II 114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1501 To promote and reform foreign capital investment and job creation in American communities. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 3, 2015 Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To promote and reform foreign capital investment and job creation in American communities. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Job Creation 5 and Investment Promotion Reform Act of 2015’’. 6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF EB–5 REGIONAL CENTER 7 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 PROGRAM. (a) REPEAL.—Section 610 of the Departments of 9 Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 2 1 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) 2 is repealed. 3 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 203(b)(5) of the Im- 4 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) is smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL 7 ‘‘(i) IN CENTER PROGRAM.— GENERAL.—Visas under this 8 paragraph shall be made available through 9 September 30, 2020, to qualified immi- 10 grants (and the eligible spouse and chil- 11 dren of such immigrants) participating in 12 a program implementing this paragraph 13 that involves a regional center in the 14 United States, which has been designated 15 by the Secretary of Homeland Security on 16 the basis of a proposal for the promotion 17 of economic growth, including prospective 18 job creation and increased domestic capital 19 investment. 20 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In processing peti- 21 tions under section 204(a)(1)(H) for clas- 22 sification under this paragraph, the Sec- 23 retary of Homeland Security may give pri- 24 ority to petitions filed by aliens seeking ad- 25 mission under this subparagraph. Notwith- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 3 1 standing subsection (e), immigrant visas 2 made available under this paragraph may 3 be issued to such aliens in an order that 4 takes into account any priority accorded 5 under this clause. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 ‘‘(iii) ESTABLISHMENT OF RE- 7 GIONAL CENTER.—A 8 operate within a defined geographic area, 9 which shall be described in the proposal 10 and be consistent with the purpose of con- 11 centrating pooled investment within the de- 12 fined and limited geographic area. The 13 proposal to establish a regional center shall 14 demonstrate that the pooled investment 15 will have a significant economic impact on 16 such geographic area, and shall include— 17 ‘‘(I) reasonable predictions, sup- 18 ported by economically and statis- 19 tically valid forecasting tools, con- 20 cerning the amount of investment that 21 will be pooled, the kinds of commer- 22 cial enterprises that will receive such 23 investments, verifiable details of the 24 jobs that will be created directly or in- 25 directly as a result of such invest- regional center shall •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 A 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 4 1 ments, and other positive economic ef- 2 fects such investments will have; and 3 ‘‘(II) a description of the policies 4 and procedures in place reasonably 5 designed to monitor associated com- 6 mercial enterprises to ensure compli- 7 ance with all laws, regulations, and 8 Executive orders of the United States. 9 ‘‘(iv) INDIRECT 10 Secretary of Homeland Security shall per- 11 mit aliens seeking admission under this 12 paragraph to satisfy up to 90 percent of 13 the 14 (A)(ii) with jobs that are estimated to be 15 created 16 under this paragraph in accordance with 17 this subparagraph. 18 requirements under indirectly subparagraph through ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In deter- 20 mining compliance with subparagraph 21 (A)(ii), the Secretary of Homeland Se- 22 curity shall— 23 ‘‘(aa) permit aliens seeking 24 admission under this paragraph 25 to rely on economically and sta- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 investment ‘‘(v) COMPLIANCE.— 19 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS JOB CREATION.—The 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 1 tistically valid methodologies for 2 determining the number of jobs 3 created by the program, includ- 4 ing, consistent with this subpara- 5 graph, jobs estimated to have 6 been created indirectly through 7 revenues 8 creased exports, improved re- 9 gional productivity, job creation, 10 and increased domestic capital 11 investment resulting from the 12 program; and generated in- 13 ‘‘(bb) verify that the jobs de- 14 scribed in item (aa) meet the re- 15 quirements under this subpara- 16 graph by using a methodology 17 that has been accepted by the 18 Bureau of Economic Analysis of 19 the Department of Commerce to 20 be economically and statistically 21 valid for such purposes. 22 ‘‘(II) PROJECTS INVOLVING CAP- 23 ITAL CONTRIBUTION FROM NON-ALIEN 24 ENTREPRENEURS.— •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 from 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 6 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 1 ‘‘(aa) CREDIT FOR JOB CRE- 2 ATION.—Alien 3 accrue credit for job creation 4 based on capital investment pro- 5 vided by non-alien entrepreneurs 6 only for the percentage of total 7 jobs created that is equal to the 8 percentage of total capital invest- 9 ment provided by such non-alien 10 entrepreneurs in the commercial 11 enterprise. 12 ‘‘(bb) entrepreneurs may LIMITATION.—The 13 percentage of jobs created for 14 which alien entrepreneurs may 15 accrue credit under item (aa) 16 based on such non-alien entre- 17 preneur capital contribution may 18 not exceed 30 percent of all jobs 19 created even if such contribution 20 exceeds 30 percent. 21 ‘‘(III) INELIGIBLE JOBS.—In 22 termining compliance with the job cre- 23 ation requirements under subpara- 24 graph (A)(ii), the Secretary may not 25 include jobs estimated to be created •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 de- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 7 1 under a tenant-occupancy method- 2 ology. 3 ‘‘(vi) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 of Homeland Security shall— 5 ‘‘(I) require approved regional 6 centers to give advance notice to the 7 Secretary 8 changes to their organizational struc- 9 ture, ownership, or administration, in- 10 cluding the sale or rental of such cen- 11 ters; of significant 12 ‘‘(II) approve or disapprove the 13 changes referred to in subclause (I) 14 before any such proposed changes 15 take effect; and 16 ‘‘(III) approve the changes re- 17 ferred to in subclause (I) only after— 18 ‘‘(aa) notice of any such 19 proposed changes are made pub- 20 licly available through a publicly 21 accessible website of U.S. Citi- 22 zenship and Immigration Services 23 for a period of not fewer than 30 24 days; and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 proposed 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 8 1 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary deter- 2 mines that the regional center 3 would remain compliant with this 4 subparagraph and with subpara- 5 graph (H). 6 ‘‘(F) BUSINESS 7 CENTER INVESTMENTS.— 8 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION 9 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS PLANS INVESTMENT IN FOR FOR APPROVAL OF COMMERCIAL ENTER- 10 PRISE.—A 11 ated with a regional center shall file an ap- 12 plication with, and obtain approval from, 13 the Secretary of Homeland Security for 14 each 15 through the commercial enterprise to 16 aliens seeking classification under this 17 paragraph, which shall include— commercial enterprise associ- particular investment offering 18 ‘‘(I) a comprehensive business 19 plan for a specific capital investment 20 project; 21 ‘‘(II) a credible economic analysis 22 regarding estimated job creation that 23 is based upon economically and statis- 24 tically valid methodologies; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 REGIONAL 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 1 ‘‘(III) documents filed with the 2 Securities and Exchange Commission 3 under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 4 U.S.C. 77a et seq.); 5 ‘‘(IV) investment and offering 6 documents, including subscription, in- 7 vestment, partnership, and operating 8 agreements, private placement memo- 9 randa, term sheets, management biog- 10 raphies, the description of the busi- 11 ness plan to be provided to potential 12 alien entrepreneurs, and any mar- 13 keting materials used or prepared for 14 use in connection with the offering by 15 the regional center or any associated 16 commercial enterprise, which shall 17 contain references, as appropriate, to 18 any— 19 ‘‘(aa) investment risks asso- 20 ciated with the new commercial 21 enterprise and any other business 22 subsequently receiving investment 23 capital from the new commercial 24 enterprise; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 10 1 ‘‘(bb) conflicts of interest 2 that currently exist or may arise 3 among the regional center, new 4 commercial 5 business subsequently receiving 6 investment capital from the new 7 commercial enterprise, or the 8 principals of the aforementioned 9 entities; enterprise, 10 ‘‘(cc) the name and contact 11 information of any person that 12 has received or the commercial 13 enterprise knows will receive any 14 fees or transaction-based com- 15 pensation in connection with the 16 investment, and a description of 17 the services performed or to be 18 performed by such person which 19 entitle them to the fees or trans- 20 action-based compensation; and 21 ‘‘(dd) any pending litigation 22 or bankruptcy or adverse judg- 23 ments during the most recent 10- 24 year period affecting the regional 25 center, new commercial enter- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 other 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 11 1 prise, any other business subse- 2 quently receiving investment cap- 3 ital from the new commercial en- 4 terprise, or any other enterprise 5 in which any principal of the 6 aforementioned entities held ma- 7 jority ownership at the time; 8 ‘‘(V) a description of the policies 9 and procedures reasonably designed to 10 ensure that the commercial enterprise, 11 its agents, employees, and attorneys, 12 and any persons in active concert or 13 participation with the commercial en- 14 terprise, comply with the securities 15 laws of the United States in connec- 16 tion with the offer, purchase, or sale 17 of its securities; 18 ‘‘(VI) a certification that the 19 commercial enterprise and its agents, 20 employees, and attorneys, and any 21 persons in active concert or participa- 22 tion with the commercial enterprise, 23 are in compliance with the securities 24 laws of the United States in connec- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 12 1 tion with the offer, purchase, or sale 2 of its securities; and 3 ‘‘(VII) for a capital investment in 4 a targeted employment area, a cred- 5 ible economic analysis regarding esti- 6 mated job creation that is likely to 7 occur— 8 ‘‘(aa) if the targeted employ- 9 ment area is located within a 10 combined statistical area or a 11 metropolitan statistical area, in 12 the combined statistical area or 13 metropolitan statistical area; or 14 ‘‘(bb) if the targeted employ- 15 ment area is located outside of 16 an area described in item (aa), in 17 any county that is included in the 18 targeted employment area and 19 counties adjacent to the targeted 20 employment area. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 21 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF BUSI- 22 NESS PLAN FOR INVESTMENT IN REGIONAL 23 CENTER COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.—The 24 approval of an application under this sub- 25 paragraph shall be binding for purposes of •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 13 1 the adjudication of subsequent petitions 2 seeking classification under this paragraph 3 by immigrants investing in the same com- 4 mercial enterprise concerning the same 5 economic activity, and of petitions filed 6 under section 216A, unless the Secretary 7 of Homeland Security determines that 8 there is evidence of fraud, misrepresenta- 9 tion, criminal misuse, a threat to public 10 safety or national security, a material 11 change that affects the approved economic 12 model, other evidence affecting program 13 eligibility that was not disclosed by the pe- 14 titioner during the approval process, or a 15 material mistake of law or fact in the prior 16 adjudication. 17 ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATION LENT OR OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN 19 ESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.— ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec- 21 retary of Homeland Security shall 22 consider the potential for fraud, mis- 23 representation, criminal misuse, and 24 threats to public safety or national se- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 FRAUDU- 18 20 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 14 1 curity in establishing eligibility cri- 2 teria under this subparagraph. 3 ‘‘(II) GROUNDS 4 REVOCATION.—The 5 deny or revoke the approval of any 6 business plan application under this 7 subparagraph with any particular in- 8 vestment or business arrangement 9 that, in the Secretary’s unreviewable 10 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS FOR DENIAL OR Secretary discretion— 11 ‘‘(aa) presents a threat to 12 public safety or national security; 13 or 14 ‘‘(bb) presents a significant 15 risk of criminal misuse, fraud, or 16 abuse, 17 that involve self-dealing or any 18 other inherent conflict of interest 19 between potential alien entre- 20 preneurs and the principals of a 21 regional center or a regional cen- 22 ter associated commercial enter- 23 prise. 24 ‘‘(iv) SITE 25 including arrangements VISITS.—The 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Secretary shall perform at least 1 site visit to each •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 shall Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 15 1 regional center associated commercial en- 2 terprise 3 216A(c)(1)(C). 4 ‘‘(v) in accordance PREMIUM with PROCESSING OP- 5 TION.—The 6 process for premium processing of business 7 plan applications under this subparagraph 8 related to investment in a regional center 9 commercial enterprise, including making 10 available the expeditious execution of a site 11 visit described in clause (iv), which may in- 12 clude an opportunity for the applicant to 13 address and cure any deficiencies identified 14 by the Secretary in the applicant’s busi- 15 ness plan, investment documents, or state- 16 ment regarding job creation prior to a final 17 determination. The Secretary shall impose 18 a fee for the use of the process described 19 in this clause sufficient to recover the costs 20 of its administration. 21 ‘‘(vi) APPROVAL Secretary shall establish a OF BUSINESS PLAN 22 IN A TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREA.—For 23 a capital investment in a designated tar- 24 geted employment area, at least 50 percent 25 of the estimated job creation intended to •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 section 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 16 1 form the basis of the job creation require- 2 ment under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be 3 expected to occur within an area specified 4 in subparagraph (F)(i)(VII). If the esti- 5 mated job creation in such area is below 6 50 percent, the total number of jobs cre- 7 ated by the capital investment for which 8 alien entrepreneurs may receive credit shall 9 be limited to the number at which 50 per- 10 cent of the job creation requirement occurs 11 within an area described in clause (i)(VII). 12 ‘‘(G) REGIONAL 13 MENTS.— 14 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS CENTER ANNUAL STATE- ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each regional cen- 15 ter designated under subparagraph (E) 16 shall annually submit, to the Director of 17 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 18 (referred to in this subparagraph as the 19 ‘Director’), in a manner prescribed by the 20 Secretary of Homeland Security, a state- 21 ment, including— 22 ‘‘(I) a certification by the re- 23 gional center that it remains in com- 24 pliance with clauses (i) and (ii) of 25 subparagraph (H); •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 17 1 ‘‘(II) a certification by the re- 2 gional center described in subpara- 3 graph (I)(ii)(II); 4 ‘‘(III) a certification by the re- 5 gional center that it is in compliance 6 with subparagraph (K)(iii); 7 ‘‘(IV) a description of any pend- 8 ing litigation or bankruptcy pro- 9 ceedings, or litigation or bankruptcy 10 proceedings resolved during the pre- 11 ceding fiscal year, involving the re- 12 gional center or an associated com- 13 mercial enterprise; 14 ‘‘(V) an accounting of all foreign 15 investor money invested in the re- 16 gional center and its associated com- 17 mercial enterprises; and 18 ‘‘(VI) for each new commercial 19 enterprise associated with the regional 20 center— 21 ‘‘(aa) an accounting of the 22 aggregate capital invested in the 23 new commercial enterprise by 24 alien entrepreneurs under this 25 paragraph for each capital invest- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 18 1 ment project being undertaken by 2 the new commercial enterprise; 3 ‘‘(bb) a description of how 4 such capital is being used to exe- 5 cute 6 project in the approved business 7 plan or plans; each capital 8 ‘‘(cc) evidence that 100 per- 9 cent of such capital has been ir- 10 revocably committed to each cap- 11 ital investment project; 12 ‘‘(dd) detailed evidence of 13 the progress made toward the 14 completion of each capital invest- 15 ment project; 16 ‘‘(ee) an accounting of the 17 aggregate direct jobs created or 18 preserved; 19 ‘‘(ff) a description of all 20 funds, including administrative, 21 loan monitoring, or loan manage- 22 ment fees, in addition to investor 23 capital collected from alien entre- 24 preneurs by any party in relation 25 to the investment or participation •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 investment 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 19 1 in the regional center program 2 described in subparagraph (E), 3 the entities that received such 4 funds, and the purpose for which 5 such funds were collected; 6 ‘‘(gg) any documentation re- 7 ferred 8 (F)(i)(IV) if there has been a 9 material change during the pre- 10 in subparagraph ceding fiscal year; and 11 ‘‘(hh) a certification by the 12 regional center and associated 13 commercial enterprise that such 14 statements are accurate. 15 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENT 16 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS to MENTS.—The OF ANNUAL STATE- Director— 17 ‘‘(I) shall require the regional 18 center to amend or supplement an an- 19 nual statement required under clause 20 (i) if the Director determines that 21 such statement is deficient; and 22 ‘‘(II) may require the regional 23 center to amend or supplement such 24 annual statement if the Director de- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 20 1 termines that such an amendment or 2 supplement is appropriate. 3 ‘‘(iii) SANCTIONS.— smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 ‘‘(I) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If 5 the Director determines that a re- 6 gional center or other individual affili- 7 ated with a regional center, including 8 an individual affiliated with an associ- 9 ated commercial enterprise, and any 10 legal representative of such entities, 11 has violated any certification under 12 clause (i) or that the regional center 13 is conducting itself in a manner incon- 14 sistent with its designation, including 15 any willful and material deviation by 16 commercial 17 with the regional center from any ap- 18 proved business plan for such com- 19 mercial enterprises, the Director shall 20 sanction the violating entity or indi- 21 vidual under subclause (II). 22 ‘‘(II) AUTHORIZED enterprises SANCTIONS.— 23 The Director shall establish a grad- 24 uated set of sanctions based on the 25 severity of the violations referred to in •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 associated 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 21 1 subclause (I), as determined by the 2 Director, including— 3 ‘‘(aa) civil money penalties 4 equal to not more than 10 per- 5 cent of the total capital invested 6 by alien entrepreneurs in the re- 7 gional center’s associated com- 8 mercial enterprises, the payment 9 of which shall not in any cir- 10 cumstance utilize any of such 11 alien entrepreneurs’ capital in- 12 vestment; 13 ‘‘(bb) temporary suspension 14 from participation in the pro- 15 gram described in subparagraph 16 (E), which may be lifted by the 17 Director if the individual or enti- 18 ty cures the alleged violation 19 after being provided such an op- 20 portunity by the Director; 21 ‘‘(cc) permanent bar from 22 program participation for 1 or 23 more individuals associated with 24 the regional center or an associ- 25 ated commercial enterprise; and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 22 1 ‘‘(dd) 2 ‘‘(H) BONA re- FIDES OF PERSONS ASSOCI- 4 ATED WITH REGIONAL CENTERS OR REGIONAL 5 CENTER 6 PRISES.— 7 ASSOCIATED ‘‘(i) IN COMMERCIAL GENERAL.