Congress·In Committee·S. 3679

Congress proposes visa bans and public naming for people tied to severe religious persecution

Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act of 2026

2 months ago·View on Congress.gov

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

Would block U.S. visas for foreign officials and others accused of serious violations of religious freedom.
Covers people who ordered, helped fund, supported, took part in, or carried out religious persecution outside the U.S.
Requires the State Department to post the names of people found ineligible for visas, plus where the abuses happened.
Allows the State Department to keep some names off the public list if naming them could seriously harm U.S. foreign policy.
Requires the State Department to explain those hidden-name decisions to Congress twice a year.

ImmigrationForeign PolicyCivil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(2)

Student

Neutral

Federal Employee

Neutral

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jan 15, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Jan 15, 2026

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

After the bill is enacted and the State Department updates guidance

Visa officers begin applying the new inadmissibility rule in visa decisions

People linked to serious religious freedom violations are more likely to be denied visas, and some pending cases may face extra review.

Soon after enactment, once the website process is set up

The State Department launches or updates a public webpage listing covered individuals and locations

The public may be able to see names of people blocked for these violations and where the abuses occurred, unless a name is withheld for foreign policy reasons.

Related News

2 articles

Washington Reporter·2 months ago

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans unveil legislation to restrict visa issuance to perpetrators of religious-based violence

Covers introduction of the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act; explains visa ineligibility for those tied to severe religious persecution and the requirement (with exceptions) to publicly list inadmissible individuals.

R+

WorldNetDaily·about 2 months ago

‘Bar these malign actors’: Bill hopes to prevent foreigners who violate religious freedom from entering U.S.

Reports on the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act and its visa restrictions for people accused of serious religious-freedom violations; summarizes the bill’s scope and purpose.

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