,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhgd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #bf 7legislative day1 ,october #ai71 #bjbj,ms4 ,hassan 7for herself and ,mr4 ,johnson7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to improve the ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement ,homeland ,security ,investigations' ,visa ,security ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,visa ,security ,expansion ,act4 #b4 ,visa security 7a7 ,visa security presence at high-,risk posts ,section #dbh of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #bcf7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subsection 7a7 and inserting the following3 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,consular officer ,the term consular officer has the meaning given such term under section #aja7;a77#i7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#i774 7#b7 ,risk-based assignment ,the term risk-based assignment means the assignment of visa security presence at a diplomatic or consular post based on relative need1 according to the site selection criteria described in subsection 7e77#a77;,b77iii74 7#c7 ,visa security presence ,the term visa security presence means enhanced security at a diplomatic or consular post using any method described in subsection 7e77#a77;,b77iv74 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7e77#a7-- 7,a7 by striking ,the ,secretary and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,authorization ,the ,secretary 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,risk-based assignments 7i7 ,in general ,during the #aj-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the ,visa ,security ,expansion ,act1 the ,secretary shall make annual risk-based assignments to provide visa security presence at not fewer than #b additional diplomatic and consular posts at which visas are issued4 7ii7 ,limitation ,the total number of embassies or consulates with visa security presence during the period specified in clause 7i7 may not exceed #ge1 unless the ,secretary certifies that exceeding this limit is necessary to respond to an imminent national security threat4 7iii7 ,site selection criteria ,the criteria for site selection described in this clause are-- 7,i7 the number of nationals of a country in which any of the diplomatic and consular posts referred to in clause 7i7 are located who were identified during the previous year as a known or suspected terrorist in a ,united ,states ,government database2 7,,ii7 the level of cooperation given by the government of such country to assist with the counterterrorism efforts of the ,united ,states2 7,,iii7 information analyzing the presence1 activity1 or movement of terrorist organizations 7as defined in section #bab7;a77#c77;,b77vi7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;a77#c77;,b77vi777 within or through such country2 7,,iv7 information analyzing ,security ,advisory ,opinions issued by the ,security ,advisory ,opinion ,unit regarding nationals of a country in which any of the diplomatic and consular posts referred to in clause 7i7 are located2 7,v7 information analyzing the adequacy of the border and immigration controls of such country2 and 7,,vi7 any other criteria the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7iv7 ,visa security presence 7,i7 ,in general ,the visa security presence required under clause 7i7 may be achieved primarily by assigning trained ,department visa security agents to a selected embassy or consulate1 provided that the ,department issues a report to ,congress explaining why the placement of visa security agents is the most cost effective means for achieving a visa security presence at the embassy or consulate4 7,,ii7 ,alternate visa security presence ,if the ,secretary is unable to justify the placement of visa security agents under subclause 7,i71 the visa security presence required under clause 7i7 may be achieved by assigning a regional visa security agent from the ,department who will travel to conduct in-person vetting for high priority applications4 4 7b7 ,counterterrorism vetting and screening ,section #dbh7;e77#b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #bcf7;e77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,c7 as subparagraph 7,d72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,b7 the following3 7,c7 ,screen any such applications against the appropriate criminal1 national security1 and terrorism databases maintained by the ,federal ,government4 4 7c7 ,training and hiring ,section #dbh7;e77#f77;,a7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #bcf7;e77#f77;,a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,the ,secretary shall ensure1 to the extent possible1 that any employees and inserting ,the ,secretary1 acting through the appropriate official1 shall provide training to any employees2 and 7#b7 by striking shall be provided the necessary training4 7d7 ,interagency cooperation 7#a7 ,space and resources ,upon the selection of a post by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to provide visa security presence 7as defined in section #dbh7;a77#c7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb1 as added by subsection 7a77#a771 the ,secretary of ,state shall ensure1 to the extent practicable1 that visa security units are provided with sufficient space and resources within the post to carry out the functions described in section #dbh7;e7 of such ,act 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #bcf7;e774 7#b7 ,report to congress ,if the ,secretary of ,state is unable to provide sufficient space and resources for a post selected by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security in accordance with paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit a report to ,congress that details the reasons it would be impracticable to provide such space and resources4 #c4 ,metrics 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall submit a report to ,congress and to the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states that outlines the performance measurement process established pursuant to subsection 7b7 by which the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall evaluate the performance of the visa security units4 7b7 ,establishment of performance measurement process ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall establish and continue to use a performance measurement process for the ,visa ,security ,program1 which shall include-- 7#a7 using objective and quantifiable performance metrics and targets2 7#b7 collecting and analyzing data to determine whether targeted levels of performance have been achieved2 7#c7 taking actions to address gaps between desired and actual performance2 and 7#d7 updating or revising performance metrics1 as necessary4 7c7 ,,gao review ,not later than #abj days after the receipt of the report required under subsection 7a71 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit a report to ,congress containing the results of its review of the validity and reliability of the performance measurement process established by the ,department of ,homeland ,security to evaluate the performance of the visa security units4 #d4 ,visa security fee 7a7 ,in general ,after submitting the report required under section #c7;a71 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall-- 7#a7 establish a security fee to be paid with all nonimmigrant visas applications2 and 7#b7 use the security fee established pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 to offset the operating costs of-- 7,a7 expanding the establishment of visa security presence at additional posts2 and 7,b7 at the discretion of the ,secretaries1 existing visa security units4 7b7 ,fee administration ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall-- 7#a7 charge the fee required under subsection 7a7 in support of the ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement ,visa ,security ,program2 7#b7 initially deposit such fees into the ,consular ,border ,security ,program ,account or into another account of the ,department of ,state2 and 7#c7 regularly transfer the amounts deposited pursuant to paragraph 7#b7 into the ,immigration ,examinations ,fee ,account established under section #bhf7m7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #acef7m774 #e4 ,annual report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter until ,december #ca1 #bjcj1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall submit a law enforcement sensitive report to ,congress on the security of the nonimmigrant visa screening process for each post at which ,department of ,homeland ,security visa security personnel are not assigned4 7b7 ,contents ,the report submitted pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 the identification by the consular or diplomatic post of the methods most commonly used by criminals1 terrorist1 and others to attempt to exploit the nonimmigrant visa process to enter the ,united ,states2 7#b7 the process used by the post to interdict criminals1 terrorists1 and others who would exploit the nonimmigrant visa process to enter the ,united ,states2 7#c7 a description of the counterterrorism and counterfraud training provided by the consular and diplomatic post to visa adjudication officers2 7#d7 the number of personnel at the post trained as immigration law enforcement officers who regularly conduct in person interviews with visa applicants2 7#e7 the annual number of nominations to the terrorism watch list or modifications to terrorism watch list entries made by personnel at the post in charge of nonimmigrant visa adjudications2 7#f7 the number of nonimmigrant visas refused in the past year on the basis of derogatory information that indicates the applicant is a potential terrorist threat2 and 7#g7 the steps the post will take to improve nonimmigrant visa adjudication and visa screening during the following #e years4