Sec. 2. The EB–5 employment-creation immigrant investor program
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Section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) is amended as follows: In subparagraph (A), by inserting or similar entity after including a limited partnership . In subparagraph (B)— by amending clause
(i)to read as follows: Not fewer than 5,000 of the visas made available under this paragraph in each fiscal year shall be reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a new commercial enterprise described in subparagraph (A), which— is investing such capital in a targeted employment area; and will create employment in such targeted employment area. . by amending clause
(ii)to read as follows: In this paragraph, the term targeted employment area means, at the time of investment— a rural area; an area that has experienced high unemployment (of at least 150 percent of the national average rate) within the preceding 12 months; a county that has had a decline in population of 20 percent or more since 1970; a military installation closed pursuant to a base closure law (as defined in section 101(a)(17) of title 10, United States Code); or an area that is within the boundaries established for purposes of a Federal, State, County, or City economic development incentive program, including areas defined as Enterprise Zones, Renewal Communities and Empowerment Zones. ; in clause (iii), by striking within a metropolitan statistical area or ; and by inserting after clause
(iii)the following: In a case in which a geographic area is determined under clause
(ii)to be a targeted employment area by a delegated State agency, and such a determination has been made using acceptable data sources to include U.S. Census Bureau data (including data from the American Community Survey) and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (including data from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics), The Secretary of Homeland Security or her designee shall defer to a State’s designation as conclusive. In a case in which an area is determined under clause
(ii)to be a targeted employment area, such determination shall remain in effect during the 2-year period beginning on the date of the determination for purposes of an alien seeking a visa reserved under this subparagraph. . In subparagraph (C)— in clause (i)— by striking The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of State and inserting The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Labor ; and by adding at the end the following: Unless adjusted by the Secretary of Commerce, the amount specified in this clause shall automatically adjust, on January 1, 2016, by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published by the Department of Labor during fiscal year 2015, and on every fifth subsequent January 1 by the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index during the previous 5 fiscal years, for any petition filed to classify an alien under this paragraph on or after the date of each automatic adjustment. ; in clause (ii), by striking Attorney General and inserting Secretary of Homeland Security ; in clause (iii)(II), by striking Attorney General and inserting Secretary of Homeland Security ; and by adding after clause
(iii)the following: For purposes of this paragraph, the term capital does not include any assets acquired, directly or indirectly, by unlawful means . By amending subparagraph
(D)to read as follows: Job creation under this paragraph may consist of employment measured in full-time equivalents, such as intermittent or seasonal employment opportunities and construction jobs. A full-time employment position is not a requirement for indirect job creation. In this paragraph, the term full-time employment means employment in a position that requires at least 35 hours of service per week at any time, regardless of who fills the position. Such employment may be satisfied on a full-time equivalent basis by calculating the number of full-time employees that could have been employed if the reported number of hours worked by part-time employees had been worked by full-time employees. Full-time equivalent employment shall be calculated by dividing the part-time hours paid by the standard number of hours for full-time employees. . By adding after subparagraph
(D)the following: Visas under this paragraph shall be made available to qualified immigrants who participate in a program involving a regional center in the United States, which has been designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, on the basis of a general proposal, for the promotion of economic growth, including increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment. A regional center shall have jurisdiction over a specific geographic area, which shall be described in the proposal and consistent with the purpose of concentrating pooled investment in defined economic zones. The establishment of a regional center under this subparagraph may be based on general predictions, contained in the proposal, concerning— the kinds of new commercial enterprises that will receive capital from aliens; the jobs that will be created directly or indirectly as a result of such investments; and other positive economic effects such investments will have. In determining compliance with this subparagraph, and notwithstanding requirements applicable to investors not involving regional centers, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall recognize reasonable methodologies for determining the number of jobs created by a designated regional center, including such jobs that are estimated to have been created indirectly through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the regional center. