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Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Rick Scott (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) in introducing the Visa Security Act to end China’s access to 10-year multi-entry visas. The bill would reinstate the policy in place before 2014, which granted People’s Republic of China (PRC) applicants one-year multi-entry visas. PRC applicants, some of whom engage in espionage and other malign activity, should undergo regular consular interviews and screening to ensure they have a legitimate reason to travel to the United States.
“It is long overdue for the United States to fully address the imbalances in our relationship with China and stop the Chinese Communist Party from exploiting our programs and openness,” Rubio said. “Terminating China’s access to 10-year multi-entry visas is a logical step in overturning bad policy by the Obama Administration. China should not be given special treatment that is out of step with our relationship, the abuses they are committing, and its malign activities in the U.S.”
“Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has had access to 10-year visas business and tourist, which allow Chinese citizens to enter and exit the United States as they please,” Cotton said. “In issuing these visas, the U.S. has welcomed the CCP, its intelligence agencies, and those they have coopted with open arms. This was a bad decision in 2014 and it’s time we fixed this error.”
“The Obama/Biden appeasement of Communist China did nothing but bolster General Secretary Xi’s power,” Scott said. “We know Communist China will stop at nothing to steal American technology and intellectual property in an attempt to dominate the world. There is no reason Communist China should have been given preferential visa treatment, and I’m proud to work with my colleagues to continue to hold them accountable.”
“Until the Chinese Communist Party ends its systematic violations of human rights and religious freedom, the United States cannot remain complicit by offering 10-year multi-entry visas to Chinese nationals,” Blackburn said. “The Visa Security Act will stop the revolving door the CCP has used for half a decade and instead demand accountability in the global human rights effort.”
“China poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States,” Cruz said. “The Chinese Communist Party engages in propaganda and censorship to control what Americans see, hear, and ultimately think about China. It’s long past time to end the Chinese Communist Party’s abuse of our visa system. This bill counters China’s aggression and advances American security.”
Bill Summary:
The Visa Security Act would prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving 10-year B-1/B-2 visas until the Secretary of State certifies that the PRC has:
Ceased its campaign of economic and industrial espionage against the United States;
Ended its provocative and coercive behavior towards Taiwan;
Withdrawn its national security law with respect to Hong Kong and fully upheld its commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984;
Ended its systematic oppression of Uighurs, Tibetans, and other ethnic groups;
Retracted its unlawful claims in the South China Sea; and
Released foreign hostages and wrongfully detained individuals in the People’s Republic of China.
Under this legislation, Chinese citizens would be eligible for one-year multi-entry visas. This policy would represent a return to the pre-2014 visa status quo.
The legislation does not apply to Taiwan or certain residents of Hong Kong.