Bill > HR583

This bill, the Timely Repatriation Act, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to publish a report every six months detailing countries that refuse or unreasonably delay the repatriation of their nationals, or have a high rate of such failures. "Repatriation" in this context refers to a country accepting back its citizens or residents who are in the United States and are subject to removal. If a country is listed for failing to repatriate its nationals, the Secretary of State will be prohibited from issuing visas to attendants, servants, and personal employees of that country's diplomats and officials, and will reduce the number of visas available for those diplomats and officials by 10% every six months the country remains listed. However, the Secretary of Homeland Security can exempt a country if the number of outstanding non-repatriations (individuals a country has refused or delayed accepting back) is less than 10% over the preceding three years. The bill also includes provisions for national security and temporary exigent circumstances waivers, and requires notice to law enforcement and potentially crime victims when individuals whose repatriation was refused or delayed are released from detention.