HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2083 To waive the requirement to undergo a medical exam for aliens who are otherwise eligible for special immigrant status under the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2021 Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To waive the requirement to undergo a medical exam for aliens who are otherwise eligible for special immigrant status under the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, 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 ‘‘Honoring Our Prom- 4 ises through Expedition for Afghan SIVs Act of 2021’’ 5 or the ‘‘HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2083.IS S2083 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2083 IS SEC. 2. WAIVER OF MEDICAL EXAM FOR AFGHAN ALLIES. 1 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of State or the 2 Secretary of Homeland Security may waive any require- 3 ment to undergo a medical exam under section 221(d) of 4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(d)), 5 or any other applicable requirement to undergo a medical 6 exam prior to admission to the United States, for aliens 7 described in section 602(b)(2) of the Afghan Allies Protec- 8 tion Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 9 (b) DURATION.—The waiver authorized under sub- 10 section (a) shall be for a period of 1 year, and may be 11 extended for additional 1-year periods. 12 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICAL EXAM AFTER AD- 13 MISSION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 15 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 16 Health and Human Services, shall ensure that any 17 alien who does not undergo a medical exam prior to 18 admission to the United States pursuant to this sec- 19 tion, receives such an exam as soon as possible after 20 the alien is admitted to the United States in order 21 to address any public health concern, but in no event 22 later than 90 days after the alien is admitted to the 23 United States. 24 (2) REPORT.—On the date that is one year 25 after the date on which the waiver authority under 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2083.IS S2083 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2083 IS subsection (a) is exercised, and on the date that is 1 one year after any extension under subsection (b), 2 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 3 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 4 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 5 mittees a report on the medical exams given under 6 paragraph (1). 7 (d) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary of State or the 8 Secretary of Homeland Security exercises the waiver au- 9 thority under subsection (a), or extends such a waiver 10 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall notify the appro- 11 priate congressional committees. 12 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 13 The term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 14 means— 15 (1) the Committees on Armed Services of the 16 House of Representatives and of the Senate; 17 (2) the Committees on the Judiciary of the 18 House of Representatives and of the Senate; 19 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 20 House of Representatives and the Committee on 21 Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 22 (4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 23 House of Representatives and the Committee on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2083.IS S2083 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2083 IS Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 1 Senate. 2 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 3 may be construed to prevent the Secretary of State, the 4 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, 5 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services from 6 adopting appropriate measures to prevent the spread of 7 communicable diseases, including COVID–19, to the 8 United States. 9 (g) SUNSET.—The authority under subsections (a) 10 and (b) expires on the date that is 3 years after the date 11 of enactment of this Act. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2083.IS S2083 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS