H.R. 8628 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8628 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 29, 2022Ms. Slotkin (for herself and Mr. Waltz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To direct the Secretary of State to further surge capacity to better support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Support Our Afghan Partners Act of 2022. 2. Support for Afghan special immigrant visa and refugee applicants (a) Sense of congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should increase support for nationals of Afghanistan who aided the United States mission in Afghanistan during the past twenty years and are now under threat from the Taliban, specifically special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan and referrals of nationals of Afghanistan to the United States Refugee Admissions Program, including through the Priority 2 Designation for nationals of Afghanistan, who remain in Afghanistan or are in third countries. (b) Requirements The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall further surge capacity to better support special immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of Afghanistan and referrals of nationals of Afghanistan to the United States Refugee Admissions Program and who have been approved by the chief of mission, including through the Priority 2 Designation for nationals of Afghanistan, and reduce their application processing times, while ensuring strict and necessary security vetting, including, to the extent practicable, enabling refugee referrals to initiate application processes while still in Afghanistan. (c) Surge capacity described The term surge capacity includes increasing consular personnel to any embassy or consulate in the region processing visa applications for nationals of Afghanistan.