Speaker. Members of the House. H.R. 1312 is a bipartisan measure intended to address the extended delays in visa processing faced by nonprofit arts organizations when they invite foreign artists to perform in the United States. Hosting a performance by a foreign artist or arts group requires. obviously. a great deal of planning. And the host organization has to calendar the event. advertise it. and sell tickets far in advance. And these efforts are made with the expectation that the visa petitions filed by the guest performers will be adjudicated in time for their arrival in the United States. If their adjudication is delayed. it causes a tremendous disruption and has led some arts organizations in the world to stop engaging foreign artists altogether because they cant risk the expensive canceling of performers. Performances by foreign artists give American audiences the opportunity to experience a variety of arts traditions. And when theyre called off. its not just the host organization and the audience that bears the cost. the cancelled show impacts the local economy as well. Current law requires the Department of Homeland Security to process petitions for 0 and P visas within 2 weeks of receipt of a completed petition. And the Department has implemented a premium 15day processing for a $1.000 fee. but when a visa is required to be processed in 14 days. it seems particularly unreasonable to ask a nonprofit entity to pay $1.000 for a 15day service. So. what we do in this measure is strike a balance by giving the Department 30 days. more than twice the current processing time. and if the visa is not processed in 30 days and the petitioner is a nonprofit organization. the bill requires the Department to provide premium processing for no additional fee. Im happy to say that my colleagues. the former Judiciary Committee Chair. JAMES SENSENBRENNER. and the current ranking member.
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visa visas