Sec. 3. Transparency
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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 entity, organization, or individual in connection with any aspect of the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ). Activities that constitute preferential treatment under subsection
(a)shall include— working on, or in any way attempting to 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) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ), the standard processing of an application, petition, or benefit for— a regional center; a new commercial enterprise; a job-creating entity; or any person or entity associated with such regional center, new 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 such immigrant visa program. 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) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ), 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 applications or individual petitions under such section that are pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act (other than routine communications with other agencies of the Federal Government regarding the case, including communications involving background checks and litigation defense). 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 advocating for regional center applications or individual petitions under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) that are pending on or after the date of the enactment of this 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 of Homeland Security, 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, other confidential sources, or the intelligence community 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, or reveal classified information. Case-specific communication with persons or entities that are not part of the Department of Homeland Security may not be considered in the adjudication of an application or petition under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) unless the communication is included in the record of proceeding of the case. The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the application of 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 petitions or applications under the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ); or seeking non-case-specific information about the immigrant visa program described in such section 203(b)(5). 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 industry stakeholders, petitioners, applicants, and seekers of benefits under the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) may communicate with the Department of Homeland Security regarding specific cases under such section (except for communication made by applicants and petitioners pursuant to regular adjudicatory procedures), or non-case-specific information about the visa program applicable to certain cases under such section, are through— the e-mail address or equivalent channel described in paragraph (1); the National Customer Service Center of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or any successor to that Center; or the Customer Service and Public Engagement Directorate, the Immigrant Investor Program Office, or any successor agencies. Employees of the Department of Homeland Security shall direct communications described in subparagraph
(A)to the channels of communication or offices listed in subparagraph (A). Nothing in this subparagraph may be construed to prevent— any person from communicating with the Ombudsman of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding the immigrant investor program under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ); or the Ombudsman from resolving problems regarding such immigrant investor program under section 452 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 272 ). The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall maintain a written or electronic log of— all communications described in subparagraph
(A)and communications from Members of Congress, which shall reference— the date, time, and subject of the communication; and the identity of the Department of Homeland Security official, if any, to whom the inquiry was forwarded; with respect to written communications described in subsection (c)(1)— the date on which such communication was received; the identities of the sender and addressee; and the subject of such communication; and with respect to oral communications described in subsection (c)(2)— the date on which such communication occurred; the participants in the conversation or meeting; and the subject of such 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 about the immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) 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 shall publish such information on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, not later than 30 days after the communication of such information to such person or entity, as an update to the relevant Frequently Asked Questions page or by some other comparable mechanism. Any person who intentionally 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, in addition to any criminal or civil penalties that may be imposed, a graduated set of sanctions based on the severity of the violation referred to in paragraph (1), which may include 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. Nothing in this section may be construed to create or authorize a private right of action to challenge a decision of an employee of the Department of Homeland Security. This section, and the amendments made by this section, shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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