JOLT Act of 2015
Latest action · Sep 29, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 29, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2015 or JOLT Act of 2015
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days (in a single 365-day period) if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay.
Revises the secure travel partnership program (the visa waiver program as renamed by this Act) to: (1) authorize DHS to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions.
Expresses the sense of Congress that DHS should, in evaluating countries participating in the secure travel partnership program, give review priority to countries where circumstances indicate that such a review is necessary or desirable.
Directs the Department of State to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) set a goal of interviewing 90% of all nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 10 days of application receipt.
Directs the State Department to: (1) develop and conduct a pilot program for processing visas using secure remote videoconferencing technology, and (2) seek to coordinate enrollment and interview processes for individuals eligible for both a U.S. visa and enrollment in the Global Entry program.
Requires an alien at the time of application for U.S. entry under the secure travel partnership program to have a valid, unexpired electronic passport that incorporates biometric and document authentication identifiers that comply with internationally accepted practices.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 29, 2015 to Nov 9, 2015, with 13 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| R-CO | Cory Gardner | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| R-NV | Dean Heller | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| R-UT | Mike Lee | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Original | Sep 29, 2015 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Oct 5, 2015 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Oct 7, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 29, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Sep 29, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1401 | JOLT Act of 2015 | Related bill | Apr 21, 2015 |
| S 1507 | Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act | Related bill | Jun 4, 2015 |
| HR 2686 | Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act | Related bill | Jul 1, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Border security and unlawful immigration
- Canada
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Homeland Security
- Government information and archives
- Immigration
- Immigration status and procedures
- Judicial review and appeals
- Terrorism
- Travel and tourism
- Visas and passports
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 29, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.