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EB-5 Regional Center Extension Act of 2014

H.R. 4659 · 113th Congress · May 13, 2014 · Lineage

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make the EB-5 regional center program permanent, and for other purposes.

Section 1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the “EB-5 Regional Center Extension Act of 2014”.

Sec. 2 Removal of per country numerical caps on employment visas

Section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is amended by striking “subsections (a) and (b) of section 203” and inserting “subsection (a) of section 203”.

Sec. 3 Regional center program made permanent

Section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(E) Regional center program

“(i) Set aside—Not less than 3,000 of the visas made available under this paragraph in each fiscal year shall be reserved for qualified immigrants for a program to implement the provisions of this paragraph.

“(ii) In general—The program referred to in clause (i) shall involve a regional center in the United States, designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security on the basis of a general proposal, for the promotion of economic growth, including increased export sales, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment. A regional center shall have jurisdiction over a limited geographic area, which shall be described in the proposal and consistent with the purpose of concentrating pooled investment in defined economic zones. The establishment of a regional center may be based on general predictions, contained in the proposal, concerning the kinds of commercial enterprises that will receive capital from aliens, the jobs that will be created directly or indirectly as a result of such capital investments, and the other positive economic effects such capital investments will have.

“(iii) Rule for determining compliance with job creation requirements—For purposes of determining compliance with subparagraph (A)(ii), and notwithstanding the requirements of 8 CFR 204.6, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall permit aliens admitted under the program described in this subparagraph to establish reasonable methodologies for determining the number of jobs created by the program, including such jobs which are estimated to have been created indirectly through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the program.”

Sec. 4 Priority consideration for regional center applicants

Section 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “In processing petitions under this subparagraph, the Secretary of Homeland Security may give priority to petitions filed by aliens seeking admission under the program described in section 203(b)(5)(E). Notwithstanding section 203(e), immigrant visas made available under section 203(b)(5) may be issued to such aliens in an order that takes into account any priority accorded under the preceding sentence.”.