; or (ii) is vital for the national security interests of the United States; and (B) before granting such a waiver, the Secretary provides to the appropriate congressional committees notice of, and a justification for, the waiver. (2) Timing for certain waivers Notification under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be made not later than 15 days before granting a waiver under such paragraph if the Secretary grants such waiver under subparagraph (A)(ii) of such paragraph. (d) Regulatory authority The Secretary of State shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. 9. Treatment of Hong Kong applicants for visas to study or work in the United States Title II of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 ( 22 U.S.C. 5721 et seq.), as amended by section 6, is further amended by inserting after section 202a the following new section: 202b. Treatment of Hong Kong applicants for visas to study or work in the United States (a) Statement of policy Notwithstanding all other provisions of law, applications for visas to enter, study, or work in the United States, submitted by otherwise qualified applicants who were resident in Hong Kong in 2014, shall not be denied on the basis of the applicant’s arrest, detention, or other adverse government action taken as a result of the applicant’s participation in nonviolent protest activities related to Hong Kong’s electoral processes. (b) Implementation The Secretary of State shall take such steps as necessary to ensure that consular officers shall be aware of this provision of law and shall receive appropriate training and support in order to ensure that it is carried out in such a way that affected individuals shall not face discrimination or unnecessary delay in the processing of their visa applications, including— (1) providing specialized training for consular officers posted to Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Macau