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a preapproval procedure for commercial enterprises that— allows a regional center or potential regional center to apply to the Secretary for preapproval of a new commercial enterprise before any alien files a petition for classification under this paragraph by reason of investment in the new commercial enterprise; in considering an application under subclause (I)— allows the applicant to address and cure any deficiencies identified by the Secretary in the application prior to final determination on the application; and requires that the Secretary make final decisions on all issues under this paragraph other than those issues unique to each individual investor in the new commercial enterprise; and requires that the Secretary eliminate the need for the repeated submission of documentation that is common to multiple petitions for classification under this paragraph through a regional center. Except in the case of material change, fraud, or legal deficiency, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall give deference to, and not revisit, favorable determinations made pertaining to a commercial enterprise during the adjudication of— petitions filed by immigrants investing in the commercial enterprise under this subparagraph; or petitions filed by such immigrants under section 216A for removal of conditional basis. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make determinations on a proposal under clause
(i)or an application under clause
(iii)not later than 180 days after the date on which the proposal or application is filed. In the event that additional information or documentation is requested by the Secretary, the Secretary shall adjudicate the proposal or application not later than 30 days after the receipt of such information or documentation. The filing party shall be notified in writing within 30 days of the date of filing if the filing does not meet the standards for approval. If the filing does not meet such standards, the notice shall include the reasons therefore and the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for the prompt resubmission of a modified filing. . In subparagraph
(E)(as added by paragraph (5)), by inserting after clause
(iii)the following: No person may serve as an owner, director or officer of a regional center, or hold other positions of substantive authority for the operations, management or promotion of a regional center, if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines based on substantial evidence that the person— has been found liable within the previous 5 years for any criminal or civil violation of any law relating to fraud or deceit; has been found liable at any time for any such criminal or civil violation if such violation involved— a criminal conviction with a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year; or any law or agency regulation in connection with the purchase or sale of a security; or is engaged in, has ever been engaged in, or seeks to engage in any— terrorist activity (as defined in clauses
(iii)and
(iv)of section 212(a)(3)(B)); activity relating to espionage or sabotage; illicit trafficking in any controlled substance; activity related to money laundering (as described in section 1956 or 1957 of title 18, United States Code); violation of any statute, regulation or Executive order regarding foreign financial transactions or foreign asset control; or human trafficking or any other human rights offense. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall require such attestations and information (including fingerprints) and shall perform such background checks as the Secretary in the Secretary’s discretion considers appropriate to determine whether a regional center is in compliance with this clause. The Secretary may terminate any regional center from the program under this section if the Secretary determines that the regional center is violation of this clause, the regional center fails to provide such attestations and information requested by the Secretary under this clause, or the regional center or any person described in this clause is engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, criminal misuse, or threats to national security. The Secretary shall provide for procedures for the appeal and review of such a termination, and any determinations pertaining to such termination shall be subject to review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. In addition to any other fees authorized by law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall impose— a fee to apply for designation as a regional center under this subparagraph; and a fee for preapproval of a new commercial enterprise as provided under clause (iii)(I). . 5 petitions By adding after subparagraph
(E)(as amended by paragraph (6)) the following: 5 petitions The Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjudicate a petition filed pursuant to this paragraph not later than 180 days after the date on which the petition is filed. In the event that additional information or documentation is requested by the Secretary, the Secretary shall adjudicate the petition not later than 30 days after the receipt of such information or documentation. The filing party shall be notified in writing within 30 days of the date of filing if the filing does not meet the standards for approval. If the filing does not meet such standards, the notice shall include the reasons therefore and the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for the prompt resubmission of a modified filing. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a means by which a petitioner for status under this paragraph, a petitioner under section 216A for removal of conditional basis, who is the recipient of a request for additional information or documentation, a regional center, or a project developer may, prior to the deadline to respond to that request, communicate directly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address concerns underlying the request. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, shall develop a strategy to review securities-related materials included in any immigration petition under this paragraph, or a petition under section 216A for removal of conditional basis, when there is evidence of fraud. . Section 610 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 ( 8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is repealed.
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Sec. 2
The EB–5 employment-creation immigrant investor program
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