§ 1356. Disposition of moneys collected under the provisions of this subchapter

(a) Detention, transportation, hospitalization, and all other expenses of detained aliens; expenses of landing stations

All moneys paid into the Treasury to reimburse the Service for detention, transportation, hospitalization, and all other expenses of detained aliens paid from the appropriation for the enforcement of this chapter, and all moneys paid into the Treasury to reimburse the Service for expenses of landing stations referred to in section 1223 (b) of this title paid by the Service from the appropriation for the enforcement of this chapter, shall be credited to the appropriation for the enforcement of this chapter for the fiscal year in which the expenses were incurred.

(b) Purchase of evidence

Moneys expended from appropriations for the Service for the purchase of evidence and subsequently recovered shall be reimbursed to the current appropriation for the Service.

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section, or in any other provision of this subchapter, all moneys received in payment of fees and administrative fines and penalties under this subchapter shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts: Provided, however, That all fees received from applicants residing in the Virgin Islands of the United States, and in Guam, required to be paid under section 1351 of this title, shall be paid over to the Treasury of the Virgin Islands and to the Treasury of Guam, respectively.

(d) Schedule of fees

In addition to any other fee authorized by law, the Attorney General shall charge and collect $7 per individual for the immigration inspection of each passenger arriving at a port of entry in the United States, or for the preinspection of a passenger in a place outside of the United States prior to such arrival, aboard a commercial aircraft or commercial vessel.

(e) Limitations on fees

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), no fee shall be charged under subsection (d) of this section for immigration inspection or preinspection provided in connection with the arrival of any passenger, other than aircraft passengers, whose journey originated in the following:

(A) Canada,

(B) Mexico,

(D) any adjacent island (within the meaning of section 1101 (b)(5) of this title).

(2) No fee may be charged under subsection (d) of this section with respect to the arrival of any passenger—

(A) who is in transit to a destination outside the United States, and

(B) for whom immigration inspection services are not provided.

(3) The Attorney General shall charge and collect $3 per individual for the immigration inspection or pre-inspection of each commercial vessel passenger whose journey originated in the United States or in any place set forth in paragraph (1): Provided, That this requirement shall not apply to immigration inspection at designated ports of entry of passengers arriving by ferry, or by Great Lakes vessels on the Great Lakes and connecting waterways when operating on a regular schedule. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “ferry” means a vessel, in other than ocean or coastwise service, having provisions only for deck passengers and/or vehicles, operating on a short run on a frequent schedule between two points over the most direct water route, and offering a public service of a type normally attributed to a bridge or tunnel.

(f) Collection

(1) Each person that issues a document or ticket to an individual for transportation by a commercial vessel or commercial aircraft into the United States shall—

(A) collect from that individual the fee charged under subsection (d) of this section at the time the document or ticket is issued; and

(B) identify on that document or ticket the fee charged under subsection (d) of this section as a Federal inspection fee.

(2) If—

(A) a document or ticket for transportation of a passenger into the United States is issued in a foreign country; and

(B) the fee charged under subsection (d) of this section is not collected at the time such document or ticket is issued;

the person providing transportation to such passenger shall collect such fee at the time such passenger departs from the United States and shall provide such passenger a receipt for the payment of such fee.

(3) The person who collects fees under paragraph (1) or (2) shall remit those fees to the Attorney General at any time before the date that is thirty-one days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the fees are collected, except the fourth quarter payment for fees collected from airline passengers shall be made on the date that is ten days before the end of the fiscal year, and the first quarter payment shall include any collections made in the preceding quarter that were not remitted with the previous payment. Regulations issued by the Attorney General under this subsection with respect to the collection of the fees charged under subsection (d) of this section and the remittance of such fees to the Treasury of the United States shall be consistent with the regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury for the collection and remittance of the taxes imposed by subchapter C of chapter 33 of title 26, but only to the extent the regulations issued with respect to such taxes do not conflict with the provisions of this section.

