To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to render overstaying a visa a criminal offense, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to subject any alien who remains in the United States after any visa or status under which the alien is lawfully present has expired to: (1) a fine or imprisonment for up to six months, or both, for a first offense; and (2) a fine or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, for any subsequent offense.
Such penalties shall be waived if the overstay was due to medical necessity, public safety, or national security.
An alien convicted of a first offense may not be admitted to the United States for 5 years or granted a visa for 10 years.
An alien convicted of a subsequent offense may not be admitted to the United States at all or granted a visa.
The bill expands the scope of an individual's right to counsel in immigration proceedings and appeals. The government, however, shall not bear the cost of counsel in such proceedings or appeals.
The Department of State may share visa records and related information with a foreign government if in the national interests of the United States.
The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide the State Department with access to National Crime Information Center files for visa adjudications involving a diplomat or government official.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 7, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 7, 2018: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) introduced it on February 7, 2018. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 7, 2018, 3184 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3184 days ago, on February 7, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers