld its commit- 17 ments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 18 1984; 19 (3) ended its systematic oppression of Uighurs, 20 Tibetans, and other ethnic groups; 21 (4) retracted its unlawful claims in the South 22 China Sea; and 23 (5) released foreign hostages and wrongfully de- 24 tained individuals in the People’s Republic of China. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S417.IS S417 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 417 IS (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 1 tion may be construed to limit the period for which a visa 2 may be issued to an applicant from Taiwan or a bona fide 3 Hong Kong applicant. 4 (c) DEFINITION OF BONA FIDE HONG KONG APPLI- 5 CANT.—In this section, ‘‘bona fide Hong Kong applicant’’ 6 means an individual who— 7 (1)(A) was a resident of the Hong Kong Special 8 Administrative Region on December 31, 2018; or 9 (B)(i) has been a resident of the Hong Kong 10 Special Administrative Region during the entire 60- 11 day period ending on the date on which the indi- 12 vidual applies for a visa described in section 13 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)); and 15 (ii) the Secretary of State certifies to Congress 16 that the United States has no reason to believe that 17 the individual is acting on behalf of the Government 18 of the People’s Republic of China, or any entity con- 19 trolled by the Government of the People’s Republic 20 of China; 21 (2) is a citizen of the People’s Republic of 22 China; and 23 (3) is not a citizen of any other country. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S417.IS S417 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS