Sec. 201. Establishment of a Board of Visa Appeals
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The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after section 224 the following new section: The Secretary of State shall establish within the Department of State a Board of Family-based Visa Appeals. The Board shall be composed of 5 members who shall be appointed by the Secretary. Not more than 2 members of the Board may be consular officers. The Secretary shall designate a member who shall be chairperson of the Board. The Board shall have authority to review any discretionary decision of a consular officer with respect to an alien concerning the denial, revocation, or cancellation of an immigrant visa of someone who has the immediate relative status described in section 201(2)(A)(i) and (ii); or a preference classification described in section 203(a).
The review of the Board shall be made upon the record for decision of the consular officer, including all documents, notes, and memoranda filed with the consular officer, supplemented by affidavits and other writings if offered by the consular officer or alien. Upon a showing that the decision of the consular official is contrary to the preponderance of the evidence, the Board shall have authority to overrule, or remand for further consideration, the decision of such consular officer.
Proceedings before the Board shall be in accordance with such regulations, not inconsistent with this Act and sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, as the Secretary of State shall prescribe. Such regulations shall include requirements that provide that— at the time of any decision of a consular officer under subsection (b), the interested party defined in subsection
(d)shall be given notice of the availability of the review process and the necessary steps to request such review; a written record of the proceedings and decision of the consular officer (in accordance with sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code) shall be available to the Board, and on payment of lawfully prescribed costs, shall be made available to the alien; upon receipt of request for review under this section, the Board shall, within 30 days, notify the consular officer with respect to whose decision review is sought, and, upon receipt of such notice, such officer shall promptly (but in no event more than 30 days after such receipt) forward to the Board the record of proceeding as described in subsection (b); the appellant shall be given notice, reasonable under all the circumstances of the time and place at which the Board proceedings will be held; the appellant may be represented (at no expense to the Government) by such counsel, authorized to practice in such proceedings, as the appellant shall choose; and a request for review under this section must be made in writing to the Board within 60 days after receipt of notice of the denial, revocation, or cancellation. The Board shall review each decision described in subsection
(b)upon request by the petitioner of an immigrant visa petition approved under section 201(2)(A)(i) and
(ii)or 203(a). This section may not be construed to restrict any right to further administrative or judicial review established under any other provision of law. The Secretary of State shall charge, and collect, an appropriate fee associated with a request to the Board for a review. Such fee shall be sufficient to cover the cost of the administration of this section. . Section 222(f) ( 8 U.S.C. 1202(f) ) is amended by adding at the end: An interested party under section 225(d) or court shall be permitted to inspect the record of proceeding as described in subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3) of section 225. . Section 104(a)(1) ( 8 U.S.C. 1104(a)(1) ) is amended by striking except and inserting including . The table of contents is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 224 the following new item: Sec. 225. Board of Visa Appeals. .
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