ACCESS TO VAWA PROTECTION REGARDLESS OF MANNER OF ENTRY.

SEC. 832. ACCESS TO VAWA PROTECTION REGARDLESS OF MANNER OF ENTRY. (a) Information on Certain Convictions and Limitation on Petitions for K Nonimmigrant Petitioners.—(1) 214(d) amendment.—Section 214(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(d)) is amended—(A) by striking “(d)” and inserting “(d)(1)”; (B) by inserting after the second sentence “Such information shall include information on any criminal convictions of the petitioner for any specified crime.”; (C) by striking “Attorney General” and inserting “Secretary of Homeland Security” each place it appears; and (D) by adding at the end the following: “(2)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), a consular officer may not approve a petition under paragraph (1) unless the officer has verified that—“(i) the petitioner has not, previous to the pending petition, petitioned under paragraph (1) with respect to two or more applying aliens; and 119 STAT. 3067“(ii) if the petitioner has had such a petition previously approved, 2 years have elapsed since the filing of such previously approved petition. “(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may, in the Secretary’s discretion, waive the limitations in subparagraph (A) if justification exists for such a waiver. Except in extraordinary circumstances and subject to subparagraph (C), such a waiver shall not be granted if the petitioner has a record of violent criminal offenses against a person or persons. “(C)(i) The Secretary of Homeland Security is not limited by the criminal court record and shall grant a waiver of the condition described in the second sentence of subparagraph (B) in the case of a petitioner described in clause (ii). “(ii) A petitioner described in this clause is a petitioner who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty and who is or was not the primary perpetrator of violence in the relationship upon a determination that—“(I) the petitioner was acting in self-defense; “(II) the petitioner was found to have violated a protection order intended to protect the petitioner; or “(III) the petitioner committed, was arrested for, was convicted of, or pled guilty to committing a crime that did not result in serious bodily injury and where there was a connection between the crime and the petitioner’s having been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. “(iii) In acting on applications under this subparagraph, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider any credible evidence relevant to the application. The determination of what evidence is credible and the weight to be given that evidence shall be within the sole discretion of the Secretary. “(3) In this subsection: “(A) The terms ‘domestic violence’, ‘sexual assault’, ‘child abuse and neglect’, ‘dating violence’, ‘elder abuse’, and ‘stalking’ have the meaning given such terms in section 3 of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. “(B) The term ‘specified crime’ means the following: “(i) Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, dating violence, elder abuse, and stalking. “(ii) Homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or an attempt to commit any of the crimes described in this clause. “(iii) At least three convictions for crimes relating to a controlled substance or alcohol not arising from a single act.”. (2) 214(r) amendment.—Section 214(r) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(r)) is amended—(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after the second sentence “Such information shall include information on any criminal convictions of the petitioner for any specified crime.”; and (B) by adding at the end the following: “(4)(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall create a database for the purpose of tracking multiple visa petitions filed for 119 STAT. 3068 fiancé(e)s and spouses under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K). Upon approval of a second visa petition under section 101(a)(15)(K) for a fiancé(e) or spouse filed by the same United States citizen petitioner, the petitioner shall be notified by the Secretary that information concerning the petitioner has been entered into the multiple visa petition tracking database. All subsequent fiancé(e) or spouse nonimmigrant visa petitions filed by that petitioner under such section shall be entered in the database. “(B)(i) Once a petitioner has had two fiancé(e) or spousal petitions approved under clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K), if a subsequent petition is filed under such section less than 10 years after the date the first visa petition was filed under such section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify both the petitioner and beneficiary of any such subsequent petition about the number of previously approved fiancé(e) or spousal petitions listed in the database. “(ii) A copy of the information and resources pamphlet on domestic violence developed under section 833(a) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 shall be mailed to the beneficiary along with the notification required in clause (i). “(5) In this subsection: “(A) The terms ‘domestic violence’, ‘sexual assault’, ‘child abuse and neglect’, ‘dating violence’, ‘elder abuse’, and ‘stalking’ have the meaning given such terms in section 3 of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. “(B) The term ‘specified crime’ means the following: “(i) Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, dating violence, elder abuse, and stalking. “(ii) Homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or an attempt to commit any of the crimes described in this clause. “(iii) At least three convictions for crimes relating to a controlled substance or alcohol not arising from a single act.”. (3) Effective date.—The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Limitation on Use of Certain Information.—The fact that an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)) is aware of any information disclosed under the amendments made by this section or under section 833 shall not be used to deny the alien eligibility for relief under any other provision of law.