S.Amdt. 1641

SA 1641. Mr. WYDEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1183 submitted by Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Hatch) to
the bill S. 744, to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 426, strike line 21, and all that follows
through page 427, line 7, and insert the following:
(d) Waivers of Inadmissability.--
(1) In general.--Section 212 (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended--
(A) in subsection (l)--
(i) by amending the subsection heading to read as follows:
``Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands Visa
Waiver Programs.--''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Virgin islands visa waiver program.--
``(A) In general.--The requirement of subsection
(a)(7)(B)(i) may be waived by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in the case of an alien who is a national of a
country described in subparagraph (B) and who is applying for
admission as a nonimmigrant visitor for business or pleasure
and solely for entry into and stay in the United States
Virgin Islands for a period not to exceed 30 days, if the
Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of State, the
Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, determines that
such a waiver does not represent a threat to the welfare,
safety, or security of the United States or its territories
and commonwealths.
``(B) Countries.--A country described in this subparagraph
is a country that--
``(i) is a member or an associate member of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM); and
``(ii) is listed in the regulations described in
subparagraph (D).
``(C) Alien waiver of rights.--An alien may not be provided
a waiver under this paragraph unless the alien has waived any
right--
``(i) to review or appeal under this Act an immigration
officer's determination as to the admissibility of the alien
at the port of entry into the United States Virgin Islands;
or
``(ii) to contest, other than on the basis of an
application for withholding of removal under section
241(b)(3) of this Act or under the Convention Against
Torture, or an application for asylum if permitted under
section 208, any action for removal of the alien.
``(D) Regulations.--All necessary regulations to implement
this paragraph shall be promulgated by the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of State, on or before the date
that is 1 year after the date of enactment of the Virgin
Islands Visa Waiver Act of 2013. The promulgation of such
regulations shall be considered a foreign affairs function
for purposes of section 553(a) of title 5, United States
Code. At a minimum, such regulations should include, but not
necessarily be limited to--
``(i) a listing of all member or associate member countries
of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) whose nationals may
obtain, on a country by country basis, the waiver provided by
this paragraph, except that such regulations shall not
provide for a listing of any country if the Secretary of
Homeland Security determines that such country's inclusion on
such list would represent a threat to the welfare, safety, or
security of the United States or its territories and
commonwealths; and
``(ii) any bonding requirements for nationals of some or
all of those countries who may present an increased risk of
overstays or other potential problems, if different from such
requirements otherwise provided by law for nonimmigrant
visitors.
``(E) Factors.--In determining whether to grant or continue
providing the waiver under this paragraph to nationals of any
country, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
State, shall consider all factors that the Secretary deems
relevant, including electronic travel authorizations,
procedures for reporting lost and stolen passports,
repatriation of aliens, rates of refusal for nonimmigrant
visitor visas, overstays, exit systems, and information
exchange.
``(F) Suspension.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
monitor the admission of nonimmigrant visitors to the United
States Virgin Islands under this paragraph. If the Secretary
determines that such admissions have resulted in an
unacceptable number of visitors from a country remaining
unlawfully in the United States Virgin Islands, unlawfully
obtaining entry to other parts of the United States, or
seeking withholding of removal or asylum, or that visitors
from a country pose a risk to law enforcement or security
interests of the United States Virgin Islands or of the
United States (including the interest in the enforcement of
the immigration laws of the United States), the Secretary
shall suspend the admission of nationals of such country
under this paragraph. The Secretary of Homeland Security may
in the Secretary's discretion suspend the United States
Virgin Islands visa waiver program at any time, on a country-
by-country basis, for other good cause.
``(G) Addition of countries.--The Governor of the United
States Virgin Islands may request the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Homeland Security to add a
particular country to the list of countries whose nationals
may obtain the waiver provided by this paragraph, and the
Secretary of Homeland Security may grant such request after
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of State, and may promulgate regulations with
respect to the inclusion of that country and any special
requirements the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the
Secretary's sole discretion, may impose prior to allowing
nationals of that country to obtain the waiver provided by
this paragraph.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) Continued Waiver Eligibility for Widows, Widowers,
and Orphans.--In the case of an alien who would have been
statutorily eligible for any waiver of inadmissibility under
this Act but for the death of a qualifying relative, the
eligibility of such alien shall be preserved as if the death
had not occurred and the death of the qualifying relative
shall be the functional equivalent of

[[Page S5094]]

hardship for purposes of any waiver of inadmissibility which
requires a showing of hardship.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Documentation requirements.--Section 212(a)(7)(iii) (8
U.S.C. 1182(a)(7)(iii)) is amended to read as follows:
``(iii) Special visa waiver programs.--For a provision
authorizing waiver of clause (i) in the case of visitors to
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or
the United States Virgin Islands, see subsection (l).''.
(B) Admission of nonimmigrants.--Section 214(a)(1) (8
U.S.C. 1184(a)(1)) is amended by inserting before the final
sentence the following: ``No alien admitted to the United
States Virgin Islands without a visa pursuant to section
212(l)(7) may be authorized to enter or stay in the United
States other than in United States Virgin Islands or to
remain in the United States Virgin Islands for a period
exceeding 30 days from date of admission to the United States
Virgin Islands.''.
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