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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6992 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6992
To establish in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the
Department of Homeland Security an EB-5 Regional Center Program
Advisory Committee.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2026
Mr. Stanton (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Liccardo, and Mr.
Gooden) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the
Department of Homeland Security an EB-5 Regional Center Program
Advisory Committee.
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 Program
Advisory Committee Authorization Act''.
SEC. 2. EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
Subtitle E of title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 463. EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services an EB-5 Regional Center Program
Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee shall be terminated upon
adjudication of all benefits filed under section 203(b)(5) and 216A of
the Immigration and Nationality Act from time to time or any other
public law implementing the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
``(b) Duties.--
``(1) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall advise,
consult with, report to, and make recommendations to the
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding
the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
``(2) Recommendations.--
``(A) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall
develop recommendations for improvements to the EB-5
Regional Center Program within U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services.
``(B) Recommendations of subcommittees.--
Recommendations agreed upon by the subcommittees
established under subsection (d) for any year shall be
approved by a majority of the Advisory Committee before
the Advisory Committee submits to the Director the
annual report under paragraph (4) for that year. The
Advisory Committee shall not make any petition or case-
specific recommendations to the program under section
203(b)(5) and section 216A of the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
``(3) Periodic reports.--The Advisory Committee shall
annually, or when deemed necessary by a majority of the
Advisory Committee members, submit to the Director--
``(A) reports on matters identified by the
Director; or
``(B) reports on other matters identified by a
majority of the members of the Advisory Committee.
``(4) Annual report.--The Advisory Committee shall submit
to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Director an annual
report providing information on the activities, findings, and
recommendations of the Advisory Committee, including its
subcommittees, for the preceding fiscal year. Not later than
six months after the date that the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Director receives an annual report for a year,
the Director shall publish a public version of the report
describing the activities of the Advisory Committee and such
related matters as would be informative to the public during
that year.
``(5) Congressional notification.--For each fiscal quarter
beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, the
Director shall provide to the Committees on the Judiciary, and
the Committees on Appropriations a briefing on the activities
of the Advisory Committee.
``(6) Conformity with the eb-5 reform and integrity act of
2022.--Nothing in this section may be construed to violate or
be inconsistent with section 107 of the EB-5 Reform and
Integrity Act of 2022.
``(c) Membership.--
``(1) Appointment.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall appoint the members of the
Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of
Federal, State, local and Tribal Governments and EB-5
regional centers in good standing representing projects
from diverse geographies and diverse project types.
``(B) Composition.--The membership of the Advisory
Committee shall consist of not more than 35 members,
each of whom represent a category referred to in
subparagraph (C)(i). The member shall be considered the
appointed regional center or governmental agency, and
the member shall appoint, subject to Secretary
approval, the individual that represents such regional
center or governmental agency.
``(C) Representation.--
``(i) In general.--Regional centers members
shall be appointed only from regional centers
in good standing and operating under the EB-5
Reform and Integrity Act of 2022,
notwithstanding any lapse or termination of the
EB-5 Regional Center Program, and each regional
center member shall represent a regional center
that has submitted petitions to sponsor no
fewer than two projects in the same regional
center category pursuant to clause (ii).
``(ii) Representation categories.--Regional
center members shall include at least two from
each of the following categories:
``(I) Regional Center--High
unemployment area.
``(II) Regional Center--Rural.
``(III) Regional Center--
Infrastructure.
``(IV) Regional Center--Census
Region Northeast.
``(V) Regional Center--Census
Region South.
``(VI) Regional Center--Census
Region Midwest.
``(VII) Regional Center--Census
Region West.
``(iii) Additional representation.--
Representatives shall, in addition, include at
least one from each of the following
categories:
``(I) Mayor--City, large; Territory
inside Urbanized Area and inside a
Principal City with population of
250,000 or more.
``(II) Mayor--City, midsize;
Territory inside Urbanized Area and
inside a Principal City with population
less than 250,000 and greater than or
equal to 100,000.
