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HR 2899 IH
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2899
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure open and free journalism access in the People’s Republic of China by establishing a reciprocal relationship between the number of visas issued to state-controlled media workers in China and in the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2011
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. POE of Texas, and Mr. FORBES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure open and free journalism access in the People’s Republic of China by establishing a reciprocal relationship between the number of visas issued to state-controlled media workers in China and in the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON VISAS TO STATE-CONTROLLED MEDIA WORKERS FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Limitation on I-Visas- Section 101(a)(15)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(I)) is amended by inserting ‘subject to section 214(s),’ before ‘upon a basis’.
(b) Reciprocity of Visas to State Media Workers- Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘(s)(1) In the case of an alien who is a state-controlled media worker from the People’s Republic of China and is seeking classification under section 101(a)(15)(I), the Attorney General may only issue a visa to such an alien upon a basis of reciprocity with visas issued by the People’s Republic of China to nationals of the United States who are employees of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and who seek to enter the People’s Republic of China solely to engage in such vocation.
‘(2) For purposes of this subsection--
‘(A) the term ‘state-controlled media worker from the People’s Republic of China’ means a representative of a media organization owned, operated, or controlled by the People’s Republic of China, including--
‘(i) China Central Television;
‘(ii) China Daily;
‘(iii) China National Radio;
‘(iv) China News Service;
‘(v) China Radio International;
‘(vi) China Youth Daily;
‘(vii) Economic Daily;
‘(viii) Global Times;
‘(ix) Guangming Daily;
‘(x) Legal Daily;
‘(xi) Liberation Army Daily;
‘(xii) People’s Daily; or
‘(xiii) Xinhua News Agency; and
‘(B) the term ‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’ means--
‘(i) the entity described under the Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011; and
‘(ii) any other entity that engages in broadcasting activities as a result of such Act.’.
SEC. 3. REVOCATION OF CERTAIN VISAS; NONIMMIGRANT STATUS.
(a) Revocation of Certain Visas- Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall revoke a sufficient number of visas issued to state-controlled media workers from the People’s Republic of China so that the remaining number of such visas does not exceed the number of visas issued by the People’s Republic of China to nationals of the United States who are employees of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and who seek to enter the People’s Republic of China solely to engage in such vocation.
(b) Revocation of Certain Nonimmigrant Status- Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall revoke the nonimmigrant status of a sufficient number of aliens who are state-controlled media workers from the People’s Republic of China and who entered the United States as nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(I)) so that the remaining number of such aliens with a valid immigration status who are present in the United States does not exceed the number of nationals of the United States who are employees of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and who entered the People’s Republic of China under a nonimmigrant visa solely to engage in such vocation.
(c) Definitions- In this section the terms ‘state-controlled media workers from the People’s Republic of China’ and ‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’ have the meanings given such terms in section 214(s)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(s)(2)).
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.2899 as Introduced in House Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011
