,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bihi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #bh 
7legislative day1 ,september #bb71      
#bjbc,mr4 ,king 7for himself1 ,ms4      
,murkowski1 and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7         
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide for eligibility for ,e-#a   
and ,e-#b nonimmigrant visas for        
nationals of ,iceland4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the ,nordic 
,trader and ,investor ,parity ,act4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress makes the following
 findings3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states and
 ,iceland have a long and steady        
bilateral relationship4  7#b7           
,diplomatic relations between ,iceland  
and the ,united ,states may be traced   
back to ,july #g1 #aida1 on which date  
members of the ,united ,states ,armed   
,forces arrived in ,iceland as part of--
 7,a7 a bilateral defense agreement2 and
  7,b7 ,presidential ,proclamation      

#bdhg1 dated ,may #bg1 #aida 7relating  
to an unlimited national emergency in   
the ,united ,states74  7#c7 ,on ,june   
#ag1 #aidd1 the ,united ,states was the 
first country to recognize the          
independent ,republic of ,iceland4  7#d7
 ,in #aidi1 ,iceland became a founding  
member of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty  
,organization4  7#e7 ,on ,may #e1 #aiea1
 the ,united ,states and ,iceland       
entered into the bilateral ,defense     
agreement pursuant to the ,north        
,atlantic ,treaty signed at ,reykjavik  
,may #e1 #aiea 7#b ,,ust #aaie2 ,,tias  
#bbff71 which provides for the defense  
of ,iceland4  7#f7 ,the ,united ,states 
is the largest trading partner of       
,iceland1 accounting for approximately  
#bj percent of ,iceland's total trade in
 goods and services4  7#g7 ,iceland     
serves the commercial and trading       
interests of the ,united ,states        
economy1 and ,icelandic companies bring 
investments and jobs to the ,united     
,states4  7#h7 ,with #a_/c of all       

visitors to ,iceland arriving from the  
,united ,states1 ,iceland is a growing  
tourist destination for the people of   
the ,united ,states4 ,a visa is not     
required for ,united ,states citizens   
seeking to visit ,iceland4  7#i7 ,treaty
 trader visas 7commonly referred to as  
,e-#a visas7 and treaty investor visas  
7commonly referred to as ,e-#b visas7-- 
7,a7 were established to facilitate and 
enhance economic interactions between   
the ,united ,states and other countries2
 and  7,b7 are temporary nonimmigrant   
visas that may be issued to nationals of
 a country with which the ,united       
,states maintains a treaty of           
friendship1 commerce1 and navigation4   
7#aj7 ,an ,e-#a visa may be issued to an
 individual seeking to enter the ,united
 ,states for the purpose of engaging in 
substantial trade4 ,an ,e-#b visa may be
 issued to an individual seeking to     
enter the ,united ,states for the       
purpose of developing and directing the 
operations of an enterprise in which the

 individual has invested4  7#aa7        
,eligibility for ,e-#a and ,e-#b        
nonimmigrant visas for citizens and     
nationals of ,iceland is critical to    
facilitating ,icelandic business and    
investment in the ,united ,states1 and  
such eligibility will benefit the       
economies of both the ,united ,states   
and ,iceland4  7#ab7 ,nationals of more 
than #hj countries are eligible for     
,e-#a or ,e-#b visas4  7#ac7 ,iceland is
 the only ,nordic partner whose         
nationals are not eligible for such     
visas4  7#ad7 ,iceland is #a of only #c 
,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization  
member countries whose nationals are not
 eligible for such visas4  7#ae7        
,iceland is one of very few ,united     
,states allies whose nationals do not   
benefit from treaty trader and investor 
visas4 ,providing eligibility for such  
visas to nationals of ,iceland would    
ensure parity between ,iceland and other
 countries with which the ,united       
,states maintains treaties of           

friendship1 commerce1 and navigation4   
7#af7 ,iceland does not place barriers  
on ,united ,states investors or traders 
wishing to enter the ,icelandic market4 
7#ag7 ,adding ,iceland to the list of   
countries whose nationals are eligible  
for ,e-#a and ,e-#b nonimmigrant visas  
would-- 7,a7 improve the strong         
relationship between the ,united ,states
 and ,iceland2 and  7,b7 promote and    
increase investment in the ,united      
,states by nationals of ,iceland4  #c4  
,eligibility of ,icelandic traders and  
investors for ,e-#a and ,e-#b           
nonimmigrant visas ,for purposes of     
clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 of section         
#aja7;a77#ae77;,e7 of the ,immigration  
and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4     
#aaja7;a77#ae77;,e771 ,iceland shall be 
considered to be a foreign state under  
such section if the ,government of      
,iceland provides similar nonimmigrant  
status to nationals of the ,united      
,states4