,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #edcj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #i1 #bjad ,mr4 ,vargas 7for himself and ,mr4 ,rooney7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 to establish processes for certain aliens located in ,iraq1 ,saudi ,arabia1 ,lebanon1 ,jordan1 ,kuwait1 ,turkey1 or ,syria to apply for admission to the ,united ,states as refugees1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,nineveh ,plain ,refugee ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,in-country processes for certain aliens applying for refugee status 7a7 ,in-,country processes ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall establish or use existing processes in ,iraq1 ,saudi ,arabia1 ,lebanon1 ,jordan1 ,kuwait1 ,turkey1 and ,syria through which an alien who is located in such a country and described in section #c7;b7 may apply and interview for admission to the ,united ,states as a refugee under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg74 ,such an alien shall be considered a refugee of special humanitarian concern eligible for ,priority #b processing under the refugee resettlement priority system4 7b7 ,suspension of in-,country processes 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 may suspend the processes under subsection 7a7 in a foreign country listed in subsection 7a7 for a period not to exceed #ij days1 if the ,secretary determines that such a suspension is appropriate4 7#b7 ,extension ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 may extend a suspension under paragraph 7#a7 upon notification to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate1 and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4 7#c7 ,report ,the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the committees listed in paragraph 7#b7 a report that describes the reason for each suspension and extension under this subsection4 #c4 ,aliens eligible to apply for admission to the ,united ,states as a refugee using in-country processes 7a7 ,in general ,in the case of an alien who is within a category of aliens established under subsection 7b71 the alien may establish1 for purposes of admission as a refugee under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg71 that the alien has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race1 religion1 nationality1 membership in a particular social group1 or political opinion by asserting such a fear and asserting a credible basis for concern about the possibility of such persecution4 7b7 ,establishment of categories ,for purposes of subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall establish one or more categories of aliens who are or were nationals or residents of a territory controlled by the group commonly known as the ,islamic ,state of ,iraq and the ,levant 7or any successor name7 in ,iraq1 ,saudi ,arabia1 ,lebanon1 ,jordan1 ,kuwait1 ,turkey1 or ,syria and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution in that country on account of race1 religion1 nationality1 membership in a particular social group1 or political opinion4 7c7 ,exclusion from numerical limitations ,aliens provided ,priority #b processing under the refugee resettlement priority system under this section shall not be counted against any numerical limitation under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg7 for fiscal years #bjad and #bjae4 7d7 ,eligibility for admission as refugee ,no alien shall be denied the opportunity to apply for admission under this section solely because such alien qualifies as an immediate relative or is eligible for any other immigrant classification4 7e7 ,written reasons for denials of refugee status ,each decision to deny an application for refugee status of an alien under this section shall be in writing and shall state1 to the maximum extent feasible1 the reason for the denial4 7f7 ,permitting certain aliens within categories ,to reapply for refugee status ,each alien described in subsection 7b7 who after1 ,june #a1 #bjad1 and before the date of the enactment of this ,act was denied refugee status shall be permitted to reapply for such status4 ,such an application shall be determined taking into account the application of this ,act4 7g7 ,protection of aliens ,in the case that the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 determines that an alien who is located in a foreign country listed in section #b7;a7 and described in subsection 7b7 who has applied for admission to the ,united ,states as a refugee under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg7 using the processes under this ,act is in imminent danger1 the ,secretary shall make a reasonable effort to provide such alien with protection or the immediate removal from that country4 #d4 ,reports 7a7 ,initial report ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall submit to the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate1 and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a report containing plans to expedite the processing of applications for admission to the ,united ,states as refugee under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg7 of aliens described in section #c7;b7 who apply for admission using the processes under the ,act1 including information relating to-- 7#a7 expediting the processing of such refugees for resettlement1 including through temporary expansion of the ,refugee ,corps of ,united ,states ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services2 7#b7 increasing the number of personnel of the ,department of ,state and the ,department of ,homeland ,security devoted to the processing of such applications2 7#c7 enhancing existing systems for conducting background and security checks of such aliens2 and 7#d7 the projections of the ,secretary for the number of refugee interviews that will be conducted in each foreign country listed in section #b7;a7 in each month of fiscal years #bjae and #bjaf4 7b7 ,annual report ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter through #bjaf1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall submit to ,congress an unclassified report1 with a classified annex if necessary1 which includes-- 7#a7 an assessment of the financial1 security1 and personnel considerations and resources necessary to carry out the provisions of this ,act2 7#b7 the number of aliens described in section #c7;b72 7#c7 the number of such aliens who have applied for admission to the ,united ,states as a refugee under section #bjg of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaeg7 using the processes under this ,act2 and 7#d7 in the case of such applications pending for longer than #ahj days1 the reason that refugee status has not been granted in each such case4