Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2032 To extend and modify the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program, to postpone the medical exam for aliens who are otherwise eligible for such program, to provide special immigrant status for certain surviving spouses and children, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 10, 2021 Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. ERNST, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. DURBIN) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary A BILL To extend and modify the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program, to postpone the medical exam for aliens who are otherwise eligible for such program, to provide special immigrant status for certain surviving spouses and chil- dren, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Afghan Allies Protec- 4 tion Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2032 IS (1) section 1248(h) of the Refugee Crisis in 1 Iraq Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 2 1157 note) requires the Secretary of Homeland Se- 3 curity, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of 4 Defense to designate senior coordinating officials, 5 with sufficient expertise, authority, and resources, to 6 carry out duties relating to the issuance of special 7 immigrant visas under that Act and the Afghan Al- 8 lies Protection Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 9 U.S.C. 1101 note); 10 (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 11 Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense 12 should take all necessary steps to designate such 13 senior coordinating officials; 14 (3) all criteria relating to the requirements for 15 special immigrant visa applicants under the Refugee 16 Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–181; 8 17 U.S.C. 1157 note) and the Afghan Allies Protection 18 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 19 note) should be implemented on the date of the en- 20 actment of this Act; 21 (4) in the case of any individual with respect to 22 whom the Chief of Mission has erroneously denied a 23 request for approval to apply for a special immigrant 24 visa under the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2032 IS (Public Law 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note) or the 1 Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (Public Law 2 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note), the Chief of Mission 3 should reopen such requests sua sponte, including 4 for any individual who has— 5 (A) not appealed; 6 (B) submitted an appeal; or 7 (C) had an appeal denied; and 8 (5) appropriate steps should be taken to ensure 9 that applications for such special immigrant visas 10 continue to be processed fairly and expeditiously in 11 the event of a reduction of in-country personnel. 12 SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF THE AFGHAN 13 SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM. 14 Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act 15 of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended— 16 (1) in paragraph (2)— 17 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 18 (i) by amending clause (ii) to read as 19 follows: 20 ‘‘(ii) was or is employed in Afghani- 21 stan on or after October 7, 2001, for not 22 less than 1 year— 23 ‘‘(I) by, or on behalf of, the 24 United States Government; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2032 IS ‘‘(II) by the International Secu- 1 rity Assistance Force (or any suc- 2 cessor name for such Force) in a ca- 3 pacity that required the alien, while 4 traveling off-base with United States 5 military personnel stationed at the 6 International Security Assistance 7 Force (or any successor name for 8 such Force), to serve as an interpreter 9 or translator for such United States 10 military personnel; and’’; 11 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 12 and inserting a period; and 13 (iii) by striking clause (iv); 14 (B) in subparagraph (D)(ii)(I)(bb)— 15 (i) in the matter preceding subitem 16 (AA), by inserting ‘‘per denial or revoca- 17 tion’’ after ‘‘written appeal’’; and 18 (ii) in subitem (AA), by inserting ‘‘or 19 thereafter at the discretion of the Sec- 20 retary of State’’ after ‘‘in writing’’; 21 (C) by striking subparagraph (E); and 22 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 23 subparagraph (E); 24 (2) in paragraph (3)(F)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2032 IS (A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik- 1 ing ‘‘2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’; 2 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 3 (i) by striking ‘‘exhausted,,’’ and in- 4 serting ‘‘exhausted,’’; and 5 (ii) by striking ‘‘26,500’’ and insert- 6 ing ‘‘46,500’’; 7 (C) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘December 8 31, 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023;’’; 9 and 10 (D) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘December 11 31, 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2023;’’; 12 (3) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ- 13 ing Chief of Mission approval,’’ after ‘‘so that all 14 steps’’; and 15 (4) in paragraph (13), in the matter preceding 16 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘January 31, 2023’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘January 31, 2024’’. 18 SEC. 4. POSTPONEMENT OF MEDICAL EXAM FOR AFGHAN 19 ALLIES WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL IM- 20 MIGRANT VISAS. 21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of State or the 22 Secretary of Homeland Security may waive any require- 23 ment to undergo a medical exam under section 232 of the 24 Immigration and Nationality (8 U.S.C. 1222), or any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2032 IS other applicable requirement to undergo a medical exam 1 prior to admission to the United States, for aliens de- 2 scribed in section 602(b)(2) of the Afghan Allies Protec- 3 tion Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 4 (b) DURATION.—A waiver under subsection (a) shall 5 be for a period of 1 year, which may be extended for addi- 6 tional 1-year periods. 7 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICAL EXAM AFTER AD- 8 MISSION.