110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 888
To provide for the admission to the United States of nonimmigrant
business facilitation visitors.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2007
Mr. MEEKS of New York (for himself and Mr. FEENEY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for the admission to the United States of nonimmigrant
business facilitation visitors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Business Travel Facilitation Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. BUSINESS FACILITATION VISITORS.
Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(s) Business Facilitation Visitors-
`(1) IN GENERAL- For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(B), the term `visiting
the United States temporarily for business' includes visiting the United
States temporarily as a business facilitation visitor, as defined in paragraph
(2).
`(2) DEFINITION OF BUSINESS FACILITATION VISITOR- For purposes of this
subsection, a business facilitation visitor is an alien who is visiting
the United States temporarily to--
`(A) provide services pursuant to a qualifying services contract, as
defined in paragraph (7); or
`(B) with respect to personnel of a United States entity--
`(i) to provide management or technical training to such personnel;
or
`(ii) to receieve management or technical training from such personnel.
`(A) IN GENERAL- No alien may be admitted or provided status as a business
facilitation visitor unless--
`(i) the alien is a national of a country that the Secretary of Homeland
Security has certified as having entered into arrangements with the
United States to combat fraud in the application for visas to the
United States through the use of measures such as machine readable
passports and biometric technology; and
`(ii) the consular officer to whom the alien applies for a visa under
the provisions of section 101(a)(15)(B) determines, based on evidence
provided by the alien, that the conditions described in this paragraph
have been met.
`(B) CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO PROVISION OF SERVICES- In the case of
the provision of services as described in paragraph (2)(A), the conditions
described in this paragraph are that--
`(i) all of the alien's remuneration and expenses related to the provision
of such services will be paid by the alien's employer; and
`(ii) the alien is qualified to provide such services, as demonstrated
by the alien's possession of--
`(I) expert knowledge of the entity's technology or operations on
the basis of technical training or experience; and
`(II) all licenses or other authorizations required to provide the
services in the United States.
`(C) CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO PROVISION OR RECEIPT OF MANAGEMENT OR
TECHNICAL TRAINING- In the case of the provision or receipt of management
or technical training as described in paragraph (2)(B), the conditions
described in this paragraph are that--
`(i) the alien is an employee of a firm, corporation, or other legal
entity that--
`(I) is affiliated through ownership or control with the United
States entity whose personnel will be providing or receiving the
training;
`(II) has entered into a joint venture or similar agreement with
the United States entity; or
`(III) has purchased, or is considering purchasing, goods or services
from, or has sold goods or services to, the United States entity,
and the training is related to such purchase or sale;
`(ii) all of the alien's remuneration and expenses related to the
provision or receipt of such training will be paid by the alien's
employer;
`(iii) in the case of an alien seeking to provide management training,
the alien has--
`(I) at least five years of experience directly related to management
or management training; and
`(II) detailed knowledge of the business operations of the alien's
employer; and
`(iv) in the case of an alien seeking to receive management training,
the alien holds, or will hold within one year of completing the training,
a management level position within the alien's employer.
`(4) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED ADMISSION-
`(A) BUSINESS FACILITATION VISITORS PROVIDING SERVICES- The period of
authorized admission for an alien admitted as a business facilitation
visitor providing professional services as described in paragraph (2)(A)
shall not exceed one year. However, the Secretary of Homeland Security
may grant such alien a single extension of not more than six months
if the Secretary determines, based on evidence provided by the alien,
that--
`(i) there has been an unforeseen delay in completing the provision
of services described in the qualifying services contract; and
`(ii) replacing the alien with another provider of professional services
would further delay or otherwise inhibit fulfillment of the terms
of the contract.
`(B) BUSINESS FACILITATION VISITORS PROVIDING OR RECEIVING MANAGEMENT
OR TECHNICAL TRAINING- The period of authorized admission for an alien
admitted as a business facilitation visitor providing or receiving management
or technical training, as described in paragraph (2)(B), may not exceed
one year.
`(5) NO CHANGE OF STATUS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, an alien admitted as a business facilitation visitor shall not be
eligible for a change of nonimmigrant status or for an adjustment from
nonimmigrant to immigrant status during the alien's stay in the United
States.
`(6) AUTHORIZATION TO COUNTER PATTERN OF FRAUD- If the Secretary of Homeland
Security finds that nationals of a country have engaged in a pattern of
fraud involving visa applications or other immigration matters, the Secretary
may prohibit such nationals from admission to the United States as business
facilitation visitors for such period of time as the Secretary determines
to be appropriate.
`(7) DEFINITION OF QUALIFYING SERVICES CONTRACT- For purposes of this
subsection, a qualifying services contract is a contract between a foreign
provider of professional services and a United States entity, the terms
of which include--
`(A) the time period during which the alien will be required to be present
in the United States in order to fulfill the terms of the contract;
`(B) the duties to be performed by the alien in the United States;
`(C) provisions stating that--
`(i) the alien's remuneration and expenses will be paid by the foreign
provider;
`(ii) the United States entity will provide the alien with working
conditions comparable to those of similarly situated providers of
professional services to the entity and consistent with the applicable
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201
et seq.); and
`(iii) the alien possesses the credentials necessary to provide the
services covered by the contract, including any licenses or other
authorizations required to provide the services in the United States;
and
`(D) a provision stating the respective responsibilities of the foreign
provider for ensuring the alien's--
`(i) compliance with the terms of the alien's admission to the United
States; and
`(ii) return to the alien's home country at the conclusion of the
period for which the alien is admitted.'.
END
