Sec. 4. EB–5 Visa reforms
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Section 203(b)(5)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B) ) is amended 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. A designation of a high unemployment area as a targeted employment area shall be valid for the 2-year period beginning on the date of approval of an application filed under subparagraph
(F)or at the time of the investment for aliens not subject to the requirements of subparagraph (F). Such designation may be renewed for additional 2-year periods if the area continues to meet the definition of a high unemployment area. An entrepreneur who has made the required amount of investment in such a targeted employment area during its period of designation shall not be required to increase the amount of investment based upon expiration of the designation. . Section 203(b)(5)(C) of such Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C) ) is amended— by striking clauses
(i)and
(ii)and inserting the following: Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the amount of capital required under subparagraph
(A)shall be $1,200,000. In the case of an investment in a targeted employment area, the amount of capital required under subparagraph
(A)shall be $800,000. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Commerce, may from time to time prescribe regulations increasing the dollar amounts specified under clause (i). Beginning on January 1, 2020, and on every fifth subsequent January 1— if the Secretary did not increase the minimum amount during the previous 5 fiscal years, the amounts specified in clause
(i)shall automatically be adjusted by the amount of the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI–U) for the previous 5 fiscal years; if the Secretary increased the minimum amount during the previous 5 fiscal years by an amount that is less than the cumulative percentage change in the CPI–U during the previous 5 fiscal years, the amounts specified in clause
(i)shall automatically be adjusted by the amount of such cumulative percentage change for such period minus any increase prescribed by the Secretary by regulations; or if the Secretary increased the minimum amount during the previous 5 fiscal years by an amount that is greater than the cumulative percentage change in the CPI–U during the previous 5 fiscal years, the amounts specified in clause
(i)shall not be increased. The minimum investment amount in a targeted employment area shall be not less than 1/2 and not more than 3/4 of the investment in a non-targeted area of employment. ; and in clause
(iii)by striking the Attorney General and inserting the Secretary . Section 203(b)(5) of such Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ), as amended by subsections
(a)and
(b)and by section 2, is further amended by amending subparagraph
(D)to read as follows: In this paragraph: The term capital — means all real, personal, or mixed tangible assets owned and controlled by the alien entrepreneur, or held in trust for the benefit of the alien and to which the alien has unrestricted access; shall be valued at fair market value in United States dollars, in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or other standard accounting practice adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, at the time it is invested under this paragraph; and shall not include assets acquired, directly or indirectly, by unlawful means, including any cash proceeds of indebtedness secured by such assets. The terms commercial enterprise associated with a regional center and regional center associated commercial enterprise mean any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business, including a sole proprietorship, partnership (whether limited or general), holding company, joint venture, corporation, business trust, or other entity, that associates with a regional center and receives, or is established to receive, capital investment under the regional center program described in subparagraph (E). The term full-time employment means employment in a position that requires at least 35 hours of service per week for at least a 24-month period. The term high unemployment area means an area, using the most recent census data available, consisting of a census tract that has an unemployment rate that is at least 150 percent of the national average unemployment rate. The term rural area means any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more (based on the most recent decennial census of the United States). The term targeted employment area means a high unemployment area, a rural area, or any area within the geographic boundaries of any military installation closed, during the 20-year period immediately preceding the filing of an application under subparagraph (F), based upon a recommendation by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Eligibility for designation as a targeted employment area shall be determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who shall not be bound by the determination of any other Federal or State governmental or nongovernmental entity. . The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall issue appropriate regulations to account for the modified definition of targeted employment area in section 203(b)(5)(D)(vi) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by paragraph (1). Section 203(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(h) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: An alien admitted under subsection
(d)as a lawful permanent resident on a conditional basis as the child of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under subsection (b)(5), whose lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis is terminated under section 216A, shall continue to be considered a child of the principal alien for the purpose of a subsequent immigrant petition by such alien under subsection (b)(5) if the alien remains unmarried and the subsequent petition is filed by the principal alien not later than 1 year after the termination of conditional lawful permanent resident status. No alien shall be considered a child under this paragraph with respect to more than 1 petition filed after the alien reaches 21 years of age. . The Secretary of Homeland Security may establish, fix the compensation of, and appoint individuals to, designated critical, technical, and professional positions needed to administer sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) and 1186b). Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1255 ) is amended— in subsection (k), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking or
(3)and inserting (3), or
(5); and by adding at the end the following: If the approval of a petition for classification under section 203(b)(5) would make a visa immediately available to the alien beneficiary, the alien beneficiary’s application for adjustment of status under this section shall be considered to be properly filed whether the application is submitted concurrently with, or subsequent to, the visa petition. . Except as provided under paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section shall be effective upon the date of the enactment of this Act. The amendments made by subsections (b)(1) and (c)(1) shall not apply to— applications for business plan approval for regional center investments in actual projects that were filed with, or approved by, the Secretary of Homeland Security before the date of the enactment of this Act; and petitions seeking classification under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) ) and petitions filed under section 216A of such Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1186b ) by immigrants investing in the same commercial enterprise concerning the same economic activity as contained in an application for business plan approval described in subparagraph (A).
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