(g) Provision of immigration inspection and preinspection services

Notwithstanding section 1353b of this title, or any other provision of law, the immigration services required to be provided to passengers upon arrival in the United States on scheduled airline flights shall be adequately provided when needed and at no cost (other than the fees imposed under subsection (d) of this section) to airlines and airline passengers at:

(1) immigration serviced airports, and

(2) places located outside of the United States at which an immigration officer is stationed for the purpose of providing such immigration services.

(h) Disposition of receipts

(1)

(A) There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account which shall be known as the “Immigration User Fee Account”. Notwithstanding any other section of this subchapter, there shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the Immigration User Fee Account all fees collected under subsection (d) of this section, to remain available until expended..^[1] At the end of each 2-year period, beginning with the creation of this account, the Attorney General, following a public rulemaking with opportunity for notice and comment, shall submit a report to the Congress concerning the status of the account, including any balances therein, and recommend any adjustment in the prescribed fee that may be required to ensure that the receipts collected from the fee charged for the succeeding two years equal, as closely as possible, the cost of providing these services.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, all civil fines or penalties collected pursuant to sections 1253 (c), 1321, and 1323 of this title and all liquidated damages and expenses collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the Immigration User Fee Account.

(2)

(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall refund out of the Immigration User Fee Account to any appropriation the amount paid out of such appropriation for expenses incurred by the Attorney General in providing immigration inspection and preinspection services for commercial aircraft or vessels and in—

(i) providing overtime immigration inspection services for commercial aircraft or vessels;

(ii) administration of debt recovery, including the establishment and operation of a national collections office;

(iii) expansion, operation and maintenance of information systems for nonimmigrant control and debt collection;

(iv) detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling to the United States, including training of, and technical assistance to, commercial airline personnel regarding such detection;

(v) providing detention and removal services for inadmissible aliens arriving on commercial aircraft and vessels and for any alien who is inadmissible under section 1182 (a) of this title who has attempted illegal entry into the United States through avoidance of immigration inspection at air or sea ports-of-entry; and

(vi) providing removal and asylum proceedings at air or sea ports-of-entry for inadmissible aliens arriving on commercial aircraft and vessels including immigration removal proceedings resulting from presentation of fraudulent documents and failure to present documentation and for any alien who is inadmissible under section 1182 (a) of this title who has attempted illegal entry into the United States through avoidance of immigration inspection at air or sea ports-of-entry.

The Attorney General shall provide for expenditures for training and assistance described in clause (iv) in an amount, for any fiscal year, not less than 5 percent of the total of the expenses incurred that are described in the previous sentence.

(B) The amounts which are required to be refunded under subparagraph (A) shall be refunded at least quarterly on the basis of estimates made by the Attorney General of the expenses referred to in subparagraph (A). Proper adjustments shall be made in the amounts subsequently refunded under subparagraph (A) to the extent prior estimates were in excess of, or less than, the amount required to be refunded under subparagraph (A).

(i) Reimbursement

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General is authorized to receive reimbursement from the owner, operator, or agent of a private or commercial aircraft or vessel, or from any airport or seaport authority for expenses incurred by the Attorney General in providing immigration inspection services which are rendered at the request of such person or authority (including the salary and expenses of individuals employed by the Attorney General to provide such immigration inspection services). The Attorney General’s authority to receive such reimbursement shall terminate immediately upon the provision for such services by appropriation.

(j) Regulations

The Attorney General may prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(k) Advisory committee

In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Attorney General shall establish an advisory committee, whose membership shall consist of representatives from the airline and other transportation industries who may be subject to any fee or charge authorized by law or proposed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the purpose of covering expenses incurred by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The advisory committee shall meet on a periodic basis and shall advise the Attorney General on issues related to the performance of the inspectional services of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This advice shall include, but not be limited to, such issues as the time periods during which such services should be performed, the proper number and deployment of inspection officers, the level of fees, and the appropriateness of any proposed fee. The Attorney General shall give substantial consideration to the views of the advisory committee in the exercise of his duties.

