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Code · BILL · 114th Congress · S. 1501 (Introduced in Senate) — To promote and reform foreign capital investment and job creation in American communities. · Sec. 7

Sec. 7. Transparency

1,291 words·~6 min read·/bill/114/s/1501/is/section-7

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Employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary’s counselors, the Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, counselors to such Director, and the Chief of Immigrant Investor Programs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall act impartially and may not give preferential treatment to any organization or individual in connection with any aspect of the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b). Activities that constitute preferential treatment under subsection
(a)shall include— working on, or in any way attempting to expedite or otherwise influence, in a manner not available to or accorded to all other petitioners, applicants, and seekers of benefits under the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b), the processing of, an application, petition, or benefit for— a regional center; a commercial enterprise associated with a regional center; a job-creating entity associated with a regional center; or any person or entity associated with such regional center, commercial enterprise, or job-creating entity; and meeting or communicating with persons associated with the entities described in paragraph (1), at the request of such persons, in a manner not available to or accorded to all other petitioners, applicants, and seekers of benefits under the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b). Employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including the officials listed in subsection (a), shall include, in the record of proceeding for a case under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b), actual or electronic copies of all case-specific written communication, including e-mails from government and private accounts, with non-Department persons or entities advocating for regional center proposals or individual petitions pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act. If substantive oral communication, including telephonic communication, virtual communication, and in-person meetings, takes place between officials of the Department of Homeland Security and non-Department persons or entities regarding specific cases under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (other than routine communications with other agencies of the Federal Government regarding the case, including communications involving background checks and litigation defense)— the conversation shall be recorded; or detailed minutes of the session shall be taken and included in the record of proceeding. If the Secretary, in the course of written or oral communication described in this subsection, receives evidence about a specific case from anyone other than an affected party or his or her representative (excluding Federal Government or law enforcement sources), such information may not be made part of the record of proceeding and may not be considered in adjudicative proceedings unless— the affected party has been given notice of such evidence; and if such evidence is derogatory, the affected party has been given an opportunity to respond to the evidence. Evidence received from law enforcement or intelligence agencies may not be made part of the record of proceeding without the consent of the relevant agency or law enforcement entity. Evidence received from whistleblowers or other confidential sources that is included in the record of proceeding and considered in adjudicative proceedings shall be handled in a manner that does not reveal the identity of the whistleblower or confidential source. No case-specific communication with persons or entities that are not part of the Department of Homeland Security may be considered in the adjudication of an application or petition under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b), unless the communication is included in the record of proceeding of the case. The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the requirement under paragraph
(1)only in the interests of national security or for investigative or law enforcement purposes. The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall maintain an e-mail account (or equivalent means of communication) for persons or entities— with inquiries regarding specific cases under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b); or seeking non-case-specific information about the regional center program described in such section. Not later than 40 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall announce that the only channels or offices by which petitioners, applicants, and seekers of benefits under the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or such persons’ representatives, may communicate with the Department of Homeland Security regarding specific cases under such section, or non-case-specific information about the regional center program applicable to certain cases under such section, are through— the e-mail address or equivalent channel described in paragraph (1); the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services National Customer Service Center, or any successor to that Center; or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Public Engagement, Immigrant Investor Program Office, Stakeholder Engagement Branch, or any successors to those Offices or Branch. Employees of the Department of Homeland Security shall direct all persons making inquiries regarding the regional center program applicable to certain cases under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b) to the channels of communication or offices listed in subparagraph (A). Nothing in this subparagraph may be construed to prevent Department employees from directing inquiries to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall maintain a written or electronic log of— all communications described in subparagraph (A), which shall reference the date, time, and subject of the communication, and the identity of the Department official, if any, to whom the inquiry was forwarded; with respect to written communications described in subsection (c)(1), the date the communication was received, the identities of the sender and addressee, and the subject of the communication; and with respect to oral communications described in subsection (c)(2), the date on which the communication occurred, the participants in the conversation or meeting, and the subject of the communication. The log of communications described in clause
(i)shall be made publicly available in accordance with section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act ). If, as a result of a communication with an official of the Department of Homeland Security, a person or entity inquiring about a specific case or generally about the regional center program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act received generally applicable and non-case specific information about program requirements or administration that has not been made publicly available by the Department, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, not later than 30 days after the communication of such information to such person or entity, shall publish such information on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website as an update to the relevant Frequently Asked Questions page or by some other comparable mechanism. Any person who violates the prohibition on preferential treatment under this section or intentionally violates the reporting requirements under subsection
(c)shall be disciplined in accordance with paragraph (2). Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a graduated set of sanctions based on the severity of the violation referred to in paragraph (1), which may include, in addition to any criminal or civil penalties that may be imposed— written reprimand; suspension; demotion; or removal. Nothing in this section may be construed to modify any law, regulation, or policy regarding the handling or disclosure of classified information. The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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