``(III) Mayor--City, small;
Territory inside Urbanized Area and
inside a Principal City with population
less than 100,000.
``(IV) County Economic Development
Officer--Urbanized Area.
``(V) County Economic Development
Officer--Urban Place Outside of
Urbanized Area.
``(VI) County Economic Development
Officer--Rural Place.
``(VII) State Economic Development
Officer.
``(VIII) Department of State, ex
officio.
``(IX) Department of Commerce, ex
officio.
``(X) Trade association
representing no fewer than 50 EB-5
regional centers.
``(XI) Other relevant fields
identified by the Director.
``(iv) Prohibition.--The Advisory Committee
shall include at least two members from each
category under clause (ii) but not exceed three
members from any one category.
``(2) Term of office.--
``(A) Terms.--The term of each member of the
Advisory Committee shall be two years, but a member may
continue to serve, notwithstanding any term limit,
until a successor is appointed. In the event that an
individual representing the member is no longer
associated with the member, the member shall appoint,
subject to Secretary of Homeland Security approval, a
new individual to serve the remaining term of such
member.
``(B) Removal.--The Director may review the
participation of a member of the Advisory Committee and
remove such member for cause at any time, after
notifying the Secretary of Homeland Security.
``(C) Reappointment.--A member of the Advisory
Committee may be reappointed for a maximum of 6
consecutive terms.
``(3) Prohibition on compensation.--The members of the
Advisory Committee may not receive pay or benefits from the
United States Government by reason of their service on the
Advisory Committee, other than pay and benefits for Federal
employees serving on the Advisory Committee that are incident
to their Federal employment.
``(4) Meetings.--
``(A) In general.--The Director shall require the
Advisory Committee to meet at least quarterly, and may
convene additional meetings as necessary.
``(B) Public meetings.--At least one of the
meetings referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be open
to the public.
``(C) Attendance.--The Advisory Committee shall
maintain a record of the persons present at each
meeting.
``(5) Chairperson.--The Advisory Committee shall select,
from among the members of the Advisory Committee--
``(A) a member to serve, for a term of 4 years, as
chairperson of the Advisory Committee; and
``(B) a member to serve as chairperson of each
subcommittee of the Advisory Committee established
under subsection (d).
``(d) Subcommittees.--
``(1) In general.--The Director and the Advisory Committee
shall establish subcommittees within the Advisory Committee to
address EB-5 Regional Center Program issues, including the
following:
``(A) Administration, including--
``(i) agency staffing;
``(ii) petition processing times;
``(iii) improved communication between the
Agency and EB-5 Regional Center stakeholders;
``(iv) fraud prevention; and
``(v) compliance with securities laws.
``(B) Impact, including--
``(i) job creation and job retention; and
``(ii) capital investment.
``(C) Policy, subject to applicable requirements
under law, including--
``(i) legislative interpretation and
specific policies and guidelines of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services relevant
to the EB-5 Regional Center Program;
``(ii) policymaking procedures outside of
formal legislative or regulatory rule-making
processes;
``(iii) regulations;
``(iv) financial structuring of
investments; and
``(v) source of funds issues.
``(D) Other such issues relevant to the EB-5
Regional Center Program and requested by members of the
Advisory Committee.
``(2) Additional subcommittees.--In addition to the
subcommittees established pursuant to paragraph (1), the
Advisory Committee chairperson, in coordination with the
Director, shall establish within the Advisory Committee such
additional subcommittees that the majority of the Advisory
Committee determine to be necessary.
``(3) Meetings and reporting.--Each subcommittee shall meet
at least quarterly, and at least once in-person annually, and
submit to the Advisory Committee for inclusion in the annual
report required under subsection (b)(4) information, including
activities, findings, and recommendations, regarding subject
matter considered by the subcommittee.
``(4) Subject matter experts.--The chair of the Advisory
Committee shall appoint members to subcommittees.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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