Sec. 4. Visa processing
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Notwithstanding any other provision of law and not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall— require United States diplomatic and consular missions to conduct visa interviews for nonimmigrant visa applications determined to require a consular interview in an expeditious manner, consistent with national security requirements, and in recognition of resource allocation considerations, such as the need to ensure provision of consular services to citizens of the United States; and set a goal of interviewing nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 15 days of receipt of application, subject to the conditions outlined in paragraph (1).
Not later than 30 days after the end of the first 6 months after the implementation of subsection (a), and not later than 30 days after June 30 and after December 31 of each subsequent year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report that provides— data substantiating the efforts of the Secretary of State to meet the requirements and goals described in subsection (a); any factors that have negatively impacted the efforts of the Secretary to meet such requirements and goals; and any measures that the Secretary plans to implement to meet such requirements and goals.
On an annual basis, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a strategic plan that describes the resources needed to carry out subsection (a), including a 10-year forecast of demand for nonimmigrant visas in the key high-growth markets, including— a description of the methodology used to make such forecasts that— describes the internal and external studies utilized to prepare such forecasts; and indicates whether such methodology utilizes the Department of Commerce’s analysis of visitor arrival projections; a comparison of the Department of State’s nonimmigrant visa demand projections and the Department of Commerce’s visitor arrival projections by country; and a description of the practices and procedures currently used by each United States diplomatic and consular mission to manage nonimmigrant visa workload.
In this section, the term appropriate committees of the Congress means— the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. Nothing in subsection
(a)may be construed to affect a consular officer’s authority— to deny a visa application under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1201(g) ); or to initiate any necessary or appropriate security-related check or clearance. The completion of a security-related check or clearance shall not be subject to the time limits set out in subsection (a).
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U.S. Code