Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 4444. which I introduced at the request of the administration. The bill is designed to streamline and modernize the operation of our immigration laws as they apply to the visa issuance process abroad. The responsibility to consider visa applications is entrusted by law to the consular officers of the Department of State. These officers must consider literally millions of visa applications each year. The sheer magnitude of this task makes it incumbent upon Congress to review periodically the laws governing this responsibility to ensure that outmoded or only marginally useful provisions are either altered or repealed. It is for this reason that H.R. 4444 deletes the burdensome requirement that consular officers create and retain duplicate copies of all immigrant files. Similarly. the bill eliminates certain fingerprinting requirements which have proven to be of no law enforcement value. Other changes would ease the requirements for foreign adoptions and clarify the conditions under which a U.S. citizen may expatriate himself.
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immigrant immigration visa