S. 1300 would authorize the Department of State to waive or refund renewal fees for immigrant visas issued on or after March 27, 2013, for certain adopted children who were unable to use their visas because of extraordinary circumstances outside the control of the adoptive parents.
Based on information from the department, CBO estimates that the act would affect fewer than 500 families, notably those whose adopted children have been denied exit visas from the Democratic Republic of the Congo since late 2013. Many of those families have paid renewal fees for their children’s immigrant visas several times since then. The department charges a renewal fee of $325 for such visas; some earlier renewals bore a fee of $230. About two-thirds of the fee is deposited in the Treasury as revenues; the Department of State retains and spends the remainder. Refunds of previously paid renewal fees would increase direct spending; waivers of future renewal fees would reduce revenues.
Because enacting S. 1300 would affect direct spending and revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, because of the small number of people who would be eligible for the benefit, CBO estimates that the total increase in the deficit under the legislation would be insignificant for each year and over the 2016-2025 period.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1300 would not increase on-budget deficits or net direct spending by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
S. 1300 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