(l) Report to Congress

In addition to the reporting requirements established pursuant to subsection (h) of this section, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit annually to the Congress, not later than March 31st of each year, a statement of the financial condition of the “Immigration User Fee Account” including beginning account balance, revenues, withdrawals and their purpose, ending balance, projections for the ensuing fiscal year and a full and complete workload analysis showing on a port by port basis the current and projected need for inspectors. The statement shall indicate the success rate of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in meeting the forty-five minute inspection standard and shall provide detailed statistics regarding the number of passengers inspected within the standard, progress that is being made to expand the utilization of United States citizen by-pass, the number of passengers for whom the standard is not met and the length of their delay, locational breakdown of these statistics and the steps being taken to correct any nonconformity.

(m) Immigration Examinations Fee Account

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, all adjudication fees as are designated by the Attorney General in regulations shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into a separate account entitled “Immigration Examinations Fee Account” in the Treasury of the United States, whether collected directly by the Attorney General or through clerks of courts: Provided, however, That all fees received by the Attorney General from applicants residing in the Virgin Islands of the United States, and in Guam, under this subsection shall be paid over to the treasury of the Virgin Islands and to the treasury of Guam: Provided further, That fees for providing adjudication and naturalization services may be set at a level that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing all such services, including the costs of similar services provided without charge to asylum applicants or other immigrants. Such fees may also be set at a level that will recover any additional costs associated with the administration of the fees collected.

(n) Reimbursement of administrative expenses; transfer of deposits to General Fund of United States Treasury

All deposits into the “Immigration Examinations Fee Account” shall remain available until expended to the Attorney General to reimburse any appropriation the amount paid out of such appropriation for expenses in providing immigration adjudication and naturalization services and the collection, safeguarding and accounting for fees deposited in and funds reimbursed from the “Immigration Examinations Fee Account”.

(o) Annual financial reports to Congress

The Attorney General shall prepare and submit annually to Congress statements of financial condition of the “Immigration Examinations Fee Account”, including beginning account balance, revenues, withdrawals, and ending account balance and projections for the ensuing fiscal year.

(p) Additional effective dates

The provisions set forth in subsections (m), (n), and (o) of this section apply to adjudication and naturalization services performed and to related fees collected on or after October 1, 1988.

(q) Land Border Inspection Fee Account

(1)

(A)

(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General is authorized to establish, by regulation, not more than 96 projects under which a fee may be charged and collected for inspection services provided at one or more land border points of entry. Such projects may include the establishment of commuter lanes to be made available to qualified United States citizens and aliens, as determined by the Attorney General.

(ii) This subparagraph shall take effect, with respect to any project described in clause (1) ^[2] that was not authorized to be commenced before September 30, 1996, 30 days after submission of a written plan by the Attorney General detailing the proposed implementation of such project.

(iii) The Attorney General shall prepare and submit on a quarterly basis a status report on each land border inspection project implemented under this subparagraph.

(B) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, may conduct pilot projects to demonstrate the use of designated ports of entry after working hours through the use of card reading machines or other appropriate technology.

(2) All of the fees collected under this subsection, including receipts for services performed in processing forms I–94, I–94W, and I–68, and other similar applications processed at land border ports of entry, shall be deposited as offsetting receipts in a separate account within the general fund of the Treasury of the United States, to remain available until expended. Such account shall be known as the Land Border Inspection Fee Account.

(3)

(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall refund, at least on a quarterly basis amounts to any appropriations for expenses incurred in providing inspection services at land border points of entry. Such expenses shall include—

(i) the providing of overtime inspection services;

(ii) the expansion, operation and maintenance of information systems for nonimmigrant control;

(iii) the hire of additional permanent and temporary inspectors;

(iv) the minor construction costs associated with the addition of new traffic lanes (with the concurrence of the General Services Administration);

(v) the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers travelling to the United States;

(vi) providing for the administration of said account.

