Temporary Family Visitation Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8617 To establish a new nonimmigrant category for alien family members of United States citizens and permanent residents seeking to enter the United States temporarily to visit their relatives, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 16, 2020 Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a new nonimmigrant category for alien family members of United States citizens and permanent resi- dents seeking to enter the United States temporarily to visit their relatives, 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 ‘‘Temporary Family 4 Visitation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Nov 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8617.IH H8617 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8617 IH SEC. 2. NEW NONIMMIGRANT CATEGORY FOR FAMILY MEM- 1 BERS OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND PER- 2 MANENT RESIDENTS SEEKING TO ENTER THE 3 UNITED STATES TEMPORARILY. 4 Section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Na- 5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘and who is visiting the United 7 States temporarily for business or temporarily for 8 pleasure;’’ at the end; and 9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘and 10 who is visiting the United States temporarily for— 11 ‘‘(i) business; 12 ‘‘(ii) pleasure; or 13 ‘‘(iii) family purposes.’’. 14 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SECTION 15 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) VISAS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214 of the Immigration 17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by add- 18 ing at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(s) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SECTION 20 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) VISAS.— 21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this 22 subsection and section 101(a)(15)(B)(iii)— 23 ‘‘(A) the term ‘family purposes’ means any 24 visits to relatives for social, occasional, or other 25 purposes; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Nov 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8617.IH H8617 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8617 IH ‘‘(B) the term ‘relative’ means the spouse, 1 children, sons, daughters, grandchildren, par- 2 ents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts, 3 nieces, and nephews of a citizen or permanent 4 resident of the United States. 5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Any alien who seeks ad- 6 mission under a visa issued under section 7 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) is inadmissible under this para- 8 graph unless— 9 ‘‘(A) the person petitioning for the alien 10 relative’s admission or any additional sponsor 11 has executed an affidavit of support described 12 in section 213 with respect to such alien; and 13 ‘‘(B) the alien has obtained a travel med- 14 ical insurance policy for the duration of stay 15 with minimum policy requirements determined 16 by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 17 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED ADMISSION.— 18 The period of authorized admission under section 19 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) shall not exceed 120 days.’’. 20 (b) ATTESTATION.—Section 213A(f)(1)(D) of such 21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1183A(f)(1)(D)) is amended by striking 22 ‘‘section 204’’ and inserting ‘‘section 204 and 23 101(15)(B)(iii)’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Nov 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8617.IH H8617 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8617 IH SEC. 4. RESTRICTION APPLICABLE TO SECTION 1 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) VISAS. 2 Section 248(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1258(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(1) an alien classified as a nonimmigrant 5 under subparagraph (B)(iii), (C), (D), (K), or (S) of 6 section 101(a)(15).’’. 7 SEC. 5. WAIVERS APPLICABLE TO SECTION 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) 8 VISAS. 9 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec- 10 retary of Homeland Security, may waive any requirement 11 applicable to section 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) visas for humani- 12 tarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is oth- 13 erwise in the public interest. The Secretary of State shall 14 provide for the annual reporting to Congress of the num- 15 ber of waivers granted under this paragraph in the pre- 16 vious fiscal year and a summary of the reasons for grant- 17 ing such waivers. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Nov 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8617.IH H8617 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS