[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1312 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 1312
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 2, 2008
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To expedite adjudication of employer petitions for aliens of
extraordinary artistic ability.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS)
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED ADJUDICATION OF EMPLOYER PETITIONS FOR ALIENS OF
EXTRAORDINARY ARTISTIC ABILITY.
Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1184(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
(2) in paragraph (6)(D)--
(A) by striking ``(D) Any'' and inserting ``(D)(i)
Any'';
(B) by striking ``Once the'' and inserting ``Except
as provided in clause (ii), once the''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjudicate each
petition for an alien with extraordinary ability in the arts (as
described in section 101(a)(15)(O)(i)), an alien accompanying such an
alien (as described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of section
101(a)(15)(O)), or an alien described in section 101(a)(15)(P) (other
than an alien described in section 214(c)(4)(A) (relating to athletes))
not later than 30 days after--
``(I) the date on which the petitioner submits the petition
with a written advisory opinion, letter of no objection, or
request for a waiver; or
``(II) the date on which the 15-day period described in
clause (i) has expired, if the petitioner has had an
opportunity, as appropriate, to supply rebuttal evidence.
``(iii) If a petition described in clause (ii) is not adjudicated
before the end of the 30-day period described in clause (ii) and the
petitioner is an arts organization described in paragraph (3), (5), or
(6) of section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt
from tax under section 501(a) of such Code for the taxable year
preceding the calendar year in which the petition is submitted, or an
individual or entity petitioning primarily on behalf of such an
organization, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the
petitioner with the premium-processing services referred to in section
286(u), without a fee.''.
Passed the House of Representatives April 1, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.