EB-5 Regional Center Extension Act of 2014

EB-5 Regional Center Extension Act of 2014 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate per-country limits on employment-based immigrant visas.

Makes the EB-5 Regional Center program permanent.

Reserves at least 3,000 visas per fiscal year for program applicants.

Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to give employment-creation visa priority to program applicants.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4659 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4659

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2014

  Mr. Schock introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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.''.

SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is hereby 
repealed.
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