—No ENTER- person shall be 8 permitted by any regional center or re- 9 gional center associated commercial enter- 10 prise to be directly or indirectly involved 11 with the regional center or commercial en- 12 terprise as its principal, representative, ad- 13 ministrator, owner, officer, board member, 14 manager, executive, general partner, fidu- 15 ciary, marketer, promoter, or other similar 16 position of substantive authority for the 17 operations, management or promotion of 18 the regional center or commercial enter- 19 prise if— 20 ‘‘(I) the person has been found 21 liable within the previous 10 years for 22 any criminal or civil violation of any 23 law relating to fraud or deceit, or at 24 any time if such violation involved a 25 civil liability in excess of $1,000,000, •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 of gional center status. 3 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS termination 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 1 a criminal conviction with a term of 2 imprisonment of more than 1 year or 3 a criminal or civil violation of any law 4 or agency regulation in connection 5 with the offer, purchase, or sale of a 6 security; 7 ‘‘(II) the person is subject to a 8 final order of a State securities com- 9 mission (or an agency or officer of a 10 State who performs similar functions), 11 a State authority that supervises or 12 examines banks, savings associations, 13 or credit unions, a State insurance 14 commission (or an agency of or officer 15 of a State who performs similar func- 16 tions), an appropriate Federal bank- 17 ing agency, the Commodity Futures 18 Trading Commission, or the National 19 Credit Union Administration, which is 20 based on a violation of any law or reg- 21 ulation that— 22 ‘‘(aa) prohibits fraudulent, 23 manipulative, or deceptive con- 24 duct; or •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 24 1 ‘‘(bb) smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 bars the from— 3 ‘‘(AA) association with 4 an entity regulated by such 5 commission, authority, agen- 6 cy, or officer; 7 ‘‘(BB) engaging in the 8 business of securities, insur- 9 ance, or banking; or 10 ‘‘(CC) engaging in sav- 11 ings association or credit 12 union activities; 13 ‘‘(III) there is reasonable cause 14 to believe that the person is engaged 15 in, has ever been engaged in, or seeks 16 to engage in— 17 ‘‘(aa) any illicit trafficking 18 in any controlled substance or in 19 any listed chemical (as defined in 20 section 102 of the Controlled 21 Substances Act); 22 ‘‘(bb) any activity relating to 23 espionage, sabotage, or theft of 24 intellectual property; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 person 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 25 1 ‘‘(cc) any activity related to 2 money laundering (as described 3 in section 1956 or 1957 of title 4 18, United States Code); 5 ‘‘(dd) any terrorist activity 6 (as defined in clauses (iii) and 7 (iv) of section 212(a)(3)(B)); 8 ‘‘(ee) any activity related to 9 human trafficking or a human 10 rights offense; 11 ‘‘(ff) any activity described smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 12 in section 212(a)(3)(E); or 13 ‘‘(gg) the violation of any 14 statute, regulation, or Executive 15 order regarding foreign financial 16 transactions or foreign asset con- 17 trol; or 18 ‘‘(IV) the person— 19 ‘‘(aa) is, or during the pre- 20 ceding 10 years has been, in- 21 cluded on the Department of 22 Justice’s List of Currently Dis- 23 ciplined Practitioners; or 24 ‘‘(bb) during the preceding 25 10 years, has received a rep- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 26 1 rimand or otherwise been publicly 2 disciplined by a bar association of 3 which the person is or was a 4 member. 5 ‘‘(ii) STATUS 6 PRINCIPALS.— 7 ‘‘(I) 8 QUIRED.—No 9 or indirectly involved with a regional 10 center as its principal, administrator, 11 owner, officer, board member, man- 12 ager, executive, general partner, fidu- 13 ciary, or other similar position of sig- 14 nificant authority for the operations 15 or management of the regional center 16 unless the person is a national of the 17 United States or an individual who 18 has been lawfully admitted for perma- 19 nent residence. 20 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF REGIONAL CENTER LAWFUL STATUS person may be directly ‘‘(II) FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 21 No foreign government entity may be 22 directly or indirectly involved with the 23 ownership or administration of a re- 24 gional center. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 RE- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 27 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 1 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The 2 Secretary shall require such attestations 3 and information, including the submission 4 of fingerprints or other biometrics to the 5 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and shall 6 perform such criminal record checks and 7 other background checks with respect to a 8 regional center or regional center associ- 9 ated commercial enterprise, and persons 10 involved in a regional center or regional 11 center associated commercial enterprise as 12 described in clauses (i) and (ii), to deter- 13 mine whether such regional center or re- 14 gional center associated commercial enter- 15 prise is in compliance with clauses (i) and 16 (ii). The Secretary may require the infor- 17 mation and attestations described in this 18 clause from such regional center or re- 19 gional center associated commercial enter- 20 prise, and any person involved in the re- 21 gional center or regional center associated 22 commercial enterprise, at any time on or 23 after the date of the enactment of the 24 American Job Creation and Investment 25 Promotion Reform Act of 2015. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 28 1 ‘‘(iv) TERMINATION.—The Secretary, 2 in the Secretary’s unreviewable discretion, 3 shall terminate from the program under 4 this paragraph any regional center or re- 5 gional center associated commercial enter- 6 prise if the Secretary determines that— 7 ‘‘(I) the regional center or re- 8 gional center associated commercial 9 enterprise has violated clause (i); 10 ‘‘(II) the regional center has vio- smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 11 lated clause (ii); 12 ‘‘(III) the regional center, a re- 13 gional center associated commercial 14 enterprise, or any person involved 15 with the regional center or regional 16 center associated commercial enter- 17 prise fails to provide an attestation or 18 information requested by the Sec- 19 retary or provides any false attesta- 20 tion or information under clause (iii); 21 or 22 ‘‘(IV) the regional center, a re- 23 gional center associated commercial 24 enterprise, or any person involved 25 with the regional center or regional •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 29 1 center associated commercial enter- 2 prise has engaged in fraud, misrepre- 3 sentation, criminal misuse, or poses a 4 threat to public safety or national se- 5 curity. 6 ‘‘(I) 7 LAWS.— COMPLIANCE SECURITIES 8 ‘‘(i) JURISDICTION.—In view of the 9 objective of promoting investment in the 10 United States, in an action filed by the Se- 11 curities and Exchange Commission, the 12 purchase or sale of securities offered or 13 sold by any regional center or any party 14 associated with a regional center shall be 15 deemed to have occurred within the terri- 16 tory of the United States for purposes of 17 the securities laws, and subject matter ju- 18 risdiction shall also lie within the United 19 States. 20 ‘‘(ii) 21 REGIONAL CENTER ‘‘(I) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.— 23 The Secretary of Homeland Security 24 shall not approve an application for 25 regional center designation or regional •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 CERTIFI- CATIONS REQUIRED.— 22 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS WITH 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 30 1 center amendment unless the regional 2 center certifies that the regional cen- 3 ter is in compliance with and has poli- 4 cies and procedures reasonably de- 5 signed to ensure that all parties asso- 6 ciated with the regional center remain 7 in compliance with the securities laws 8 of the United States and of any State 9 in which the regional center operates 10 in connection with the offer, purchase, 11 or sale of securities or the provision of 12 investment advice by the regional cen- 13 ter or parties associated with the re- 14 gional center. 15 ‘‘(II) REISSUE.—A regional cen- 16 ter shall annually reissue a certifi- 17 cation described in subclause (I) in 18 accordance with subparagraph (G). 19 Annual certifications under this sub- 20 clause shall also certify compliance 21 with clause (iii) by stating that the 22 certifier is in a position to have 23 knowledge of the offers, purchases, 24 and sales of securities or the provision 25 of investment advice by parties associ- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 31 1 ated with the regional center and, to 2 the best of the certifier’s knowledge, 3 after reasonable investigation, all such 4 offers, purchases, and sales of securi- 5 ties or the provision of investment ad- 6 vice complied with securities laws of 7 the United States and that records, 8 data, and information related to such 9 offers, purchases, and sales have been 10 maintained. 11 ‘‘(III) EFFECT 12 ANCE.—If 13 its due diligence, discovered during 14 the previous fiscal year that the re- 15 gional center or any party associated 16 with the regional center was not in 17 compliance with the securities laws of 18 the United States, the certifier shall— 19 ‘‘(aa) describe the activities 20 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF NONCOMPLI- a regional center, through that led to noncompliance; 21 ‘‘(bb) describe the actions 22 taken to remedy the noncompli- 23 ance; and 24 ‘‘(cc) certify that the re- 25 gional center and all parties asso- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 32 1 ciated with the regional center 2 are currently in compliance. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 ‘‘(iii) OVERSIGHT REQUIRED.—Each 4 regional center shall monitor and supervise 5 all offers, purchases, and sales of, and ad- 6 vice relating to, securities made by parties 7 associated with the regional center to en- 8 sure compliance with the securities laws of 9 the United States, and maintain records, 10 data, and information relating to all such 11 offers, purchases, sales, and advice during 12 the 5-year period beginning on the date of 13 their creation. Such records, data, and in- 14 formation shall be made available to the 15 Securities and Exchange Commission and 16 to the Secretary upon request. 17 ‘‘(iv) 18 NATION.—The 19 retary’s unreviewable discretion, shall sus- 20 pend or terminate the designation of any 21 regional center that does not provide the 22 certification described in clause (ii). In ad- 23 dition to any other authority provided to 24 the Secretary under this paragraph, the 25 Secretary, in the Secretary’s unreviewable SUSPENSION Secretary, OR in •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 TERMI- the Sec- 33 1 discretion, may suspend or terminate the 2 designation of any regional center or im- 3 pose other sanctions against the regional 4 center if the regional center or any parties 5 associated with the regional center— 6 ‘‘(I) are permanently or tempo- 7 rarily enjoined by order, judgment, or 8 decree of any court of competent ju- 9 risdiction in connection with the offer, 10 purchase, or sale of a security or the 11 provision of investment advice; 12 ‘‘(II) are subject to any final 13 order of the Securities and Exchange 14 Commission that— 15 ‘‘(aa) bars such person from 16 association with an entity regu- 17 lated by the Securities and Ex- 18 change Commission; or smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 19 ‘‘(bb) constitutes final 20 order based on violations in con- 21 nection with the offer, purchase, 22 or sale of, or advice relating to, a 23 security; or 24 ‘‘(III) knowingly submitted or 25 caused to be submitted a certification •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 a 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 34 1 described in clause (ii) that contained 2 an untrue statement of a material fact 3 or omitted to state a material fact 4 necessary in order to make the state- 5 ments made, in light of the cir- 6 cumstances under which they were 7 made, not misleading. 8 ‘‘(v) SAVINGS this subparagraph may be construed to im- 10 pair or limit the authority of the Securities 11 and Exchange Commission under the Fed- 12 eral securities laws. ‘‘(vi) DEFINED TERM.—In this sub- 14 paragraph, the term ‘parties associated 15 with a regional center’ means— 16 ‘‘(I) the regional center; 17 ‘‘(II) any commercial enterprise 18 associated with the regional center; 19 ‘‘(III) the regional center’s and 20 associated 21 owners, officers, directors, managers, 22 partners, 23 moters and attorneys; and commercial agents, enterprise’s employees, pro- 24 ‘‘(IV) any person in active con- 25 cert or participation with the regional •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 in 9 13 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS PROVISION.—Nothing 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 35 1 center or directly or indirectly control- 2 ling, controlled by, or under common 3 control with the regional center. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 ‘‘(J) EB–5 INTEGRITY FUND.— 5 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es- 6 tablished in the United States Treasury a 7 special fund, which shall be known as the 8 EB–5 Integrity Fund (referred to in this 9 subparagraph as the ‘Fund’). Amounts de- 10 posited into the Fund shall be available 11 until expended to the Secretary of Home- 12 land Security for the purposes set forth in 13 clause (iii). 14 ‘‘(ii) FEES.—The Secretary of Home- 15 land Security shall collect an annual fee of 16 $20,000 for the Fund from each regional 17 center designated under subparagraph (E). 18 The first fee under this clause shall be due 19 not later than January 1, 2016, and subse- 20 quent fees due not later than January 1 of 21 each year thereafter. Newly designated re- 22 gional centers shall pay their initial fee for 23 the calendar year following the calendar 24 year during which the regional center was 25 so designated. The Secretary may pre- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 36 1 scribe regulations, as necessary, to increase 2 the dollar amount specified under this 3 clause to ensure the Secretary’s continued 4 ability to carry out the activities specified 5 in clause (iii). smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 ‘‘(iii) PERMISSIBLE 7 The 8 shall— Secretary of USES OF FUND.— Homeland 9 ‘‘(I) use not less than 1⁄3 of the 10 amounts deposited into the Fund to 11 conduct audits and site visits (an- 12 nounced and unannounced); 13 ‘‘(II) use not less than 1⁄3 of the 14 amounts deposited into the Fund for 15 investigations based outside of the 16 United States, including— 17 ‘‘(aa) monitoring and inves- 18 tigating program-related events 19 and promotional activities; and 20 ‘‘(bb) ensuring an alien en- 21 trepreneur’s compliance with sub- 22 paragraph (L); 23 ‘‘(III) use amounts deposited into 24 the Fund— •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 Security 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 37 1 ‘‘(aa) to detect and inves- 2 tigate fraud or other crimes; and 3 ‘‘(bb) to determine whether 4 regional centers, associated com- 5 mercial enterprises, and alien en- 6 trepreneurs (and alien spouses 7 and alien children, if any) comply 8 with applicable immigration laws 9 and regulations; 10 ‘‘(IV) use amounts deposited into 11 the Fund to conduct interviews of the 12 owners, officers, directors, managers, 13 partners, 14 moters, and attorneys of a regional 15 center and regional center associated 16 commercial enterprise; and agents, employees, 17 ‘‘(V) otherwise use amounts de- 18 posited into the Fund as the Sec- 19 retary determines to be necessary, in- 20 cluding monitoring compliance with 21 the requirements under section 7 of 22 the American Job Creation and In- 23 vestment Promotion Reform Act of 24 2015. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 pro- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 38 1 ‘‘(iv) FAILURE 2 PAY FEE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 3 ‘‘(I) impose a reasonable penalty 4 if a regional center does not pay the 5 fee required under clause (ii) within 6 30 days of the date on which such fee 7 is due under clause (ii); and 8 ‘‘(II) terminate the designation 9 of any regional center that does not 10 pay the fee required under clause (ii) 11 before 90 days after the date on 12 which such fee is due under clause 13 (ii). 14 ‘‘(v) REPORT.—The Secretary shall 15 submit an annual report to the Committee 16 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 17 Committee on the Judiciary of the House 18 of Representatives that describes how 19 amounts in the Fund were expended dur- 20 ing the previous fiscal year. 21 ‘‘(K) DIRECT 22 AND THIRD-PARTY ‘‘(i) RULES AND STANDARDS.—Direct 24 and third-party promoters of a regional 25 center, parties associated with a regional •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 PRO- MOTERS.— 23 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS TO 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 39 1 center, or of the investment opportunities 2 of a regional center, shall comply with the 3 rules and standards prescribed by the Sec- 4 retary of Homeland Security to oversee re- 5 gional center promotion, including— 6 ‘‘(I) registration with U.S. Citi- 7 zenship and Immigration Services, 8 which the Secretary shall make pub- 9 licly available; 10 ‘‘(II) minimum qualifications; 11 ‘‘(III) guidelines for offering in- 12 vestment 13 resenting the visa process to foreign 14 entrepreneurs; and smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 15 opportunities rep- ‘‘(IV) permissible fee arrange- 16 ments. 17 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If the 18 Secretary determines, in the Secretary’s 19 unreviewable discretion, that a direct or 20 third-party promoter has violated clause 21 (i), the Secretary shall suspend or perma- 22 nently bar such individual from participa- 23 tion in the program described in subpara- 24 graph (E). •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 and 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 40 1 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE.—Each regional 2 center shall maintain a written agreement 3 between the regional center or regional 4 center associated commercial enterprise 5 and each direct or third-party promoter 6 operating on behalf of such regional center 7 or commercial enterprise that outlines the 8 rules and standards prescribed under 9 clause (i). 10 ‘‘(L) SOURCE 11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien entre- 12 preneur shall demonstrate that the capital 13 required under subparagraph (A) and any 14 funds used to pay administrative costs and 15 fees associated with the alien’s investment 16 were obtained from a lawful source and 17 through lawful means. 18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The 19 Secretary of Homeland Security shall re- 20 quire, as applicable, that an alien entre- 21 preneur petition under this paragraph con- 22 tain— 23 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF FUNDS.— ‘‘(I) business and tax records, in- 24 cluding— •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 41 1 ‘‘(aa) foreign business reg- 2 istration records; 3 ‘‘(bb) corporate or partner- 4 ship tax returns (or any other en- 5 tity in any form that has filed in 6 any country or subdivision there- 7 of any return described in this 8 subpart), and personal tax re- 9 turns including income, fran- 10 chise, property (whether real, 11 personal, or intangible), or any 12 other tax returns of any kind 13 filed within 7 years, with any 14 taxing jurisdiction in or outside 15 the United States by or on behalf 16 of the alien entrepreneur; and smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 17 ‘‘(cc) evidence 18 any other source of capital or ad- 19 ministrative fees; 20 ‘‘(II) evidence related to mone- 21 tary judgments against the alien en- 22 trepreneur, including certified copies 23 of any judgments or evidence of all 24 pending governmental civil or criminal 25 actions, governmental administrative •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 identifying 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 42 1 proceedings, and any private civil ac- 2 tions (pending or otherwise) involving 3 monetary judgments against the alien 4 entrepreneur from any court in or 5 outside the United States; and 6 ‘‘(III) the identity of all persons 7 who transfer into the United States, 8 on behalf of the entrepreneur— 9 ‘‘(aa) any funds that are 10 used to meet the capital require- 11 ment under subparagraph (A); 12 and 13 ‘‘(bb) any funds that are 14 used to pay administrative costs 15 and fees associated with the 16 alien’s investment. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 17 ‘‘(iii) GIFT RESTRICTIONS.—Gifted 18 funds may be counted toward the min- 19 imum 20 under subparagraph (C) only if such funds 21 were gifted to the alien entrepreneur by 22 the alien entrepreneur’s spouse, parent, 23 child, sibling, or grandparent and such 24 funds were gifted in good faith and not to 25 circumvent any limitations imposed on per- capital investment requirement •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 43 1 missible sources of capital under this sub- 2 paragraph. If a significant portion of the 3 capital invested under subparagraph (A) 4 was gifted to the alien entrepreneur, the 5 Secretary shall require the alien entre- 6 preneur’s petition under this paragraph to 7 include records described in subclauses (I) 8 and (II) of clause (ii) from the donor. 9 ‘‘(iv) LOAN 10 derived from indebtedness may be counted 11 toward the minimum capital investment re- 12 quirement under subparagraph (C) only if 13 such capital is— 14 ‘‘(I) secured by assets owned by 15 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS RESTRICTIONS.—Capital the alien entrepreneur; and 16 ‘‘(II) issued by a reputable bank- 17 ing or lending institution that is prop- 18 erly chartered or licensed under the 19 laws of any State, territory, country, 20 or applicable jurisdiction, which the 21 Secretary shall determine after con- 22 sulting with relevant commercial or 23 government databases, such as those 24 of the Department of the Treasury’s 25 Office of Foreign Assets Control, Of- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 44 1 fice of Terrorist Financing and Fi- 2 nancial Crimes, and Financial Crimes 3 Enforcement Network. 4 ‘‘(M) TREATMENT 5 REGIONAL CENTER TERMINATED.— 6 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF ENTREPRENEURS IF ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon 7 nation of a regional center or regional cen- 8 ter associated commercial enterprise under 9 this paragraph— 10 ‘‘(I) the conditional permanent 11 residence of an alien who has been ad- 12 mitted to the United States pursuant 13 to section 216A(a)(1) based on an in- 14 vestment in a commercial enterprise 15 associated with the terminated re- 16 gional center or regional center associ- 17 ated commercial enterprise shall con- 18 tinue to be authorized; and 19 ‘‘(II) the alien shall not accrue 20 any period of unlawful presence under 21 section 212(a)(9) during the 180-day 22 period following such termination un- 23 less the Secretary has reason to be- 24 lieve the alien was a knowing partici- 25 pant in the conduct that led to the •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 the termi- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 45 1 termination of such regional center or 2 regional center associated commercial 3 enterprise. 4 ‘‘(ii) NEW 5 VESTMENT.—The 6 resident status of an alien described in 7 clause (i)(I) shall be terminated at the end 8 of the 180-day period described in clause 9 (i)(II) unless— 10 conditional permanent ‘‘(I) in the case of the termi- 11 nation of a regional center— 12 ‘‘(aa) the associated com- 13 mercial enterprise affiliates with 14 an approved regional center des- 15 ignated to operate within the 16 same geographic area as the 17 commercial enterprise; or 18 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS REGIONAL CENTER OR IN- ‘‘(bb) such alien invests in 19 another 20 associated with an approved re- 21 gional center; or 22 ‘‘(II) in the case of the termi- 23 nation of a regional center associated 24 commercial enterprise, such alien in- 25 vests in another commercial enterprise commercial •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 enterprise 46 1 associated with an approved regional 2 center. 3 ‘‘(iii) REMOVAL CONDITIONS.— 4 Aliens described in subclauses (I)(bb) and 5 (II) of clause (ii) shall be eligible to have 6 their conditions removed pursuant to sec- 7 tion 216A beginning on the date that is 2 8 years after the date of the subsequent in- 9 vestment. 10 ‘‘(N) FRAUD, 11 CRIMINAL MISUSE, ‘‘(i) DENIAL OR REVOCATION.—If the 13 Secretary of Homeland Security deter- 14 mines, in the Secretary’s unreviewable dis- 15 cretion, that the approval of a petition, ap- 16 plication, or benefit described in this para- 17 graph is contrary to the national interest 18 of the United States for reasons relating to 19 fraud, misrepresentation, criminal misuse, 20 or threats to public safety or national secu- 21 rity, the Secretary shall deny or revoke the 22 approval of— 23 ‘‘(I) a petition seeking classifica- 24 tion of an alien as an alien entre- 25 preneur under this paragraph; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 AND THREATS TO NATIONAL INTERESTS.— 12 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 47 1 ‘‘(II) a petition to remove condi- 2 tions 3 granting lawful permanent resident 4 status or any other petition, applica- 5 tion, or benefit based upon the pre- 6 vious or concurrent filing or approval 7 of a petition for classification of an 8 alien under this paragraph; section 216A ‘‘(III) an application for approval 10 of a business plan in a regional center 11 associate commercial enterprise; or ‘‘(IV) an application for designa- 13 tion as a regional center. 14 ‘‘(ii) DEBARMENT.—If a regional cen- 15 ter or regional center associated commer- 16 cial enterprise has its designation or par- 17 ticipation in the program under this para- 18 graph terminated for reasons relating to 19 fraud, intentional material misrepresenta- 20 tion, criminal misuse, or threats to public 21 safety or national security, any person as- 22 sociated with such regional center or re- 23 gional center associated commercial enter- 24 prise, including an alien investor, shall be 25 permanently barred from future participa- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 before 9 12 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS under 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 48 1 tion in the program if the Secretary of 2 Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s 3 unreviewable discretion, determines that 4 such person was a knowing participant in 5 the conduct that led to the termination.’’. 6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section— 8 9 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and 10 (2) shall apply to— 11 (A) any application to designate a regional 12 center, and any person involved with the re- 13 gional center, that is pending or approved on or 14 after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 15 (B) any regional center approved before 16 the date of the enactment of this Act, on or 17 after a delayed effective date that is 1 year 18 after such date of enactment with respect to 19 any person involved in the regional center on or 20 after such delayed effective date, unless other- 21 wise provided in this section. 22 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than December 31, smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 2018, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 24 submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 49 1 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 of Representatives that describes— 3 (1) the economic benefits of the regional center 4 program established under section 203(b)(5) of the 5 Immigration 6 1153(b)(5)), including the steps taken by U.S. Citi- 7 zenship and Immigration Services to verify job cre- 8 ation; and Nationality Act (8 9 (2) the extent to which U.S. Citizenship and 10 Immigration Services ensures compliance by regional 11 center participants; 12 (3) the extent to which U.S. Citizenship and 13 Immigration Services has maintained records by re- 14 gional centers and associated commercial enter- 15 prises, including annual statements and certifi- 16 cations; 17 (4) the steps taken by U.S. Citizenship and Im- 18 migration Services to verify the source of funds, as 19 required under section 203(b)(5)(L) of the Immigra- 20 tion and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (b); 21 (5) the extent to which U.S. Citizenship and 22 Immigration Services collaborates with other Federal 23 and law enforcement agencies, particularly to detect 24 illegal activity and threats to national security; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 U.S.C. 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 50 1 (6) the extent to which U.S. Citizenship and 2 Immigration Services has prevented fraud and abuse 3 in regional center activities, including the designa- 4 tion of a regional center investment in a targeted 5 employment area; 6 (7) the extent to which U.S. Citizenship and 7 Immigration Services has used its authority to sanc- 8 tion, suspend, bar, or terminate a regional center or 9 individuals affiliated with a regional center; 10 (8) the steps that have been taken to oversee 11 direct and third-party promoters under section 12 203(b)(5)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality 13 Act, as added by subsection (b); 14 (9) the extent to which employees of the De- 15 partment of Homeland Security have complied with 16 the ethical standards and transparency requirements 17 under section 7; and 18 (10) an accounting of the expenditure of 19 amounts from the EB–5 Integrity Fund established 20 under section 203(b)(5)(J) of the Immigration and 21 Nationality Act, as added by subsection (b). 22 (e) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 December 31, 2018, the Inspector General of the Intel24 ligence Community, in coordination with the Inspector 25 General of the Department of Homeland Security and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 51 1 after consultation with relevant Federal agencies, includ2 ing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shall 3 submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 4 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 of Representatives that describes— 6 (1) vulnerabilities within the EB–5 Immigrant 7 Investor Program that may undermine the national 8 security of the United States; 9 (2) actual or potential use of the EB–5 Immi- 10 grant Investor Program to facilitate export of sen- 11 sitive technology; 12 (3) actual or potential use of the EB–5 Immi- 13 grant Investor Program to facilitate economic espio- 14 nage; 15 (4) actual or potential use of the EB–5 Immi- 16 grant Investor Program by foreign government 17 agents; and 18 (5) actual or potential use of the EB–5 Immi- 19 grant Investor Program to facilitate terrorist activ- 20 ity, including funding terrorist activity or laundering 21 terrorist funds. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 52 1 SEC. 3. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 2 ALIEN 3 CHILDREN. 4 ENTREPRENEURS, SPOUSES, AND (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 216A of the Immigration 5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 7 such term appears (except in subsection (d)(2)(C)) 8 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 9 10 (2) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: 11 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 13 subparagraph (B), an alien entrepreneur, alien 14 spouse, and alien child shall be considered, at 15 the time of obtaining status of an alien lawfully 16 admitted for permanent residence, to have ob- 17 tained such status on a conditional basis sub- 18 ject to the provisions of this section. 19 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS BASIS FOR STATUS.— ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Alien entrepreneurs 20 who meet the requirements under subsection 21 (d)(2)(A)(ii) shall obtain the status of an alien 22 lawfully admitted for permanent residence with- 23 out a conditional basis upon approval of the pe- 24 tition required under such subsection.’’; 25 (3) in subsection (c)— •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 53 1 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OF TIME- 2 LY PETITION 3 (B) in paragraph (1)— 4 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 5 graph (A), by striking ‘‘In order’’ and in- 6 serting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 7 (3)(D), in order’’; 8 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 9 ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 10 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 11 ‘‘Service respecting the facts and informa- 12 tion described in subsection (d)(1).’’ and 13 inserting ‘‘Department of Homeland Secu- 14 rity respecting the facts and information 15 described in subsection (d)(1); and’’; and 16 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS AND INTERVIEW’’; (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(C) the Secretary shall perform a site 19 visit to the job creating entity in which the 20 alien entrepreneur invested capital under sec- 21 tion 203(b)(5)(A), which visit may take place at 22 any time after an application for approval of in- 23 vestment in a commercial enterprise is filed 24 under section 203(b)(5)(F).’’; and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 54 1 (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘the’’ 2 before ‘‘such filing’’; 3 (4) in subsection (d)— 4 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by inserting 5 ‘‘except for alien entrepreneurs described in 6 subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii),’’ before ‘‘sustained’’; 7 (B) in paragraph (2), by amending sub- 8 paragraph (A) to read as follows: smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 ‘‘(A) 90-DAY PERIOD BEFORE SECOND AN- 10 NIVERSARY.—(i) 11 (ii) and subparagraph (B), the petition under 12 subsection (c)(1)(A) shall be filed during the 13 90-day period before the second anniversary of 14 the alien entrepreneur’s lawful admission for 15 permanent residence. Except as provided in clause 16 ‘‘(ii) If the alien entrepreneur has sus- 17 tained the actions described in paragraph 18 (1)(A)(i) for at least a 24-month period before 19 admission, the alien entrepreneur may file the 20 petition under subsection (c)(1)(A) any time 21 after such period and before admission for per- 22 manent residence.’’; and 23 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Service’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘Department of Homeland Secu- 25 rity’’; •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 55 1 (5) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 2 section (g); and 3 (6) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(f) FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, CRIMINAL MIS- 6 USE, OR THREATS TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY OR NATIONAL 7 SECURITY.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security deter8 mines, in the Secretary’s sole and unreviewable discretion, 9 that the approval of any petition under this section or the 10 conditional permanent resident status granted to an alien 11 entrepreneur under subsection (a) is contrary to the na12 tional interest of the United States for reasons relating 13 to fraud, misrepresentation, criminal misuse, or threats to smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 14 public safety or national security, the Secretary shall— 15 ‘‘(1) notify the alien involved of such deter- 16 mination without being required to disclose the basis 17 for such determination to the extent such disclosure 18 would be contrary to the national interest of the 19 United States; and 20 ‘‘(2) deny such petition or terminate the perma- 21 nent resident status of the alien involved (and the 22 alien spouse and alien children of such immigrant) 23 as of the date of such determination.’’. 24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 56 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except 2 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section 3 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 4 Act. 5 (2) EXCEPTION.—The amendment made by 6 subsection (a)(3)(B)(iv) shall take effect on the date 7 that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of 8 this Act. 9 SEC. 4. EB–5 VISA REFORMS. 10 (a) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREAS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(5)(B) of the 12 Immigration 13 1153(b)(5)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 14 and Nationality ‘‘(B) SET-ASIDE 15 Act (8 ‘‘(i) IN FOR TARGETED EMPLOY- GENERAL.—Not fewer than 17 5,000 of the visas made available under 18 this paragraph in each fiscal year shall be 19 reserved for qualified immigrants who in- 20 vest in a new commercial enterprise de- 21 scribed in subparagraph (A), which— 22 ‘‘(I) is investing such capital in a 23 targeted employment area; and 24 ‘‘(II) will create employment in 25 such targeted employment area. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 U.S.C. MENT AREAS.— 16 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS as provided under 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 57 1 ‘‘(ii) DURATION OF HIGH UNEMPLOY- 2 MENT AREA DESIGNATION.—A 3 of a high unemployment area as a targeted 4 employment area shall be valid for the 2- 5 year period beginning on the date of ap- 6 proval of an application filed under sub- 7 paragraph (F) or at the time of the invest- 8 ment for aliens not subject to the require- 9 ments of subparagraph (F). Such designa- 10 tion may be renewed for additional 2-year 11 periods if the area continues to meet the 12 definition of a high unemployment area. 13 An entrepreneur who has made the re- 14 quired amount of investment in such a tar- 15 geted employment area during its period of 16 designation shall not be required to in- 17 crease the amount of investment based 18 upon expiration of the designation.’’. 19 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF designation MINIMUM EB–5 INVESTMENT 20 AMOUNT.—Section 203(b)(5)(C) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 21 1153(b)(5)(C)) is amended— 22 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 (1) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: 24 ‘‘(i) 25 MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—Except INVESTMENT as otherwise provided •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 58 1 in this subparagraph, the amount of cap- 2 ital required under subparagraph (A) shall 3 be $1,200,000. In the case of an invest- 4 ment in a targeted employment area, the 5 amount of capital required under subpara- 6 graph (A) shall be $800,000. 7 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENT 8 VESTMENT AMOUNTS.— 9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The retary of Homeland Security, in con- 11 sultation with the Secretary of Labor 12 and the Secretary of Commerce, may 13 from time to time prescribe regula- 14 tions increasing the dollar amounts 15 specified under clause (i). ‘‘(II) AUTOMATIC ADJUST- 17 MENTS.—Beginning 18 2020, and on every fifth subsequent 19 January 1— 20 on January 1, ‘‘(aa) if the Secretary did 21 not 22 amount during the previous 5 fis- 23 cal years, the amounts specified 24 in clause (i) shall automatically 25 be adjusted by the amount of the increase the •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 Sec- 10 16 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF MINIMUM IN- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 minimum smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 59 1 cumulative percentage change in 2 the Consumer Price Index (CPI– 3 U) for the previous 5 fiscal years; 4 ‘‘(bb) if the Secretary in- 5 creased the minimum amount 6 during the previous 5 fiscal years 7 by an amount that is less than 8 the cumulative percentage change 9 in the CPI–U during the previous 10 5 fiscal years, the amounts speci- 11 fied in clause (i) shall automati- 12 cally be adjusted by the amount 13 of such cumulative percentage 14 change for such period minus any 15 increase prescribed by the Sec- 16 retary by regulations; or 17 ‘‘(cc) if the Secretary in- 18 creased the minimum amount 19 during the previous 5 fiscal years 20 by an amount that is greater 21 than the cumulative percentage 22 change in the CPI–U during the 23 previous 24 amounts specified in clause (i) 25 shall not be increased. 5 fiscal years, •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 the 60 1 ‘‘(iii) MINIMUM 2 IN A TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREA.—The 3 minimum investment amount in a targeted 4 employment area shall be not less than 1⁄2 5 and not more than 3⁄4 of the investment in 6 a non-targeted area of employment.’’; and 7 (2) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘the Attorney 8 General’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’. 9 (c) DEFINITIONS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(5) of such 11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as amended by sub- 12 sections (a) and (b) and by section 2, is further 13 amended by amending subparagraph (D) to read as 14 follows: 15 ‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 16 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS INVESTMENT AMOUNT ‘‘(i) CAPITAL.—The term ‘capital’— 17 ‘‘(I) means all real, personal, or 18 mixed tangible assets owned and con- 19 trolled by the alien entrepreneur, or 20 held in trust for the benefit of the 21 alien and to which the alien has unre- 22 stricted access; 23 ‘‘(II) shall be valued at fair mar- 24 ket value in United States dollars, in 25 accordance with Generally Accepted •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 61 1 Accounting Principles or other stand- 2 ard accounting practice adopted by 3 the Securities and Exchange Commis- 4 sion, at the time it is invested under 5 this paragraph; and 6 ‘‘(III) shall not include assets ac- 7 quired, directly or indirectly, by un- 8 lawful means, including any cash pro- 9 ceeds of indebtedness secured by such 10 assets. 11 ‘‘(ii) COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE ASSO- 12 CIATED WITH A REGIONAL CENTER.—The 13 terms ‘commercial enterprise associated 14 with a regional center’ and ‘regional center 15 associated commercial enterprise’ mean 16 any for-profit activity formed for the ongo- 17 ing conduct of lawful business, including a 18 sole proprietorship, partnership (whether 19 limited or general), holding company, joint 20 venture, corporation, business trust, or 21 other entity, that associates with a regional 22 center and receives, or is established to re- 23 ceive, capital investment under the regional 24 center program described in subparagraph 25 (E). •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 62 1 ‘‘(iii) FULL-TIME 2 term ‘full-time employment’ means employ- 3 ment in a position that requires at least 35 4 hours of service per week for at least a 24- 5 month period. 6 ‘‘(iv) HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AREA.— 7 The term ‘high unemployment area’ means 8 an area, using the most recent census data 9 available, consisting of a census tract that 10 has an unemployment rate that is at least 11 150 percent of the national average unem- 12 ployment rate. 13 ‘‘(v) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural 14 area’ means any area other than an area 15 within a metropolitan statistical area or 16 within the outer boundary of any city or 17 town having a population of 20,000 or 18 more (based on the most recent decennial 19 census of the United States). 20 ‘‘(vi) 21 TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREA.— 22 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS EMPLOYMENT.—The ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The 23 ‘targeted employment area’ means a 24 high unemployment area, a rural area, 25 or any area within the geographic •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 term 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 63 1 boundaries of any military installation 2 closed, during the 20-year period im- 3 mediately preceding the filing of an 4 application under subparagraph (F), 5 based upon a recommendation by the 6 Defense Base Closure and Realign- 7 ment Commission. 8 ‘‘(II) ELIGIBILITY.—Eligibility 9 for designation as a targeted employ- 10 ment area shall be determined by the 11 Secretary of Homeland Security, who 12 shall not be bound by the determina- 13 tion of any other Federal or State 14 governmental or nongovernmental en- 15 tity.’’. 16 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Homeland 17 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 18 fense, shall issue appropriate regulations to account 19 for the modified definition of targeted employment 20 area in section 203(b)(5)(D)(vi) of the Immigration 21 and Nationality Act, as added by paragraph (1). 22 (d) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF ALIEN smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 ENTREPRENEURS.—Section 203(h) of the Immigration 24 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is amended by 25 adding at the end the following: •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 64 1 ‘‘(5) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF 2 ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS.—An 3 subsection (d) as a lawful permanent resident on a 4 conditional basis as the child of an alien lawfully ad- 5 mitted for permanent residence under subsection 6 (b)(5), whose lawful permanent resident status on a 7 conditional basis is terminated under section 216A, 8 shall continue to be considered a child of the prin- 9 cipal alien for the purpose of a subsequent immi- 10 grant petition by such alien under subsection (b)(5) 11 if the alien remains unmarried and the subsequent 12 petition is filed by the principal alien not later than 13 1 year after the termination of conditional lawful 14 permanent resident status. No alien shall be consid- 15 ered a child under this paragraph with respect to 16 more than 1 petition filed after the alien reaches 21 17 years of age.’’. 18 (e) ENHANCED PAY SCALE 19 EMPLOYEES ADMINISTERING alien admitted under FOR THE CERTAIN FEDERAL EB–5 PROGRAM.—The 20 Secretary of Homeland Security may establish, fix the 21 compensation of, and appoint individuals to, designated 22 critical, technical, and professional positions needed to ad- smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 minister sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the Immigration 24 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) and 1186b). •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 65 1 (f) CONCURRENT FILING 2 APPLICATIONS FOR OF ADJUSTMENT EB–5 PETITIONS OF AND STATUS.—Section 3 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 4 1255) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (k), in the matter preceding 6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or (3)’’ and inserting 7 ‘‘(3), or (5)’’; and 8 9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(n) If the approval of a petition for classification 10 under section 203(b)(5) would make a visa immediately 11 available to the alien beneficiary, the alien beneficiary’s 12 application for adjustment of status under this section 13 shall be considered to be properly filed whether the appli14 cation is submitted concurrently with, or subsequent to, 15 the visa petition.’’. 16 (g) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 17 (1) IN as provided under 18 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section 19 shall be effective upon the date of the enactment of 20 this Act. 21 22 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS GENERAL.—Except (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The amendments made by subsections (b)(1) and (c)(1) shall not apply to— 23 (A) applications for business plan approval 24 for regional center investments in actual 25 projects that were filed with, or approved by, •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 66 1 the Secretary of Homeland Security before the 2 date of the enactment of this Act; and 3 (B) petitions seeking classification under 4 section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Na- 5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) and peti- 6 tions filed under section 216A of such Act (8 7 U.S.C. 1186b) by immigrants investing in the 8 same commercial enterprise concerning the 9 same economic activity as contained in an appli- 10 cation for business plan approval described in 11 subparagraph (A). 12 SEC. 5. PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STATUS. 13 (a) FILING ORDER.—Section 204(a)(1)(H) of the 14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 15 1154(a)(1)(H)) is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(H) An alien desiring to be classified under section 17 203(b)(5) may file a petition with the Secretary of Home18 land Security. An alien petitioning for classification pursu19 ant to section 203(b)(5)(E) may file a petition with the 20 Secretary only after approval of investment in a commer21 cial enterprise under section 203(b)(5)(F).’’. 22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 subsection (a)— 24 25 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 67 1 (2) shall apply to any petition for classification 2 pursuant to section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration 3 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E)) that 4 is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security on 5 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 6 SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENT OF FEES TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT 7 8 PROCESSING. (a) FEE STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the 9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of U.S. 10 Citizenship and Immigration Service shall initiate a study 11 of fees charged in the administration of the program de12 scribed in section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and 13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E)). 14 (b) FEE LEVELS.—Notwithstanding section 286(m) 15 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 16 1356(m)), and except as provided under subsection (c), 17 the Director shall set fees for services provided pursuant 18 to section 203(b)(5) of such Act at a level sufficient to 19 ensure the full recovery only of the costs of providing such 20 services, including the cost of ensuring that adjudication smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 21 is completed, on average, not later than— 22 (1) 120 days after receiving a proposal for the 23 establishment of a regional center described in sec- 24 tion 203(b)(5)(E); •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 68 1 (2) 120 days after receiving an application for 2 approval of investment in a commercial enterprise 3 described in section 203(b)(5)(F); 4 (3) 150 days after receiving a petition from an 5 alien 6 203(b)(5)(E); and desiring to be classified under section 7 (4) 180 days after receiving a petition from an 8 alien for removal of conditions described in section 9 216A(c). 10 (c) ADDITIONAL FEES.—Additional fees in excess of 11 the fee levels described in subsection (b) may be charged smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 12 only to contribute— 13 (1) in an amount that is equal to the amount 14 paid by all other classes of fee-paying applicants for 15 immigration related benefits, to the coverage or re- 16 duction of the costs of processing or adjudicating 17 classes of immigration benefit applications that Con- 18 gress or, in the case of asylum applications, the Sec- 19 retary has authorized to be processed or adjudicated 20 at no cost or at a reduced cost to the applicant; and 21 (2) in an amount that is not greater than 1 22 percent of the fee for filing a petition under section 23 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 24 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), to improvements to the informa- 25 tion technological systems used by the Secretary to •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 69 1 process, adjudicate, and archive applications and pe- 2 titions under such section, including the conversion 3 to electronic format of documents filed by petitioners 4 and applicants for benefits under such section. 5 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 6 tion may be construed to require any modification of fees 7 before the completion of— 8 (1) the fee study described in subsection (a); 9 and 10 (2) regulations promulgated by the Secretary of 11 Homeland Security, in accordance with subchapter 12 II of chapter 5 and chapter 7 of title 5, United 13 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Administra- 14 tive Procedures Act’’), to carry out subsection (b). 15 SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Employees of the Department of 17 Homeland Security, including the Secretary of Homeland 18 Security, the Secretary’s counselors, the Assistant Sec19 retary for the Private Sector, the Director of U.S. Citizen20 ship and Immigration Services, counselors to such Direc21 tor, and the Chief of Immigrant Investor Programs at 22 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall act im- smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 partially and may not give preferential treatment to any 24 organization or individual in connection with any aspect 25 of the immigrant visa program described in section •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 70 1 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 2 added by section 2(b). 3 (b) IMPROPER ACTIVITIES.—Activities that con- 4 stitute preferential treatment under subsection (a) shall 5 include— 6 (1) working on, or in any way attempting to ex- 7 pedite or otherwise influence, in a manner not avail- 8 able to or accorded to all other petitioners, appli- 9 cants, and seekers of benefits under the immigrant 10 visa program described in section 203(b)(5)(E) of 11 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 12 section 2(b), the processing of, an application, peti- 13 tion, or benefit for— 14 (A) a regional center; 15 (B) a commercial enterprise associated 16 with a regional center; 17 (C) a job-creating entity associated with a smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 18 regional center; or 19 (D) any person or entity associated with 20 such regional center, commercial enterprise, or 21 job-creating entity; and 22 (2) meeting or communicating with persons as- 23 sociated with the entities described in paragraph (1), 24 at the request of such persons, in a manner not 25 available to or accorded to all other petitioners, ap- •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 71 1 plicants, and seekers of benefits under the immi- 2 grant 3 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 4 Act, as added by section 2(b). 5 (c) REPORTING OF COMMUNICATIONS.— 6 program (1) WRITTEN described in COMMUNICATION.—Employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including the 8 officials listed in subsection (a), shall include, in the 9 record of proceeding for a case under section 10 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 11 Act, as added by section 2(b), actual or electronic 12 copies of all case-specific written communication, in- 13 cluding e-mails from government and private ac- 14 counts, with non-Department persons or entities ad- 15 vocating for regional center proposals or individual 16 petitions pending on or after the date of enactment 17 of this Act. (2) ORAL COMMUNICATION.—If substantive oral 19 communication, including telephonic communication, 20 virtual communication, and in-person meetings, 21 takes place between officials of the Department of 22 Homeland Security and non-Department persons or 23 entities regarding specific cases under section 24 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 25 Act (other than routine communications with other •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 section 7 18 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS visa 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 72 1 agencies of the Federal Government regarding the 2 case, including communications involving back- 3 ground checks and litigation defense)— 4 (A) the conversation shall be recorded; or 5 (B) detailed minutes of the session shall be 6 taken and included in the record of proceeding. 7 (3) NOTIFICATION.— 8 (A) IN the Secretary, in the 9 course of written or oral communication de- 10 scribed in this subsection, receives evidence 11 about a specific case from anyone other than an 12 affected party or his or her representative (ex- 13 cluding Federal Government or law enforcement 14 sources), such information may not be made 15 part of the record of proceeding and may not 16 be considered in adjudicative proceedings un- 17 less— 18 (i) the affected party has been given 19 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS GENERAL.—If notice of such evidence; and 20 (ii) if such evidence is derogatory, the 21 affected party has been given an oppor- 22 tunity to respond to the evidence. 23 (B) INFORMATION 24 MENT, 25 FIDENTIAL SOURCES.— INTELLIGENCE FROM LAW ENFORCEAGENCIES, •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 OR CON- 73 1 (i) LAW 2 LIGENCE 3 from law enforcement or intelligence agen- 4 cies may not be made part of the record of 5 proceeding without the consent of the rel- 6 evant agency or law enforcement entity. 7 AGENCIES.—Evidence (ii) WHISTLEBLOWERS OR OTHER CONFIDENTIAL 9 ceived from whistleblowers or other con- 10 fidential sources that is included in the 11 record of proceeding and considered in ad- 12 judicative proceedings shall be handled in a 13 manner that does not reveal the identity of 14 the whistleblower or confidential source. SOURCES.—Evidence re- (d) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—No case-specific communica- 17 tion with persons or entities that are not part of the 18 Department of Homeland Security may be consid- 19 ered in the adjudication of an application or petition 20 under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and 21 Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b), unless the 22 communication is included in the record of pro- 23 ceeding of the case. 24 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Homeland Se- 25 curity may waive the requirement under paragraph •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 received 8 15 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS ENFORCEMENT OR INTEL- 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 74 1 (1) only in the interests of national security or for 2 investigative or law enforcement purposes. 3 (e) CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION.— 4 (1) E-MAIL 5 Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv- 6 ices shall maintain an e-mail account (or equivalent 7 means of communication) for persons or entities— 8 (A) with inquiries regarding specific cases 9 under section 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration 10 and Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b); 11 or 12 (B) seeking non-case-specific information 13 about the regional center program described in 14 such section. 15 (2) COMMUNICATION 16 ONLY THROUGH APPRO- PRIATE CHANNELS OR OFFICES.— 17 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS ADDRESS OR EQUIVALENT.—The (A) ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPROPRIATE 18 CHANNELS 19 than 40 days after the date of the enactment of 20 this Act, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 21 Immigration Services shall announce that the 22 only channels or offices by which petitioners, 23 applicants, and seekers of benefits under the 24 immigrant visa program described in section 25 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nation- OF COMMUNICATION.—Not •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 later 75 1 ality Act, or such persons’ representatives, may 2 communicate with the Department of Home- 3 land Security regarding specific cases under 4 such section, or non-case-specific information 5 about the regional center program applicable to 6 certain cases under such section, are through— 7 (i) the e-mail address or equivalent 8 channel described in paragraph (1); 9 (ii) the U.S. Citizenship and Immigra- 10 tion Services National Customer Service 11 Center, or any successor to that Center; or 12 (iii) the U.S. Citizenship and Immi- 13 gration Services Office of Public Engage- 14 ment, Immigrant Investor Program Office, 15 Stakeholder Engagement Branch, or any 16 successors to those Offices or Branch. 17 (B) DIRECTION 18 TIONS.— 19 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS OF INCOMING COMMUNICA- (i) IN GENERAL.—Employees 20 Department of Homeland Security shall di- 21 rect all persons making inquiries regarding 22 the regional center program applicable to 23 certain cases under section 203(b)(5)(E) of 24 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 25 added by section 2(b) to the channels of •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 of the 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 76 1 communication or offices listed in subpara- 2 graph (A). smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 (ii) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing 4 this subparagraph may be construed to 5 prevent Department employees from di- 6 recting inquiries to the U.S. Citizenship 7 and Immigration Services Ombudsman. 8 (C) LOG.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of 10 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 11 shall maintain a written or electronic log 12 of— 13 (I) all communications described 14 in subparagraph (A), which shall ref- 15 erence the date, time, and subject of 16 the communication, and the identity 17 of the Department official, if any, to 18 whom the inquiry was forwarded; 19 (II) with respect to written com- 20 munications described in subsection 21 (c)(1), the date the communication 22 was received, the identities of the 23 sender and addressee, and the subject 24 of the communication; and •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 in 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 77 1 (III) with respect to oral commu- 2 nications 3 (c)(2), the date on which the commu- 4 nication occurred, the participants in 5 the conversation or meeting, and the 6 subject of the communication. 7 (ii) TRANSPARENCY.—The log of com- 8 munications described in clause (i) shall be 9 made publicly available in accordance with 10 section 552 of title 5, United States Code 11 (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of In- 12 formation Act’’). smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 13 (3) PUBLICATION described in subsection OF INFORMATION.—If, 14 result of a communication with an official of the De- 15 partment of Homeland Security, a person or entity 16 inquiring about a specific case or generally about the 17 regional 18 203(b)(5)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 19 Act received generally applicable and non-case spe- 20 cific information about program requirements or ad- 21 ministration that has not been made publicly avail- 22 able by the Department, the Director of U.S. Citi- 23 zenship and Immigration Services, not later than 30 24 days after the communication of such information to 25 such person or entity, shall publish such information center program described in •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 as a 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 section 78 1 on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 2 website as an update to the relevant Frequently 3 Asked Questions page or by some other comparable 4 mechanism. 5 (f) PENALTY.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates the 7 prohibition on preferential treatment under this sec- 8 tion or intentionally violates the reporting require- 9 ments under subsection (c) shall be disciplined in ac- 10 cordance with paragraph (2). 11 (2) SANCTIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 13 of Homeland Security shall establish a graduated set 14 of sanctions based on the severity of the violation re- 15 ferred to in paragraph (1), which may include, in 16 addition to any criminal or civil penalties that may 17 be imposed— 18 (A) written reprimand; 19 (B) suspension; 20 (C) demotion; or 21 (D) removal. 22 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 tion may be construed to modify any law, regulation, or 24 policy regarding the handling or disclosure of classified in25 formation. •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501 79 1 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 3 of this Act. smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS Æ •S 1501 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1501.IS S1501