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 10 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 11 Health and Human Services, shall ensure that an 12 alien who does not undergo a medical exam prior to 13 admission to the United States pursuant to this sec- 14 tion receives such an exam not later than 90 days 15 after the date on which the alien is admitted to the 16 United States. 17 (2) REPORT.—With respect to each such alien, 18 not later than 1 year after the date on which the 19 waiver authority under subsection (a) is exercised, 20 and not later than the date that is 1 year after the 21 date on which any extension under subsection (b) is 22 granted, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 23 consultation with the Secretary of Health and 24 Human Services, shall submit to the appropriate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2032 IS committees of Congress a report on the medical 1 exams undertaken by the alien under paragraph (1). 2 (d) NOTIFICATION.—With respect to each alien for 3 whom the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland 4 Security exercises the waiver authority under subsection 5 (a) or extends such a waiver under subsection (b), the Sec- 6 retary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, 7 as applicable, shall notify the appropriate committees of 8 Congress as soon as practicable thereafter. 9 (e) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—In 10 this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 11 gress’’ means— 12 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 13 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on For- 14 eign Relations, and the Committee on Homeland Se- 15 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 16 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 17 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on For- 18 eign Affairs, and the Committee on Homeland Secu- 19 rity of the House of Representatives. 20 SEC. 5. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN SUR- 21 VIVING SPOUSES AND CHILDREN. 22 (a) IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—Section 23 101(a)(27)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 24 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2032 IS (1) by striking ‘‘an immigrant who is an em- 1 ployee’’ and inserting ‘‘an immigrant who— 2 ‘‘(i) is an employee’’; and 3 (2) by striking ‘‘grant such status;’’ and insert- 4 ing ‘‘grant such status; or 5 ‘‘(ii) is the surviving spouse or child 6 of an employee of the United States Gov- 7 ernment abroad: Provided, That the em- 8 ployee performed faithful service for a total 9 of not less than 15 years or was killed in 10 the line of duty;’’. 11 (b) AFGHAN ALLIES PROTECTION ACT OF 2009.— 12 Section 602(b)(2)(C) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act 13 of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended— 14 (1) in clause (ii), by redesignating subclauses 15 (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively, and 16 moving such items 2 ems to the right; 17 (2) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as sub- 18 clauses (I) and (II), respectively, and moving such 19 subclauses 2 ems to the right; 20 (3) in the matter preceding subclause (I), as re- 21 designated, by striking ‘‘An alien is described’’ and 22 inserting the following: 23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An alien is 24 described’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2032 IS (4) in clause (i)(I), as redesignated, by striking 1 ‘‘who had a petition for classification approved’’ and 2 inserting ‘‘who had submitted an application to the 3 Chief of Mission’’; and 4 (5) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYMENT REQUIRE- 6 MENTS.—An application by a sur- 7 viving spouse or child of a principal 8 alien shall be subject to employment 9 requirements set forth in subpara- 10 graph (A) as of the date of the prin- 11 cipal alien’s filing of an application 12 for the first time, or if no application 13 has been filed, the employment re- 14 quirements as of the date of the prin- 15 cipal alien’s death.’’. 16 (c) REFUGEE CRISIS IN IRAQ ACT OF 2007.—Section 17 1244(b)(3) of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (8 18 U.S.C. 1157 note) is amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘described in subsection (b)’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘in this subsection’’; 21 (2) in subparagraph (B), by redesignating 22 clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), respec- 23 tively, and moving such subclauses 2 ems to the 24 right; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2032 IS (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 1 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and moving 2 such clauses 2 ems to the right; 3 (4) in the matter preceding clause (i), as redes- 4 ignated, by striking ‘‘An alien is described’’ and in- 5 serting the following: 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An alien is de- 7 scribed’’; 8 (5) in subparagraph (A)(i), as redesignated, by 9 striking ‘‘who had a petition for classification ap- 10 proved’’ and inserting ‘‘who submitted an applica- 11 tion to the Chief of Mission’’; and 12 (6) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—An 14 application by a surviving spouse or child of a 15 principal alien shall be subject to employment 16 requirements set forth in paragraph (1) as of 17 the date of the principal alien’s filing of an ap- 18 plication for the first time, or if the principal 19 alien did not file an application, the employ- 20 ment requirements as of the date of the prin- 21 cipal alien’s death.’’. 22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 23 this section shall be effective on June 30, 2021, and shall 24 have retroactive effect. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2032 IS SEC. 6. CONVERSION OF PETITIONS FOR SPECIAL IMMI- 1 GRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN IRAQIS. 2 Section 2 of Public Law 110–242 (8 U.S.C. 1101 3 note) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(b) DURATION.—The authority under subsection (a) 6 shall expire on the date on which the numerical limitation 7 specified under section 1244 of the National Defense Au- 8 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110– 9 181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note) is reached.’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS