Speech #1050082386

Mr. Speaker. I am happy to have played a role in the creation of the Religious Worker Immigrant Visa Program in 1990. I support these visas since they allow American religious denominations. large and small. to benefit by the addition of committed religious workers from overseas. The visa program expires at the end of the fiscal year. September 30. This substitute amendment to S. 1198 extends the program for 3 additional years. until October 2000. When the program was created. a sunset date was included because of congressional concerns about potential fraud. Recently. the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State Department have strongly indicated that these earlier concerns about fraud have. in fact. proved warranted. The State Departments assistant secretary of state for consular affairs wrote to me the Department has. quote. uncovered a troubling number of scams. both individual and organized. seeking to exploit this category to obtain immigration benefits illegally. Most problematic are those cases that involved organized fraud rings in which documents or religious institutions in the United States are fabricated or when the applicant colludes with a member of a religious institution in the United States to misrepresent either his or her qualifications with the position to which the applicant is destined. The American Embassy in Moscow discovered a fraud ring in New York which fabricated documentation of several religious denominations in New York City on behalf of applicants who had no religious training and no intention of taking up religious occupations in the United States. Several consular offices have reported suspicions that some churches in the United States have created fictitious positions solely to help an alien procure an immigration benefit. end quote. Extending the program for another 3 years will allow for further investigation of the misuse of religious worker visas. We will have time to accomplish what the State Department considers prudent. that is. quote. to follow this program closely to see what new fraud patterns emerge and what new tools the Department may need to deter them. end quote. It is in everyones interest to combat fraud for. as the State Department notes. quote. for the first time we will reach the statutory limit of 5.000 religious worker immigrant visas this fiscal year. Any future growth in the use of the program will cause the development of a waiting list. This will mean that each visa fraudulently obtained will delay the issuance of an immigrant visa to legitimate religious workers. end quote. This substitute amendment to S. 1198 also includes a provision added to the Senate bill by Senator HATCH. The provision would allow the Secretary of State to waive or reduce visa processing fees for aliens coming to the United States for purposes Involving health or nursing care. the providing of food or housing. job training. or any other similar direct service or assistance to the poor and needy here in the United States. Lastly. S. 1198 extends the time period last years immigration bill gave the INS to reduce the number of documents acceptable for employment verification purposes. The INS informs us that the agency cannot. within the original deadline of the end of the month. issue appropriate regulations and properly educate employers. The bill. therefore. grants the INS a 6month extension of that deadline.