(B) The amounts required to be refunded from the Land Border Inspection Fee Account for fiscal years 1992 and thereafter shall be refunded in accordance with estimates made in the budget request of the Attorney General for those fiscal years: Provided, That any proposed changes in the amounts designated in said budget requests shall only be made after notification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate in accordance with section 606 of Public Law 101–162.

(4) The Attorney General will prepare and submit annually to the Congress statements of financial condition of the Land Border Immigration Fee Account, including beginning account balance, revenues, withdrawals, and ending account balance and projection for the ensuing fiscal year.

(r) Breached Bond/Detention Fund

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account which shall be known as the Breached Bond/Detention Fund (in this subsection referred to as the “Fund”).

(2) There shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the Fund all breached cash and surety bonds, in excess of $8,000,000, posted under this chapter which are recovered by the Department of Justice, and amount ^[3] described in section 1255 (i)(3)(b) ^[4] of this title.

(3) Such amounts as are deposited into the Fund shall remain available until expended and shall be refunded out of the Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury, at least on a quarterly basis, to the Attorney General for the following purposes—

(i) for expenses incurred in the collection of breached bonds, and

(ii) for expenses associated with the detention of illegal aliens.

(4) The amounts required to be refunded from the Fund for fiscal year 1998 and thereafter shall be refunded in accordance with estimates made in the budget request of the President for those fiscal years. Any proposed changes in the amounts designated in such budget requests shall only be made after Congressional reprogramming notification in accordance with the reprogramming guidelines for the applicable fiscal year.

(5) The Attorney General shall prepare and submit annually to the Congress, statements of financial condition of the Fund, including the beginning balance, receipts, refunds to appropriations, transfers to the general fund, and the ending balance.

(6) For fiscal year 1993 only, the Attorney General may transfer up to $1,000,000 from the Immigration User Fee Account to the Fund for initial expenses necessary to enhance collection efforts: Provided, That any such transfers shall be refunded from the Fund back to the Immigration User Fee Account by December 31, 1993.

(s) H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account

(1) In general

There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the “H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account”. Notwithstanding any other section of this subchapter, there shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account all fees collected under paragraphs (9) and (11) of section 1184 (c) of this title.

(2) Use of fees for job training

50 percent of amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Labor until expended for demonstration programs and projects described in section 2916a of title 29.

(3) Use of fees for low-income scholarship program

30 percent of the amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Director of the National Science Foundation until expended for scholarships described in section 1869c of title 42 for low-income students enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree in mathematics, engineering, or computer science.

(4) National Science Foundation competitive grant program for K–12 math, science and technology education

(A) In general

10 percent of the amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Director of the National Science Foundation until expended to carry out a direct or matching grant program to support private-public partnerships in K–12 education.

(B) Types of programs covered

The Director shall award grants to such programs, including those which support the development and implementation of standards-based instructional materials models and related student assessments that enable K–12 students to acquire an understanding of science, mathematics, and technology, as well as to develop critical thinking skills; provide systemic improvement in training K–12 teachers and education for students in science, mathematics, and technology; support the professional development of K–12 math and science teachers in the use of technology in the classroom; stimulate system-wide K–12 reform of science, mathematics, and technology in rural, economically disadvantaged regions of the United States; provide externships and other opportunities for students to increase their appreciation and understanding of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (including summer institutes sponsored by an institution of higher education for students in grades 7–12 that provide instruction in such fields); involve partnerships of industry, educational institutions, and community organizations to address the educational needs of disadvantaged communities; provide college preparatory support to expose and prepare students for careers in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology; and provide for carrying out systemic reform activities under section 1862 (a)(1) of title 42.

(5) Use of fees for duties relating to petitions

5 percent of the amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Homeland Security until expended to carry out duties under paragraphs (1) and (9) of section 1184 (c) of this title related to petitions made for nonimmigrants described in section 1101 (a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of this title, under paragraph (1)(C) or (D) of section 1154 ^[5] of this title related to petitions for immigrants described in section 1153 (b) of this title.

(6) Use of fees for application processing and enforcement

For fiscal year 1999, 4 percent of the amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Labor until expended for decreasing the processing time for applications under section 1182 (n)(1) of this title and for carrying out section 1182 (n)(2) of this title. Beginning with fiscal year 2000, 5 percent of the amounts deposited into the H–1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Labor until expended for decreasing the processing time for applications under section 1182 (n)(1) of this title and section 1182 (a)(5)(A) of this title.

(t) Genealogy Fee

(1) There is hereby established the Genealogy Fee for providing genealogy research and information services. This fee shall be deposited as offsetting collections into the Examinations Fee Account. Fees for such research and information services may be set at a level that will ensure the recovery of the full costs of providing all such services.

(2) The Attorney General will prepare and submit annually to Congress statements of the financial condition of the Genealogy Fee.

(3) Any officer or employee of the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall collect fees prescribed under regulation before disseminating any requested genealogical information.

(u) Premium fee for employment-based petitions and applications

The Attorney General is authorized to establish and collect a premium fee for employment-based petitions and applications. This fee shall be used to provide certain premium-processing services to business customers, and to make infrastructure improvements in the adjudications and customer-service processes. For approval of the benefit applied for, the petitioner/applicant must meet the legal criteria for such benefit. This fee shall be set at $1,000, shall be paid in addition to any normal petition/application fee that may be applicable, and shall be deposited as offsetting collections in the Immigration Examinations Fee Account. The Attorney General may adjust this fee according to the Consumer Price Index.

(v) Fraud Prevention and Detection Account

(1) In general

There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the “Fraud Prevention and Detection Account”. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account all fees collected under paragraph (12) or (13) of section 1184 (c) of this title.

(2) Use of fees to combat fraud

(A) Secretary of State

One-third of the amounts deposited into the Fraud Prevention and Detection Account shall remain available to the Secretary of State until expended for programs and activities at United States embassies and consulates abroad—

(i) to increase the number ^[6] diplomatic security personnel assigned exclusively or primarily to the function of preventing and detecting fraud by applicants for visas described in subparagraph (H)(i), (H)(ii), or (L) of section 1101 (a)(15) of this title;

(ii) otherwise to prevent and detect visa fraud, including primarily fraud by applicants for visas described in subparagraph (H)(i), (H)(ii), or (L) of section 1101 (a)(15) of this title, in cooperation with the Secretary of Homeland Security or pursuant to the terms of a memorandum of understanding or other agreement between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security; and

(iii) upon request by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to assist such Secretary in carrying out the fraud prevention and detection programs and activities described in subparagraph (B).

(B) Secretary of Homeland Security

One-third of the amounts deposited into the Fraud Prevention and Detection Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Homeland Security until expended for programs and activities to prevent and detect immigration benefit fraud, including fraud with respect to petitions filed under paragraph (1) or (2)(A) of section 1184 (c) of this title to grant an alien nonimmigrant status described in subparagraph (H) or (L) of section 1101 (a)(15) of this title.

One-third of the amounts deposited into the Fraud Prevention and Detection Account shall remain available to the Secretary of Labor until expended for wage and hour enforcement programs and activities otherwise authorized to be conducted by the Secretary of Labor that focus on industries likely to employ nonimmigrants, including enforcement programs and activities described in section 1182 (n) of this title and enforcement programs and activities related to section 1184 (c)(14)(A)(i) of this title.

(D) Consultation

The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Labor shall consult one another with respect to the use of the funds in the Fraud Prevention and Detection Account or for programs and activities to prevent and detect fraud with respect to petitions under paragraph (1) or (2)(A) of section 1184 (c) of this title to grant an alien nonimmigrant status described in section 1101 (a)(15)(H)(ii) of this title.

[1] So in original.

[2] So in original. Probably should be clause “(i)”.

[3] So in original.

[4] So in original. Probably should be section “1255(i)(3)(B)”.

[5] So in original. Probably should be section “1154(a)”.

[6] So in original. Probably should be followed by “of”.

U.S. Code

§ 1356. Disposition of moneys collected under the provisions of this subchapter